Deles has message for Misuari

From ABS-CBN (Sep 18): Deles has message for Misuari

Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita "Ging" Deles has a piece of advice for Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and its founding chairman, Nur Misuari.

"You cannot have peace without justice and you cannot have a durable peace where you cannot enforce the rule of law," Deles told Misuari during an interview with ANC's "Headstart."

"Clearly you cannot have peace when...you are talking on the table and they put a gun on your head. That cannot be allowed," she added.

"Peace will always have to be based on what is the right thing to do. Peace will have to be based on thinking on what is good for the people," Deles said.

She said the government has been meeting with Misuari's camp as well as various factions of the MNLF on the tripartite review of the implementation of the 1996 final peace agreement facilitated by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

Another meeting has been set in Yogyakarta, Indonesia supposedly last Monday, but Deles said Misuari asked for a postponement.

Misuari's faction laid siege on Zamboanga City on September 9, about a month after the MNLF leader declared independence for Mindanao, Palawan and parts of Malaysia.

The declaration of independence was triggered by what the MNLF believes is the government's abandonment of the tripartite review in favor of holding peace talks with an MNLF breakaway group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Deles warned the MNLF rebels loyal to Misuari that the government is ready for them no matter what happens.

"To the MNLF who want to continue to engage with government, we are ready. We are ready for you," she said.

But for MNLF members who do not want to side with Misuari, she said: "Don't let them hold us up. Don't let them hold us hostage. Don't let the peace process be held hostage by people who cannot see what is the best for the people that they claim to represent."

MNLF is not one voice

Noting that the MNLF is "not one organization" nor "one voice," Deles said the government has tried to reach out to various groups and communities regarding the ongoing peace talks with the MILF.

She said many people actually support the peace process and are unhappy with the ongoing standoff in Zamboanga City.

Leaders of other MNLF factions in other areas in Mindanao are also saddened by the crisis in Zamboanga, she noted.

"What we keep on hearing from the community, many of them welcome the framework agreement and were calling on their leadership that now is the time to unite because we have the space. That is what we hear from many of the communities. They want peace, they want development," she said.

She also reiterated that Misuari's camp was invited to take part in the Bangsamoro framework agreement but "for some reason decided not to be part of it."

No all-out war vs Misuari-led MNLF

Deles also defended the government for the actions it has taken against the MNLF faction of Misuari.

She said government security forces have been enforcing not an all-out war but a "calibrated response" to contain violence and to protect civilians, who were held hostage and reportedly used as "human shields" by the rebels.

"That is why it has taken this long. An all-out war mentality would not care how many civilians would be caught in between."

"This government has cared and that is why it has been careful," she said.

Deles said she is leaving it to the Department of Justice (DOJ) whether to file a case against Misuari.

But she said: "It is clear that something like this cannot go unheeded. Some people will have to made accountable."

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/09/18/13/deles-has-message-misuari