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Twenty-nine of Malaysia’s 41 troops in the IMT will return home in a few days.
Major General Datuk Mat Yasin Bin Mat Daud, the IMT’s Head of Mission is among the first to leave, as he is due for retirement. His deputy will assume the post of Head of Mission.
Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister Najib, also the Defense Minister, said on April 24 that the “phased withdrawal” from Mindanao will start with 21 troops. Malaysia has 41 in the IMT, Brunei has 10, Libya has 5 and Japan has the lone non-military member, a development expert.
The farewell dinner was held at The Marqueza, at the Pacific Heights hotel. Brig. Gen. Rey Sealana, government peace panel chair for the Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) and his MILF counterpart Toks Ebrahim were present, as well as government peace panel chair Secretary Rodolfo Garcia.
Garcia is one of the speakers in the Roundtable Discussion and Workshop on “The Malaysian Pull-out from the International Monitoring Team (IMT): Implications and Responses” which will be held at the Estosan Garden Hotel in Cotabato City today.
The forum’s organizers are the Institute of Autonomy and Governance, Institute of Bangsamoro Studies with support from the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.
The MILF is sending Atty. Michael Mastura, senior member of the MILF peace panel, to the forum. (MindaNews)