South-East Asia

Hypocrisy guides Manila's talks with MILF

A Correspondent in Mindanao

Rabi' al-Awwal 27, 14181997-08-01

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The Manila regime is fond of talking from both sides of its mouth. It wants to talk peace with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) but the Filipino army continues its offensive against the mujahideen. This was again evident last month on Mindanao Island.

Nur Misuari, governor of the Muslim Autonomous Region in the south, met Hadji Murad, vice chairman of the MILF, at the behest of the Manila regime on July 9. As a government representative, he could only state what Manila had authorised him to say. He asked the MILF deputy chief to resume negotiations with the regime.

The MILF broke off peace talks after government forces stormed their base in Maguindanao province in June. The base was captured by the regime’s forces amid claims that it had killed 70 MILF fighters at the loss of 15 government soldiers. This was denied by Ghazali Jaafar, the MILF vice chairman for political affairs, who said that they had lost only 20 fighters as their base was overrun.

Following the Misuari-Murad talks at the MILF main base, Camp Abubaker in Maguindanao, Jaafar was reported by news agencies as saying that Murad had put forward the MILF conditions for resuming talks. The government forces must cease their offensive and withdraw from the MILF base they had captured in June.

The Filipino army did not accept these conditions entirely but a ceasefire that was to end on July 11 was extended for four days while Misuari held talks with Murad and report back to the presidential palace in Manila. ‘Returning to the negotiating table is not a problem to the MILF once the situation is normalised,’ Misuari said in his report to Manila.

The MILF, with more than 10,000 fighters, broke away from Misuari’s Moro National Liberation Front when the latter accepted less than the establishment of the Islamic State in the south. He did not even get control of the 13 provinces originally promised in the Tripoli accord of 1976. Misuari was lured by representatives of Muslim regimes through the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) and coaxed into settling for less than the minimum demands of the five million Moro Muslims. The Indonesian regime of general Suharto also played its role, exerting pressure on Misuari to compromise.

The final agreement between Manila and the MNLF was signed in Jakarta last September at which Misuari was offered the governorship of the Autonomous Region. It comprises only nine of the 13 provinces. He now serves the regime’s interests.

Another group, the Abu Sayaf Group, has adamantly refused to enter into any negotiations with the regime and has insisted on waging jihad to achieve their goal.

Last April even as negotiations were about to be resumed between the MILF and the Manila regime, the Filipino army launched its offensive in the town of Sirawai, in Zamboanga del Norte province. Army commanders arrogantly talked of clearing out ‘the rebels’ from their stronghold.

Jaafar, the MILF chief negotiator, accused the government of hypocrisy. He said that government troops ‘engage our forces in gunbattles and later go to the media to accuse us of provocation.’ This he had stated last April when the two sides were still at an exploratory stage of negotiations. Little has changed in three months.

President Fidel Ramos of the Philippines had promised a $2.1 billion development programme for poor areas in Mindanao and ordered a fast-tracking of projects after meeting Misuari in Manila on April 23. Nothing has come of that promise. Presidential executive secretary Ruben Torres blamed bureaucratic red tape for project delays.

Others accuse the government of insincerity and using delaying tactics when it comes to implementing its part of the bargain.

Muslimedia - August 1-15, 1997

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