New armed group emerges
Demands that Maute Group leave Marawi and free all hostages
COTABATO CITY – A new armed group in Marawi City emerged Monday night to demand the Islamic State (IS)-inspired Maute Group to leave the besieged city at once and free all their hostages – Muslims and Christians alike.
In a 14-minute video posted online, the group introduced themselves
as Meranaw Victims Movement (MVM), a group composed of armed Maranao evacuees from Marawi City.
The new group said their emergence is deeply rooted to their relationship to civilians who perished in the fight and whose remains have yet to be retrieved.
“The group is dedicated to help in fighting for the rights of the Bangsa Meranaw whose dignity was trampled upon because of this crisis,” the group said in their Facebook post.
The group, whose leaders and members have not yet been identified, said they do not conform with the use of Marawi City as sanctuary for the Maute Group, which “ignited the war in Marawi City that has brought about sufferings to the Meranaw people.”
“We hold our local leaders, past and present alike, responsible for failing to prevent the ISIS-inspired Maute Group from carrying out their plan since they were fully aware of the group’s presence in the city prior to the siege and for literally forsaking the civilians like orphans in the midst of great danger during the onset of the siege on May 23, 2017,” the group added.
Demand The new group is also demanding from the government that civilians be allowed to return to their homes in areas in Marawi City that were already cleared by the military; to stop the aerial bombings and the abuses of some military and police personnel at checkpoints; and accord respect to civilians, especially the women.
It is also asking for an easier access to and from Marawi City, especially roads through Barangay Maliwanag so the people in the First District of Lanao del Sur will have better and convenient access.
MVM also wants to secure the remains of the civilian victims and to provide financial support to all wounded civilian victims similar to the support being provided by the government to wounded military and police personnel.
It also seeks compensation for the damage to their properties, the rehabilitation of mosques, madrasahs, and other destroyed structures that represented the Meranao culture and heritage.
The government, according to the group, should not make any hint that it would occupy the land of the Meranaws on the basis of military reservation, instead it should help legitimate owners to have their respective land titles.
Jihad: A last resort And if their demands will fall on deaf ears, the MVM said it would be compelled to face the Maute Group and “that Jihad becomes our legitimate recourse.”
“To our leaders, should we find out that you defraud or corrupt the assistance and support intended for the evacuees, we will unrelentingly pursue until we take them for the people in whatever means possible,” the group warned.
Call to MILF
The new armed group is also enjoining the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to support their demands by ensuring that it reaches all those concerned.
“To the MILF, take note that the demand for the approval of the BBL (Bangsamoro Basic Law) becomes irrelevant if the key area where it should be implemented would no longer be in the hands of the Meranaw, and that by then the support of the people of Lanao becomes weak in times that you need it,” the group said.