By Rexcel Sorza, IOL Correspondent

ILOILO CITY, June 18 (IslamOnline.net) – The Philippines failed anew in its long-time bid to become an official member of the Organization of Islamic Conference as an observer, the Filipino Foreign Minister confirmed.

Delia Albert, who was invited by the Turkish government to attend the 31st Session of Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers, said Thursday, June 17, the government’s bid for an observer’s seat was not taken up in the meeting.

Albert said procedural and not political or partisan reasons led to the decision of the pan-Islamic body of 57 nations to defer all applications for observer status.

"No country had blocked the application of the Philippines ," Albert said in a report to President Gloria Arroyo, which was made public by the Presidential palace.

The Foreign Ministers’ conference was held in the Turkish city of Istanbul from 14-16 June. Albert attended along with two other government officials. The Moro National Liberation Front, which is recognized as the sole and legitimate representation of the Filipino Muslims to the OIC, likewise sent a delegation.

Many Applicants

Albert explained that "the OIC has never received these many applicants for observer status and there is a strong desire for the OIC to engage these applicants in a more meaningful manner."

Contrary to media reports, "we received many expressions of categorical support and even a formal endorsement in plenary," Albert told Arroyo, adding, it was decided that an experts group would be set up to study the issue of OIC observers.

The reports said that at least two members of the OIC, who belong to the powerful Committee of Eight and previously supported the Philippine bid, have turned around. One is a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the other is a Middle East country.

Securing an observer seat and the goodwill of the Conference is deemed crucial for the Philippine government in its efforts to end the protracted strife in Mindanao, and bring to a successful conclusion its peace negotiations with the MILF, a group fighting to reclaim the land it says belongs to the Filipino Muslims but was illegally annexed to the Philippine territory.

Only three states have so far been accepted as OIC observers. These are Bosnia and Herzegovina , Central African Republic and the Kingdom of Thailand .

Difficult

Filipino Muslim citizens and leaders see it as difficult for the Philippine government to get the observer seat because it was already given to the Moro National Liberation Front, a predecessor of the MILF that inked a peace deal with the government in 1996 under the auspices of the OIC.

Apart from the MNLF, only the Turkish Muslim Community of Kibris occupies an observer seat under the category Muslim communities and minorities.

"The OIC has already recognized the MNLF and I think this is where the problem is. A state has to be represented only by one party, and, in this case, it is remote for the Philippine government to snatch the observer’s seat from the MNLF," Ismail Macalanggan, an Islamic studies graduate student, told IslamOnline.net.

MNLF officials Isnaji Alvarez, Mujahab Hashim, and Hatimil Hassan have publicly urged the OIC not to grant the Philippine government an observer status, pending full implementation of the 1996 peace accord.

Assurances

But the Philippine government was upbeat that it would finally become a member of the organization of 57 states that "decided to pool their resources together, combine their efforts and speak with one voice to safeguard the interest and ensure the progress and well-being of their peoples and those of other Muslims in the world over."

Albert said on June 5 that she was assured by Libya , a member of the OIC Committee of the Eight that monitors the plight of Muslims in this Southeast Asian state, it would push for its membership. She also said Morocco and Bahrain have renewed their assurance of support.

On another matter, Albert reported that "the OIC has determined that the Philippines is in full compliance with our 1996 peace agreement with the MNLF with the completion of Phase I of the agreement, which covers security and political matters."

"The OIC has also recognized that we are making progress in implementing Phase II, or the economic and social phase of the agreement," Albert added.

The MILF submitted a position paper to the OIC Foreign Ministers’ meeting reiterating its resolve to end the decades-old conflict with the Philippine government through the negotiating table.

It said that given the latest development, that of the deployment of the Malaysian-led team which checked on the adherence of both parties to their cease-fire agreement, it hopes peace would finally reign over Mindanao .

The OIC, or at least some of its members, provided big help brokering the peace treaty signed by the government and the Moro National Liberation Front in 1996.

More than 70,000 former MNLF separatists are now back in the mainstream of society through foreign-funded programs that have rehabilitated them into productive citizens helping spur the economy, although critics say foreign financial assistance ended up in the hands of a few leaders.