Islamic group presses PH to honor pact with MNLF

From the Manila Standard Today (Nov 20): Islamic group presses PH to honor pact with MNLF

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation, which brokered the 1996 peace agreement between the government and Muslim rebel groups in Mindanao, pressed the Aquino administration to honor the pact and implement its provisions, rebel leaders said on Monday. In a resolution approved during its 39th session at Djibouti, Eastern Africa, on November 15-17 the OIC renewed calls for implementation of the peace agreement “so that lasting peace and comprehensive development can be achieved for the Bangsamoro people.” “The Philippines must show flexibility to allow progress on pending major difficulties … sponsor the request by the Moro National Liberation Front for a new plebiscite under neutral supervision to consult the population on whether they are willing to join the autonomous rule region,” the resolution said. The pan-Islamic group, which is composed of 57 Muslim countries all over the world, has played a consultative role in the recent framework agreement signed last October between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. The agreement stopped the Muslim secessionist war in Mindanao. The MILF, a breakaway group, continued the war when the MNLF signed the 1996 peace agreement. The recent framework agreement also silenced their guns. The OIC said it welcomed the framework agreement and expressed hope that “it will be implemented in good faith and that its fate will be different from that of its predecessors.” It invited the Philippine government and the MILF, which attended the OIC meeting, to attend its ministerial conference as guests as a means to facilitate coordination between the two sides. It also urged OIC members states to increase medical, humanitarian, economic and technical assistance to southern Philippines to accelerate its social and economic development....



Resolution. Former MNLF chief Nur Misuari attends a meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation in Djibouti, where the group pressed the Aquino administration to honor its 1996 peace agreement with the Moro National Liberation Front.

http://manilastandardtoday.com/2012/11/20/islamic-group-presses-ph-to-honor-pact-with-mnlf/