MILF wants big roles in leadership, governance
THE secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) expressed its demand to be a part of the leadership and governance of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
The matter is now being seriously considered by the President and his key aides.
If the Aquino government and the MILF come to a rapproachement and the rebel group becomes an earnest participant in reforming ARMM and fast-tracking its socio-economic development, peace in Mindanao is virtually assured even without a government-MILF peace agreement.The MILF has waged three decades of rebellion against the Philippine government in southern Philippines. Its rebellion has claimed the lives of thousands and stunted the growth of the predominantly Muslim region.
This could be a major break in the quest for an end to the bloody conflict in the South.
In 2008 a secret deal between the government of then-President Gloria Arroyo and the MILF that would have carved out part of southern Philippines to form the MILF’s semi-independent state under the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD), opponents went to the Supreme Court and succeeded in getting the agreement declared unconstitutional.
The MILF’s expressed interest to participate in governing ARMM is perceived as a major shift from its previous stance of not recognizing the Philippine Constitution and considering itself as a belligerent force seeking an independent state in southern Philippines where the residents would be called “Bangsa Moro.”
An MILF key leader who also asked not to be identified said that the “softening” of the MILF’s position is a result of the group’s perception of sincerity on the part of Mr. Aquino, whose mother, the late President Corazon Aquino, brought back the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) to the peace table that resulted in the signing of the 1996 Peace Accord.
Radical change
Analysts closely studying the MILF over the years, however, suggested that the radical change in the rebel group’s stance could be an offshoot of recent international developments involving radical Islamist groups and the death of acknowledged Islamist leader Osama bin Laden.
The MILF has been linked to bin Laden’s al-Qaeda and the Asian Islamic group Jemaah Islamiyah. It was believed to have received support from groups working for the establishment of a “Pan-Islamic” nation that would include southern Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and southern Philippines.
The MILF has consistently denied this.
Whatever the reasons are, the MILF’s position now opens a new window of opportunity for the Aquino administration to end the conflict with the secessionist group.
Fifteen years after ARMM was established, the autonomous region’s people are still the poorest in the country and the regional government has earned the tag of being the most corrupt and inept government entity. Extract from Manila Times
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