December 28, 2011: The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) had held another round of dialogue with leaders of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), this time in Zamboanga City, last December 15.

Earlier in October this year, a meeting was held in Davao City. The MNLF was represented by Ustadz Murshi Ebrahim, MNLF Secretary General, while the MILF by Jun Mantawil, head of the MILF peace panel secretariat.

Abdulla Camlian, a member of the MILF peace panel, and Hadji Salem Sahaji, an MILF political officer based in Western Mindanao, represented the MILF in the Zamboanga City meeting, which discussed initial recommendations to realize the formula of unity in diversity in the heels of efforts by officials of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to fast track the organization of the Bangsamoro Consultative Forum (BCF).

The MNLF was represented by 15 of its leaders, some of whom are senior members of its central Committee.

On December 6-7, under the sponsorship of the OIC, a three-man delegation from each the MILF and MNLF met in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to discuss the creation of a coordinating council wherein all major Moro revolutionary organizations will be represented.

MNLF Chairman Nur Misuari was in Jeddah during the meeting but did not attend any of the sessions.

Camlian told www.luwaran.com that the Zamboanga meeting was a follow-up to the initial dialogue that took place in Maharlika Village in Taguig City last November where members of the MILF peace panel held an informal meeting with three senior leaders of the MNLF.

He disclosed that the MILF-MNLF meeting in Zamboanga City, which opened at 10:00 a.m. and adjourned at 4:30 p.m., centered on the urgency and the need to pursue and implement the provisions of the Tajikistan Resolution of the Organization of Islamic Conference calling for unity, cooperation and solidarity of the MILF, MNLF, and the Bangsamoro.

One prominent leader of the MNLF, who requested anonymity, “underscored the stark reality that the aspirations of the Bangsamoro have yet to be achieved. He reminded the group not to lose sight of the litany of failures and disappointments” over the years.

On his part, Camlian conveyed the greetings of the MILF Leadership to the MNLF brothers and reiterated the firm stand of the Front to support the MNLF’s call for the GPH to fully implement the 1996 Final Peace Agreement (FPA).

However, he emphasized that the present talks between the MNLF and GPH is no longer a negotiation but merely a review of the implementation of such agreements --- and it had already concluded in Solo, Indonesia early this year.

“There is only one track of negotiations left which is the GPH- MILF negotiation track,” he stressed.

Asked to provide details of the meeting, Camlian answered in the negative, saying that the deliberations were given in confidence and should not be breached.

“It is for internal consumptions among brothers,” he stressed.