IN PHOTO- (fr. left to right)- Datu Muslimen Sema, Chair of the MNLF Bangsamoro Peoples’ Assembly, Yusoph Jikiri, Chairman, MNLF Council of 20, MILF Chair Al Haj Muard Ebrahim, and MILF 1st Vice Chairman, and also Chair of the BTC Ghazali Jaafar

After 40 Years, MNLF and MILF Together Again

• Dec 1, 2017
• Abdulazis Ibn Hashim, Luwaran
• HITS: 4565

Cotabato City, Philippines – The recent Bangsamoro Assembly held on November 26-27, 2017 at Simuay, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao where at least more than a million people from all walks of life attended was an extraordinary occasion for the Bangsamoro people.

Aside from the very strong and popular support showed by the Bangsamoro masses for passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), it also proves that the BBL can unify the two major Moro Fronts, the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). 

“It was good and very welcome development for us”, said Abdulbasit Benito, the Executive Director of the Regional Reconciliation and Unification Commission (RRUC) of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). 

One clear proof why the BBL has become a real unifying factor for the MNLF, and the MILF was the presence of prominent leaders of the two big Moro groups in the assembly, sitting side by side from the start of the program in the morning of November 27 up to its culmination in the afternoon.

 Datu Mus Sema also participated in the press conference early evening on that day joining Chairman Al haj Murad, MILF PIP Chair Mohagher Iqbal, BTC Chair Jaafar, and GPH PIP Chair Nabil Tan, said Benito, who is also a peace advocate.

Although Prof. Nur Misuari, Chair of the MNLF was not there, some of his supporters including his former lieutenants were seen in the assembly to show their support and solidarity with the Bangsamoro.  

In retrospect, it was in 1976, when Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi brokered a peace negotiation between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines, and Misuari which led to the signing of the 1976 GRP-MNLF Tripoli Agreement where the MNLF accepted the Philippine Government's offer of semi-autonomy for Mindanao Region.

In late 1977, the late Hashim Salamat and 57 MNLF officers broke away from MNLF. The group was initially known as "The New Leadership". After which Salamat moved the new organization first to Cairo, Egypt and then, in 1980, to Lahore, Pakistan, where it engaged in diplomatic activities. In 1983, the group of Salamat adopted Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) as its official name. It took place in Camp Abubakar As-Sidddique.

In January 1987, the MNLF accepted the Philippine Government's offer of semi-autonomy for Muslim Mindanao leading to the establishment of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao on 6 November 1990. 

The MILF, however, refused to accept the autonomy. A general cessation of hostilities was signed in Manila in July 1997 between the GRP, and the MILF but was voided in 2000 by the Philippine Armed Forces during the administration of President Joseph Estrada who declared all-out war against the MILF.  

Major encounters were fought in Mindanao between the military, and MILF Forces resulting to a big number of casualties on both sides.

Under President Gloria Arroyo, the government entered into a cease-fire agreement with the MILF, and resumed peace talks, but in 2003, she also declared all-out war against the MILF, and bombed Boliok Peace Complex.

On October 2015, MILF and the MNLF signed a “unified declaration” calling for the approval of the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) as an embodiment of each other’s separate peace pacts with Malacañang.

The two groups who warned for a rejection of a “diluted BBL,” was witnessed by representatives from civil society organizations, and officials of the Malaysian-led International Monitoring Team (IMT).

In his speech during the Assembly, Sema stressed the need for the two fronts to converge.  “There are uncertainties in our collective pursuit. Nonetheless, the general atmosphere in our homeland demands that we must be decisive and take a firm united stand taking into consideration the consequences of a failed implementation”, Sema said.

“ Thus, the need to converge becomes more imperative and as far as the MNLF is concerned, agreeing to converge in the BBL is the most logical action to be taken instead of pursuing a line that is no longer parallel but totally opposite to the position of the MILF” he added.

In a separate interview by Luwaran.com Presidential Spokesperson Atty. Harry Roque, said that President Duterte’s proposal for a special session by Congress is a clear indication that the president is true to his promise, and sincere in restoring peace in Mindanao by rectifying historical injustices against the Bangsamoro people.

Although President Duterte did mention the BBL in his half an hour speech, he emphasized the inclusivity of the process, and mentioned about the one day, one session with the Moro Fronts in the Congress, and this is what exactly happening at the moment, Benito added.

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