MILF, MNLF REUNIFY
By Charmaine C. Deogracias
and Manny Marinay
The Moro Na-tional Liberation Front (MNLF)
and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have finalized reunification plans hatched
last year, rebels and government diplomats told The Manila Times Friday night.
MILF acting chief peace negotiator Moner
Bujanaid confirmed that talks were finalized in Kuala Lumpur during last week’s
four-day Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) foreign ministers’ meeting.
In separate overseas phone interviews, THE
TIMES learned that MNLF chairman and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Gov. Nur
Misuari and Bujanaid finalized details to put up “a common political
front” for future negotiations with the Philippine government.
The Misuari-Bujanaid talks capped a week of
lower level negotiations by MNLF and MILF staff.
The MILF, meanwhile, also expressed elation
over the OIC resolution which called on both the government and the rebel group to seek a
halt to the Mindanao conflict.
“It was a virtual declaration that we
had achieved a status of belligerency,” said MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu in a phone
interview.
A Philippine diplomat in Kuala Lumpur also
acknowledged that “there was an impression from some (OIC) delegations that there is
tacit recognition of the MILF,” and said this was due to the government’s
proposed interim agreement with the secessionist group.
The resolution passed by the 27th foreign
ministers conference of the OIC urged “both the GRP and the MILF to immediately halt
their existing hostilities and reach a peaceful solution to the current problems in
Mindanao.”
“We have become a force to reckon
with, an international entity by virtue of that resolution,” the rebel spokesman
stressed.
Philippine officials also welcomed the
resolution, however, interpreting it as a victory in their bid to present the Mindanao
pacification campaign as a legitimate state action.
“The final resolution was rather fair
and balanced, because the phrase, ‘offensive against the Bangsamoro people,’ was
deleted,” Philippine Ambassador to Riyadh Rafael Seguis said in a telephone
interview.
Common panel
A diplomatic source told THE MANILA TIMES
that the groups decided to move forward with their reunification to strengthen their
demand for an independent Islamic state. Malacañang has repeatedly said it will never
grant this demand.
Misuari tried to evade the issue when
queried by a broadcast journalist in Kuala Lumpur at the start of the OIC meet. The ARMM
governor said “there are no formal talks yet on that.”
Bujanaid said he and Misuari both agreed to
uphold the MILF-MNLF December 1999 agreement to push unification, pursue open lines
of communication, and advance a common political front in implementing the OIC resolution.
The MILF peace negotiator said his group
owed Misuari a debt of gratitude for putting the spotlight on the government’s
all-out war against Moro secessionist rebels and the Bangsamoro people.
Misuari’s legal counsel, Macapanton
Abbas Jr. told THE TIMES the MNLF chairman and Bujanaid also formally informed the OIC of
their agreement to unite for political purposes.
“The government should see this
positively, as it would bring the MILF into the peace process of the MNLF,” Abbas
said, while refusing to discuss whether there would be autonomy or independence. He
admitted the end goal is to “unite all Muslim groups,” including the now
isolated Abu Sayyaf.
Abbas said Misuari and MILF chairman Hashim
Salamat met twice last year and had agreed to set up a coordinating body, composed of MNLF
and MILF leaders who shall meet regularly to forge a single position on important
political issues.
Abbas acknowledged the move was delayed by
the MNLF’s failure to submit the names of its officials.
Change of heart
Kabalu was noncommittal about the reported
reunification but said “the possibility is not remote.”
He said, however, that long-term unity would
be achieved only if Misuari “returns to the political course of the movement,”
and renounce “diversionary tactics.”
“He must recoup his being a
revolutionary,” the MILF spokesman stressed.
The MNLF had earlier espoused for
independence but the 1974 ICFM resolution bound Misuari to agree to settle their struggle
peacefully and within the legal framework of the Philippine Constitution, which only
allows autonomy.
Misuari, however, unleashed a blistering
attack on the Philippine government’s failure to meet its peace commitments in
Jeddah, before the OIC preparatory last May 27-30.
The ARMM governor then called for
independence for Mindanao, citing East Timor and the Independence Movement of Quebec as
models.
He also asked the OIC to grant upgrade the
MNLF status from observer to full member, to regain the support of disgruntled former
followers now with the MILF and the Abu Sayyaf.
In explaining the “pleasant
surprise” sprang by Philippine allies at the OIC meet, Ambassador Seguis said the
change happened in the plenary session.
The inclusion of Malaysia and Brunei, fellow
members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), into the expanded Committee
of Six helped promote the government’s position, he added.
“We were able to convince some of the
friendly delegations that the draft was procedurally wrong and they rallied behind us in
the plenary,” Seguis said.
“They even expressed appreciation for
the flexibility of the Philippine government in implementing the peace agreement with the
MNLF,” he added.
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