Philippine negotiations to free hostages fail

From the Mindanao Examiner blog site (Sep 14): Philippine negotiations to free hostages fail



MNLF chieftain Nur Misuari, right, and his trusted lieutenant Ustadz Haber Malik during a plenum this year in Sulu province. (Mindanao Examiner)

Government negotiations to free nearly 200 civilian hostages being held by rebels in Zamboanga City have failed and heavy clashes on Friday erupted as security forces launched a deadly assault.

Troops, backed by armoured vehicles, assaulted positions being held by Moro National Liberation Front rebels in the villages of Santa Barbara and Santa Catalina. The fighting left at least two dozen people dead and many others wounded.

A mortar projectile fired by rebels also exploded outside a hospital wounding several Red Cross workers and civilian volunteers. Television journalists and news photographers covering the siege, which began on September 9, narrowly escaped the explosion.

The military said troops are fighting about 400 MNLF rebels headed by Ustadz Haber Malik who landed in coastal villages here and launched simultaneous attacks.

The Zamboanga City Council has passed and approved a resolution abiding by whatever decision President Benigno Aquino takes to resolve the crisis which is now entering its 6th day. This after the negotiations to free the hostages failed.

“Whereas, negotiations have been conducted by the Crisis Management Committee for the safe release of hostages and to end the armed conflict between the breakaway MNLF group of Nur Misuari and the government forces; WHEREAS, after a series of negotiations with the breakaway MNLF group of Nur Misuari, the peaceful means to end the hostage crisis and armed conflict failed.”

“Resolved, as it hereby resolves, to abide by the decision of His Excellency, Benigno S. Aquino III, on what action to be taken regarding the resolution of this crisis,” the resolution reads.

The City Council also approved another ordinance implementing the forced evacuation of civilians in the villages of Rio Hondo, Santa Barbara, Santa Catalina, Talon-Talon and Mampang - five days after the rebels attacked Zamboanga.

President Benigno Aquino also arrived Friday in Zamboanga to personally assess the situation. He was briefed by security officials about the worsening situation in Zamboanga and he later spoke to soldiers and distributed boxes of chocolate bars.

Aquino said authorities are gathering enough evidence to file criminal against those behind the violence in Zamboanga. The military blamed Misuari for the violence and Manila issued an ultimatum to rebels to end the fighting in Zamboanga, saying the government is prepared to exercise its resolve by using force.

MNLF chieftain Nur Misuari, who is now in hiding, has repeatedly accused Manila of reneging on a 1996 peace deal, an allegation strongly denied by the government. Under the peace agreement, Manila would have to provide a mini-Marshal Plan to spur economic development in Muslim areas in the south and livelihood and housing assistance to tens of thousands of former rebels to uplift their poor living standards.

“While the government is exhausting all avenues for a peaceful resolution to the situation, let it be clear to those defying us that they should not entertain the illusion that the state will hesitate to use its forces to protect our people. Instead, it is time for you to cooperate to resolve this situation peacefully at the soonest possible time,” Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda said.

This is the second attack staged by Misuari’s loyal followers in the last decade. In 2001, MNLF fighters also attacked a military base in Zamboanga City and another in Sulu province in an effort to stop the elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, to which Misuari was governor.

Misuari, who wanted to become “perpetual governor,” maintained that the autonomous region was created as part of a peace deal the MNLF signed with Manila. Misuari escaped to Malaysia following the failed rebellion, but he was arrested there and deported to the Philippines and jailed. He was eventually freed after he allegedly agreed to a deal to support President Gloria Arroyo’s election bid and her allies in the Senate and Congress in 2004.

The former Libyan firebrand was also removed as MNLF chairman in a coup d'état staged by his senior commanders that made up the so-called Council of 15. The MNLF Central Committee named Muslimin Sema, the Front's Secretary General, as its new chairman, But Misuari did not recognize Sema as the legitimate ruler of the MNLF and insisted that he is still the leader.

Misuari had been criticized for his tough stance and his refusal to abide by the MNLF decision that catapulted Sema into power. The MNLF said Misuari is not interested in unity and neither is he interested in adopting a Charter (for the MNLF) that will govern the conduct and behavior of its members and set a clear direction to where the Front is heading.

“The worst thing that could happen to a ship full of passengers is to have a captain who is indifferent and hostile to them and does not have a compass by which to navigate the ship,” the MNLF said, adding, Misuari wanted a perpetual leadership with nothing to guide it and no one to question it.

But the Organization of Islamic Conference then was worried that the MNLF under Sema would further fragment the group and set back the efforts of the peace accord. The MNLF is a permanent observer to Muslim body now called Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

Misuari had repeatedly announced that the peace deal he signed with the Manila is long dead and buried and that he named himself as President of the Bangsamoro Republik.

http://mindanaoexaminer.blogspot.com/2013/09/philippine-negotiations-to-free.html