MILF to Aquino: Solve, not manage, conflict
CAMP DARAPANAN, Philippines - The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has called on President Benigno Aquino III to solve the problems of the Bangsamoro people in Mindanao, and not merely manage the conflict.
Murad told reporters at a a Foreign Correspondent Association of the Philippines (FOCAP) forum held at a former rebel camp in Mindanao that he sees the new administration in positive light.
He welcomed the appointment of a new presidential adviser on the peace process and Aquino's recent State of the Nation Address that revealed plans of continuing talks between the government with the MILF.
However, Murad said he was bothered by the president’s choice of words in describing the unrest in the south.
"The president misread the real problem, in which the root cause (of the Mindanao conflict) is the struggle for sovereignty," he explained.
The conflict is not just rooted on concerns like the delivery of basic services, economic development, and security reform, according to Murad.
"If you will see, they’re adopting the same aproach, crushing the rebellion, which is a mere effort to manage the situation" he stressed, urging Aquino to avoid following the footsteps of his predecessors.
"(Then-President Joseph) Estrada thought that if he takes (Camp) Abubakar, he can crush the MILF. That is a mistake," he said.
Continuing talks
The MILF, which Murad claims has around 120,000 fighters, wants to continue talks with the government.
"We have already signed with the government 87 or so documents of various nature and importance," he said.
He believes that the controversial Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) will never be either signed or renegotiated.
However, Murad said the government and the MILF are committed to reframe the agreement's consensus points and move toward a "comprehensive compact" to bring about a negotiated political settlement to the Mindanao conflict.
The MILF chief also dismissed the government’s offer of an enhanced autonomy for Muslim Mindanao.
"If we go back to zero, what’s the use? If that’s the policy of the new administration, there will be no end," Murad said, adding that Malacañang should also follow agreed protocols if it wants to continue peace talks.
Ending the war
Murad said a recent statement by Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Ricardo David is "threatening and provocative."
"That the government will crush the New People’s Army and the MILF by 2013 is causing jitters to an already uncertain future" he added.
According to Murad, MILF forces have been fighting for almost 40 years.
"We want to finish this in our lifetime. The present generation is almost passing away" he stressed.
Printer-friendly version
Send to friend
Share your views
Ano Punto?
Tumiwalag sila sa MNLF dahil ayaw nila sa kagustuhan ni Nur Misuari na maging bahagi sila ng Republika. Ano masasabi ninyo dito?
Paano Nagkaroon ng MILF?
Moro Islamic Liberation Front(MILF)
Ang Moro Islamic Liberation Front o MILF ay isang grupong separatistang sa Timog Pilipinas. naka aktibo sila sa sariling tinatawag na moro. Ito ay nasa Timog na bahagi ng Mindanao, kapuluan ng Sulu, Palawan, Basilan at Borneo ang mga katabing pulo.
Matanong ko kayo, mga estudyante, pulitiko, reporter at taumbayan. Alam ba ninyo kung paano nagkaroon ng MILF? Basahin at intindihin.
History
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front is a group established by supporters of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), a rebel organization formed in the 1960s following the Jabidah massacre. The MNLF established the formation of an independent Islamic state in the southern Philippines and took part in terrorist[3][4] attacks and assassinations to achieve their goals. The government in Manila did not recognize this demand and sent troops into the southern Philippines to control the insurgency. The MILF was established in 1981 when Salamat Hashim and his followers split from the MNLF, due to the MNLF's reluctance to launch an insurgency against the Philippine government and its supporters.
In January 1987, the MNLF accepted the Philippine government's offer of semi-autonomy of the regions in dispute, subsequently leading to the establishment of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao. The MILF, however, refused to accept this offer and continued their insurgency operations. A general cessation of hostilities between the government in Manila and the MILF was signed in July 1997 but this agreement was abolished in 2000 by the Philippine Army under the administration of former Philippine president Joseph Estrada. In response, the MILF declared a jihad (holy war) against the government, its citizens and supporters. A cease-fire treaty was signed by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
Despite peace negotiations and cease-fire agreement, the MILF attacked government troops in Maguindanao resulting in at least twenty-three deaths in January 2005. The combined armies of the MILF and Abu Sayyaf were involved in days of fighting which necessitated government troops using heavy artillery to engage rebel forces.