Philippines: Government order to vacate IDP camps raises concerns

TALAYAN, 16 February 2009 (IRIN) - A government order for tens of thousands of internally displaced people (IDPs) to move out of camps on southern Mindanao island could expose them to grave danger, as sporadic fighting between government troops and Muslim separatist rebels continues, according to aid workers.

While authorities have said they will not shut down evacuation camps across Mindanao, "there is an effort now to bring them [the displaced] back to their respective communities", Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno told reporters in Manila on 14 February.

The move is to enable government relief agencies to better serve those who still need assistance, he said, adding that the people being asked to move come from areas where fighting has ceased.

"The military and police authorities have been asked to ensure they are secure when they go back and they will be helped ? with livelihood projects," Puno said.

The order could affect more than 112,000 people in camps in two provinces, Maguindanao and Lanao del Norte, and seven towns, which are still under a "state of calamity" nearly six months after fighting erupted between government forces and two renegade factions of the MILF, official records show.

 Separately, over 200,000 others remain displaced but are staying with relatives or friends outside evacuation centres, the National Disaster Coordinating Council said in its report on 13th February.

Fighting erupted in August 2008 when two MILF senior commanders attacked several predominantly Christian towns and provinces across Mindanao after a court blocked a deal that would have granted them control over a large autonomous area. At the height of the fighting from August to September, more than half a million people were displaced.

Aid agencies told IRIN they were surprised and dismayed by the government's move, stressing that in many communities, peace and order remained elusive, leaving returnees vulnerable to fresh attacks by MILF rebels.

"Many of these people have had their houses burned and destroyed. They can't go back yet and there is nothing for them to return to," said one foreign aid worker, who asked not to be named.

Safety concerns

Stephen Anderson, World Food Programme (WFP) country director in the Philippines, told IRIN that while the overall situation seemed to have improved, with local governments helping the displaced, people still feared being caught in the crossfire.

"Most of the people here are not keen to go back because they do not feel the security situation has improved," Anderson said on 16 February. "In some cases people have lost their homes, and many have lost their livelihoods.
This is a big dilemma in fact, because large numbers remain displaced."

Puno stressed that the IDPs were not being forced to return home, but that many have been returning voluntarily as the situation normalises. He conceded, however, that security would remain an issue as long as the two rebel commanders - Ameril Umbra Kato and Abdulrahman Macapaar, alias Commander Bravo - remained at large.

Talks

The government's chief peace adviser, Avelino Razon, meanwhile, said he had already informed the Malaysian government that the Philippines was prepared to resume talks with the MILF and that some talks were taking place.
Malaysia has been brokering the negotiations, which began in 2003, but pulled out its peace monitors last year after hostilities erupted.

"Our government panel is ready to resume peace talks and we have requested the Malaysian government that this be conveyed to the MILF," Razon said.

The hostilities are spilling over to the southern islands of Jolo and Basilan, where militants from the smaller Abu Sayyaf group have been holding hostage three aid workers from the International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC) since 15 January, and a Sri Lankan aid worker from the international NGO Non-Violent Peace Force since 13 February.

While the MILF has repeatedly denied it was supporting the Al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf, there have been cases when Abu Sayyaf fighters have sought sanctuary in MILF rebel camps, according to military intelligence.
More troops have been airlifted recently to Jolo, where clashes left at least eight civilians wounded and hundreds more displaced last week.

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