File photo of deceased Salamat

Rexcel John Sorze, IOL Correspondent

ILOILO CITY, Philippines, August 6 (IslamOnline.net) - Tributes and messages of sympathy from both friends and foes have been pouring in for the deceased founder and leader of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), Salamat Hashim, who succumbed to heart failure on July 13, while still fighting for an independent Islamic state for the Muslims in Mindanao.

Extending his condolences to Salamat’s family, the leaders and members of MILF, the fighters of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces and the Moro people, Gregorio Rosal, spokesperson of the Communist Party of the Philippines, said Salamat’s demise "saddens us."

In a statement sent to IslamOnline.net Wednesday, August 6, Rosal hailed Salamat's "militancy and revolutionary leadership" asserting he "was a great fighter and leader of the Moro people."

The party, which is fighting for a communist state, said that with the MILF's establishment under Salamat, "the Moro people's revolutionary armed struggle gained renewed vigor and determination after the Moro National Liberation Front betrayed it with its acquiescence to the Tripoli Agreement during the U.S.-Marcos dictatorship and the MNLF's eventual surrender during the U.S.-Ramos regime."

Rosal further added that the "renewed advance of the MILF's armed struggle for liberation and self-determination is absolutely just in the face of the continued exploitation and oppression of the Moro people at the hands of the reactionary neocolonial Manila government."

He also said Salamat "was very open to the formation of a national revolutionary united front."

Rosal argued that the deceased MILF leader "had great trust in the Communist Party of the Philippines, the New People's Army and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines."

Under Salamat’s leadership, Rosal said, the CPP-NDF-NPA and the MILF-BIAF developed a good and fruitful revolutionary alliance that started way back in 1980 but was formalized only in 1999.

Because they have held fast to their weapons, Rosal added, the MILF under Salamat's leadership "has avoided the capitulationist road and has defended its integrity against attempts by both the Estrada and Arroyo governments to subsume the MILF to their authority."

Spartan leader

Murad, MILF military chief, has been appointed to replace deceased Salamat

Jose de Venecia, speaker of the lower house of the Philippine Congress, praised Salamat as "one of the great Muslim visionaries of Southeast Asia who brought Mindanao to the dawn of a final peace settlement."

De Venecia, who was perhaps the first Christian leader to set foot at the MILF’s Camp Abubakar in Maguindanao province, remembered Salamat as a "reformist and Spartan leader who lived among his people in poverty."

He said that during the last few months Salamat steered the often-troubled peace process back to the negotiating table and put it on track towards a final settlement with the Philippine government under the aegis of Malaysia, Indonesia, Libya and the Organization of Islamic Conference.

"He was a friend and he brought the peace negotiations to the final stage, " de Venecia said in a statement sent to IOL.

He added: "It is unfortunate that he did not live to see the final fruit of his years of toil and sacrifice."

Recalling his 1997 meeting with Salamat where they conferred in Salamat’s residence in Camp Abubakar De Venecia said, "We discussed the prospects of peace for two hours – and we were on track toward pushing for a final settlement."

Great Loss

The Moro Christian Peoples’ Alliance, on the other hand, said Salamat’s death was a "great loss to their struggle for self-determination" while hailing him as "a great and praiseworthy leader of the Bangsamoro people."

To MCPA spokesperson Datu Cosain Naga, Salamat "showed sincerity in pursuing their goal, if possible, through peaceful means by participating earnestly in the peace negotiations" despite "his firm belief in the armed revolutionary struggle, as the only solution to the Moro peoples’ quest for genuine freedom."

"Hashim’s leadership should be duly credited for his firm resolve not to surrender arms, demanded by the government’s peace package, unless a tangible result of the peace talks was assured. Through this, he has genuinely upheld the interests of the Bangsamoro people," Naga said in a press release, a copy of which was received by IOL.

"We hope that the death of Salamat Hashim would not mean the death of the peace talks. The government has yet to reciprocate the sincerity of the MILF in pursuing the peace talks, " he said.

"We say this because it cannot be denied that the government has time and again concocted schemes that could have derailed the peace talks, such as the Pikit attack and the allegations that the MILF is responsible for the bombings in Mindanao despite the lack of evidence."

Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte expressed sadness over Salamat’s demise: "We are sad because he would have been critical to the resolution of this conflict in Mindanao.

"I'm sure that we have lost somebody we can deal with to complete the story in our quest for a successful solution on what ails the island of Mindanao."

Murad Welcomed

Al Hadj Murad Ebrahim’s assumption of Salamat’s post has likewise been welcomed by all parties.

Rosal said his group was "happy to know that the MILF has announced the assumption of Brother Al Haj Murad of the Chairmanship of the MILF Central Committee.

"We also consider him a friend and ally of the CPP-NDF-NPA. We are confident that Chairman Murad will continue Chairman Salamat's brilliant work."

He added that under the "new leadership, we foresee the continuing positive relationship and cooperation between the CPP-NDF-NPA and the MILF-BIAF even as the Moro and Filipino peoples continue to advance their revolutionary struggle against US imperialism and the puppet regime."

De Venecia also welcomed Murad calling him a "close personal friend and a person of humility and Spartan discipline. "

Murad will have to learn to be both a political leader and a military commander, he noted.

Duterte, for his part, said he would be willing to have a personal talk with Murad anytime they so wish.

The MILF, he said, "can choose the place and I'll go there alone if they want. As I said before I always respect the leaders of the MILF…I'll be happy to work under Murad or whoever is there for as long as the standard is fairness."