June 26, 2012 News: The Government of the Republic of Indonesia will send its 15-man contingent to the Malaysian-led International Monitoring Team (IMT) which monitor and maintain the ceasefire between the MILF and Philippine Government while the two parties continue to hammer out the remaining substantive issues in their current 15-year peace negotiation to settle the centuries-old Moro Question and four-decade armed conflict in Mindanao.

According to a source at the Indonesian Embassy, who was not identified, the contingent will arrive in Manila on June 30 and will proceed to Cotabato City where the headquarters of the IMT is located on July 2.

They will be accompanied by a high Indonesian Embassy official to Cotabato City.

However, the source did not say whether the Indonesian Ambassador to Manila, Kristiarto Legowo, will personally accompany the contingent to Cotabato City.

Another source said that ten of the contingent are military personnel while five are civilians, but with expertise on various fields. They will be initially assigned in Cotabato City, but mostly they will be transferred to Davao City later.

According to the Terms of Reference (TOR) of the IMT, the Head of Mission now in the person of His Excellency Major General Dato Abdul Raheem bin Yusuff will be the one who will determine the field assignments of the various contingents.

At present, Malaysia, Brunei, Japan, Libya, Norway, and now Indonesia make up the 60-mn IMT, which started their tour of duty in 2004.

In 2009, Ambassador Rafael Seguis and Mohagher Iqbal, head of the government and MILF peace panels, officially wrote Indonesia and other member states requesting them to send their contingent to the IMT in Mindanao.

Asked to comment on the coming of the new contingent, Mohagher Iqbal, chair of the MILF peace panel, expressed his thanks and gratitude to the Indonesian government for giving way to the request of the government and MILF.

“Their coming is a big boost to the clout and effectiveness of the IMT in Mindanao,” he added.