MANILA: Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) founding chairman Nur Misuari yesterday ruled out efforts by the Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) for reunification of the MNLF with the rival Moro Islamic Liberation Front (Milf).
Misuari said the proposal for the reunification of the two rebel groups has been advocated by the OIC in the last two years amid attempts to reconcile their political objectives.
He said the Milf has insisted they are a separate group and must also be recognised by international bodies.
“No we cannot reunite with the Milf,” Misuari told reporters during a phone patch interview at the Rembrandt news forum in Quezon City.
He said the Milf has even sent representatives to lobby for their recognition but the OIC has ruled that there must be only one group to represent the Muslims in every country.
The objective of the Milf to set up an Islamic state was also rejected because the OIC and the United Nations support political, not religious, objectives.
The Milf broke away from the MNLF during the martial law years.
Misuari insisted the MNLF has been granted permanent observer status by the OIC as the sole representative of Muslims in the Philippines.
He said the statement of the OIC, as reported on Thursday, reaffirmed the status of the MNLF as the only group recognised by the OIC and that all peace agreements that concerned the Bangsamoro people must be based on the 1976 Tripoli Agreement and other international agreements.
Misuari said the OIC is now making diplomatic efforts to bring back the MNLF and the government to the negotiating table for the full implementation of the Tripoli Agreement and other accords.
The OIC is working to bring the two groups together to cooperate in establishing the Bangsamoro Coordination Council.
OIC secretary-general Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu proposed the holding of a tripartite meeting between the Philippine government, the MNLF and the OIC to “find practical and implementable solutions for the remaining unresolved issues.”
The proposed tripartite meeting is also expected to tackle difficulties in the full implementation of the MNLF’s 1996 Final Peace Agreement and any discrepancies that may exist between the agreements signed with the MNLF and the new framework agreement with the Milf.
“The issue will be discussed thoroughly by the next OIC Conference of Foreign Ministers scheduled to be held in Djibouti next month,” the OIC said.
Misuari, on the other hand, hastily left for Mindanao and cancelled his appearance at the Rembrandt news forum.
He claimed an arrest warrant has been issued and law enforcers were already waiting to arrest him for still unspecified charges.
In a phone patch interview from an undisclosed location in Mindanao, Misuari said his impending arrest was relayed to him by some friends in the media, close to Malacañang and the Department of Justice.
“I will not give my hands again to the government. I already experienced six years in jail on trumped up charges” Misuari said, referring to his six-year detention on the rebellion charges filed against him during the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Misuari accused the Milf of being behind the filing of the charges.
The Philippine star
