|
Islamic Forces to Forge Reunification Accord in Mindanao
by Kazi Mahmood
MANILA, Aug 3 (IslamOnline) - The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) will sign in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, a "reunification pact" aimed at bolstering the Mindanao peace process, a key MILF official said Thursday.
Ghadzali Jaafar, MILF vice chairman for military affairs, emphasized that the reunification of the two groups is "not for tactical purposes".
He said it was for Muslims in the south to forge a common stand in finding lasting solutions to the "Mindanao conflict", adding that the agreement might be signed any time this month in Malaysia.
"We will reunite not to become a strong rebel force, but to become one in working out peaceful solutions to the centuries-old Mindanao problem," Jaafar said.
MILF leader Hashim Salamat, in an interview with IslamOnline last month, said his movement would invite all Muslims in Mindanao, irrespective of their political alignment, to join in efforts to rebuild the region.
He said the MNLF, and even the Abu Sayyaf group, would join the peace process in Mindanao, once an agreement was signed with Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's government in Manila.
The MILF said it was forging the accord with the MNLF and would probably invite other groups to join in at a later stage.
Jaafar said the MILF's central committee is pushing for the accord with the MNLF's new central leadership, the Council of 15, and not with Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARRM) Governor Nur Misuari.
The Council of 15, composed of key MNLF leaders, among them Cotabato City Mayor Muslimin Sema and Sulu Governor Yusoph Jikiri, ousted Misuari as the MNLF's chairman last April because of loss of trust and confidence in his leadership.
Misuari is battling against an internal "coup" and has insisted that he would remain leader of the MNLF and governor of the ARRM as long as he is not legally removed.
The Philippines government is organizing fresh polls in Mindanao, a move which could ultimately mean the end of Misuari's political career, sources said.
Jaafar said the MILF's central committee now recognizes the Council of 15 as the MNLF's legitimate leadership.
Sema, and other members of the council, have been secretly negotiating since 1996 for the reunification of the two Fronts in order to enhance the implementation of the government-MNLF peace pact signed on September 2, 1996.
The MILF, led by Salamat, is a breakaway faction of the MNLF. Salamat helped Misuari organize the MNLF in the late 1960s, but broke away due to differences.
In 1983, Salamat organized the MILF, set up its base in Maguindanao, and linked up with foreign groups for support.
As a result of the reunification of the two groups, the Moro people will have a single representation and full member status within the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC).
|
