MNLF to MILF: Good luck but beware

Voltaire Tupaz

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A peace negotiator says the deal with the MILF is inclusive

MANILA, Philippines – Today, October 15, marked the signing of the Framework Agreement between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the “death of the final peace agreement with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF),” a leader of one of the 3 MNLF factions said.

Sana mag-succeed sila (government) pati MILF, but we have our doubts. (I hope the government will succeed including the MILF) What they have done to the MNLF might also be done to the MILF,” Habib Mujahab Hashim, chairman of an MNLF breakaway faction, the Islamic Command Council (ICC), told Rappler.

“It’s easy to sign any agreement but implementing such an agreement is another thing,” the 65-year-old Hashim warned.

Known as “Boghdadi” or “Bogs,” Hashim was the former chief MNLF negotiator during the peace talks between the MNLF and the Cory Aquino government between 1986 to 1987.

He was appointed executive director of the Office of Muslim Affairs in 2001. A year after, he served as administrator of the Southern Philippine Development Authority (SPDA).

The MNLF signed a peace agreement with the Ramos government in 1996, paving the way for the election of its chairman, Nur Misuari, as governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM); the integration of at least 5,000 MNLF fighters into the police and the military; and the creation of the Southern Philipppines Council for Peace and Development that was tasked to oversee development projects in Muslim-dominated provinces.

In an earlier speech announcing the historic peace deal with the MILF, President Benigno Aquino III called ARMM “a failed experiment.”

“Many of the people continue to feel alienated by the system, and those who feel that there is no way out will continue to articulate their grievances through the barrel of a gun,” Aquino said.

Aquino’s context

Prof Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, a member of the panel which negotiated the peace deal with the MILF, explained that the Aquino administration and the MILF learned from the lessons of the MNLF peace process.

“What’s very important in the new context…is the realization that…if you want them done and implemented well, [sectors concerned] must put in place something very soon,” Ferrer said.

During the negotiations, it was clear to the MILF that they did not want to go the way of the MNLF, Ferrer recalled.

“We did discuss why the MNLF failed. One very clear reason is that the agreement was forged in September 1996 and President Fidel Ramos was ending his term by 1998. So phases 1 and two were not completed within the administration,” Ferrer told Rappler.

According to Ferrer, that created a lot of problems especially since the next administration of Estrada was not supportive of the whole process.

Back to armed struggle?

Hashim resented how the Aquino government belittled the ARMM, asserting that it is not the fault of the MNLF.

“It’s the fault of the government because they did not implement the agreement itself. It was not implemented fully,” Hashim said.

Hashim cited two provisions of the 1996 peace agreement which were also contained in the the law creating the ARMM:

  • MNLF forces were not fully integrated into the Armed Forces of the Philippines
  • Islamic courts Sharia remained under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of the Philippines

“Ginagawa lang palang experiment ang series of talks,” the MNLF leader lamented. (The talks are just being used as an experiment)

Hashim said that the Framework Agreement unilaterally aborted the 1996 peace agreement. He added that MNLF factions are left with no choice but to abandon ARMM itself and reassert their call for independence.

“We are not in favor of nor do we desire [the deal with the MILF] because it violates the 1996 peace agreement. The real MNLF has no resource but to go back to its original demand of full independence,” a defiant Hashim said.

While he gave an assurance that his group will not take drastic actions, he noted that “armed struggle is one of the means of pursuing independence.”

Still a force to reckon with?

Over time, MNLF has splintered into 3 main factions led by Nur Misuari, Muslimin Sema, and Hashim. Of the factions, Hashim and Misuari are the most vocal in opposing the peace deal with the MILF.

The group of Sema, who is Cotabato City Vice Mayor, is believed to be the largest among the factions and supports the peace deal with the MILF.

Hashim claimed his group controls at least 10,000 armed forces on the ground, though government data dispute this. Misuari claimed that about 17,000 armed MILF forces will rejoin the MNLF because of the peace plan signed on Monday.

But Prof Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, a member of the government panel negotiating with the MNLF, told Rappler that the claims are “way, way beyond the actual number.”

When the peace accord was signed in 1996, the MNLF’s strength was at nearly 14,000, according to AFP spokesperson Arnulfo Burgos Jr. The MILF, on the other hand, grew into about 12,000 armed troops.

In the 1990’s, about 5,000 MNLF forces were integrated into the AFP and the Philippine National Police, Ferrer added.

Separate tables

Hashim said that a senior MNLF official from Misuari’s camp informed him on October 14, the eve of the signing of the peace plan, that the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is organizing a meeting among MNLF factions to be hosted by the Indonesian government.

Kanya-kanya kami (We went separate ways) but we are not quarreling among ourselves. We have a common objective,” Hashim said.

He said that the agenda of the meeting in Indonesia would be to unify the MNLF factions and discuss their next moves.

But according to Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles, the government has not been informed about the gathering.

“We know that OIC is very interested and will help to bring the different Bangsamoro groups together. They agreed that this is a golden opportunity for the entire Bangsamoro to unite. We welcome this development if this pushes through. It will make the difficult tasks ahead easier,” Deles told Rappler.

Two negotiations are simultaneously taking place, according to Ferrer. “We’re negotiating with the MILF and there’s the review process with the MNLF, but they address the same thing,” Ferrer said.

The GRP-MNLF peace agreement, which OIC brokered, is now being reviewed to resolve disagreements on the implementation of sensitive provisions of the peace pact.

“The Indonesian government is very supportive of finding a way that the two processes converge,” Ferrer said.

Representatives from the OIC and Indonesian government witnessed the signing of the Framework Agreement.

Get on board

Naiintindihan natin kung saan sila nanggagaling, ang feeling nila nale-left out sill dito sa process na ito. Pero, as far as government is concerned ino-open naman natin yung process,” Ferrer said.

(We understand where they’re coming from. They felt left out in the peace process. But as far as government is concerned, we are opening the process to them.)

The unfinished agenda with the MNLF can be incorporated in the new Bangsamoro law, according to Ferrer.

Ferrer hopes that the convergence of the parallel peace efforts with MILF and the MNLF will be the basic law, the transition commission and the 2016 election contemplated by the Framework Agreement.

Ferrer stressed that the peace deal is not only for the MILF but for the entire Moro people.

“The agenda is not the problem, it’s really the people, the leadership,” Ferrer said, emphasizing that “it’s really their call if they will get on board or not while the process is underway.”

“We are embarking on a road map to achieve just and lasting peace in Mindanao. We continue to call on everyone to be part of the solution, not the problem,” Deles said. – Rappler.com


Read the full text of President Noynoy Aquino’s speech: Agreement paves way for enduring peace in Mindanao

Read the full text of the Framework Agreement between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on the establishment of the new autonomous political entity, Bangsamoro, that will replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

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