MILF Chief Peace Negotiator Mohagher Iqbal Statement on 40th GPH-MILF Formal Exploratory Talks

Posted to the Mindanao Examiner blog site (Sep 11): MILF Chief Peace Negotiator Mohagher Iqbal Statement on 40th GPH-MILF Formal Exploratory Talks

AS WE START TODAY this 40th round of peace negotiation between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), MNLF forces under the leadership of Nur Misuari are creating pockets of disturbances especially in the coastal villages of Zamboanga City.

This is an unfortunate twist of development, because first, this is totally contrary to the official pronouncement of MNLF spokesmen that they will not use force to back up their declaration of independence; and second, violence only begets violence. I don’t think this would help the MNLF any way closer to their objective of whatever level or form of their aspiration.

I think it is time for all concerned parties to handle the issues of MNLF and Misuari in the most appropriate manner. It is not getting simpler as days go by. As mentioned, the declaration of independence and the indiscriminate planting of MNLF flags in many parts of Mindanao including the attempt to raise the flag at the City Hall of Zamboanga City are more than symbolic. I do not want to imagine it, but one clear complication, nay a casualty, is that the MNLF or at least Misuari has rendered the GRP-MNLF Final Peace Agreement (GRP-MNLF FPA) of 1996 moot and academic. For all intents and purposes, by the very acts of declaring independence and  their military adventurism in Zamboanga City, the MNLF or Misuari has unilaterally abrogated this agreement, and, therefore, cannot be invoked anymore, legally speaking.

Be that as it may, nothing is lost by our people and by our MNLF brothers in this “abrogation”. The best of what is in the GRP-MNLF FPA are already subsumed or entrenched even in the GPH-MILF Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB).  Many more will be captured or fleshed out once the MILF and GPH sign the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), hopefully very soon. More importantly, our brothers from the MNLF have nothing to worry about because the MILF is inclusive and, God willing, we will see to it that the fruits of our struggle will benefit everybody.

For the MILF, solving the Bangsamoro Question is not about franchise. Whoever will be able to address it, we support it. It just happened that Misuari, after having been given the opportunity, failed to consolidate their gains and lost steam at the last stretch of their engagement with the government. The GRP-MNLF FPA lacked enough mechanisms to withstand the test of time and adversity.

It is in the light of this development that I appeal to the collective wisdom of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to consider revisiting its usual approach to the GRP-MNLF FPA. As pointed out above, Misuari has literally abrogated this agreement and to continue factoring this into the current peace talks is causing complications. Besides, “convergence” of the two peace processes is simply not attainable or practical because both in forms and developments they are not congruent. The MNLF track has been virtually consummated, while the MILF’s is still a work in progress.

Meanwhile, the radical anarchists in Mindanao are also causing headaches for all of us. They do not want us to succeed for they do not believe in peace negotiations. They do not subscribe to any form of order brought about by any peaceful political settlement of the Bangsamoro Question except their own. The longer the peace negotiations drag on, the better they believe it is good for them. They merrily feast on our perceived failures.

However, the noises that they are creating nowadays do not mean they are getting stronger. Their very nature and the message they are espousing is not appealing or attractive to the vast majority of the people, especially their view that civilian casualties are a given in war. This is the reason they attack government forces and installations even in the middle of civilian populations. They don’t care about them.

Therefore, the best way to deprive them of any opportunity to put into play their anarchist agenda at the expense of the peace talks is for the parties to conclude their negotiation and without delay sign the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). There can be no other antidote to these rumblings except through this way.

For the moment, the MILF has very limited capacity to effectively address these various problems. We are still basically an underground movement. Only through limited engagement that we are effecting this partnership with government, mainly via the Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH), Ad Hoc Joint Action Group (AHJAG), Local Monitoring Teams (LMT) Bangsamoro Leadership and Management Institute (BLMI), Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA), Sajahatra Program, and the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC).

The full potentials of our people can only be realized once their empowerment is realized through the formation of the Bangsamoro Government. With it come power, resources and technical skills, not to state of the full cooperation or mobilization of the people. I could only imagine how strong and effective this would be if the Central Government and the Bangsamoro Government fully cooperate with each other in the near future.

For the MILF, however, addressing these multi-faceted problems require multi-track approach including, as a last resort, a firm and just use of force. Using force unnecessarily is creating more problems rather than solving one. One effective way to handle complex problems is to see it that the people are involved and they support it. It must be a popular decision with the people or at least their legitimate representatives are part of the decision-making.

Finally, in this round of negotiation, the parties will discuss normalization, alongside power-sharing. If power-sharing has been proved to be a hard nut to crack for more than a year, normalization, which has at its core individual and collective security, as well as that of the national government, is a sensitive and emotional issue. More than that, any haphazard handling will have far-reaching negative consequences for both sides.

For this reason, I would like to suggest that part of the discussion on normalization is about an honest-to-goodness risks analysis. Both the MILF and GPH have legitimate fears and concerns and clear vulnerabilities that have to be sincerely addressed or considered by the parties. As we all know, risk analysis is the process of defining and analyzing the dangers to individuals, groups, businesses and government agencies posed by potential natural and human-driven adverse events including defining the various threats, determining the extent of vulnerabilities and devising countermeasures should a threat or attack occur.

It is not real honest-to-goodness negotiation that we are in today if the parties do not face these harsh realities head on and offer solutions together with utmost sincerity, frankness, and partnership. And this partnership can only be proved lasting if it is firmly based on mutual consent and sound foundation based on truth, justice and realities. Any attempt of either party to short-change the other party will not only be known easily by the other party but it would not last long. We see this imagined grim scenario in what is unfolding before our eyes now in relation to the GRP-MNLF FPA, which is flawed in terms of content, implementation, and the actuations of the players. So, therefore, it is better to be honest all the way to the future.

In closing, it is my fervent hope that we would be able settle all the remaining issues on power-sharing and normalization, sign them, and bring home to our respective places and constituencies the good news of this historic success.

Thank you very much and good day!

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