Misuari was never at OIC meeting, says DFA

From InterAksyon (Dec 11): Misuari was never at OIC meeting, says DFA

Contrary to the claims of the Moro National Liberation Front spokesman, MNLF founding chairman Nur Misuari never showed up at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting at the Republic of Guinea in Africa, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday.

In a text message, DFA spokesman Raul Hernandez debunked the claim of MNLF spokesman Atty. Emmanuel Fontanilla that Misuari, who reportedly slipped out of the country Dec. 7, had proceeded to the meeting of the OIC, where the MNLF has a permanent observer status.

This week’s OIC meeting came amid repports that the Southern Philippines Peace Committee of the Islamic bloc had been pitching to Manila the holding of tripartite talks among OIC, the Philippine government and the MNLF in a bid to resolve the rupture created by the Misuari bloc’s involvement in the 21-day siege of Zamboanga City in September, that left hundreds killed and some 10,000 homes destroyed.

In debunking Fontanilla’s claim, Hernandez quoted the DFA representative at the OIC meeting, Undersecretary Rafael Seguis, as reporting that Misuari never attended the said meeting. "Usec Rafael Seguis just informed me that the OIC meetings are on their third and last day and [are] about to end with the adoption of resolutions and closing speeches," Hernandez said.

The MNLF seat was “vacant," Hernandez quoted Seguis reporting.

The DFA has alerted the Bureau of Immigration and the DFA’s foreign posts abroad about Misuari's cancelled passport, which makes it illegal for him to ttravel, or for anyone to assist him to exit the country.

A hold-departure order was imposed on Misuari since October, shortly after the three-week hostage standoff which he is accused of masterminding.

The MNLF founding chairman, who in 1996 signed a historic peace agreement with the Philippine government and then was elected governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, has been charged with rebellion and crimes against humanity for the Zamboanga siege.

Earlier, Fontanilla claimed Misuari is in West Africa after being able to slip through the security forces' cordon in Mindanao and out of the so-called Southern Philippines' backdoor. He supposedly reached Sulawesi, Indonesia by sea then boarded a plane to the Middle East, where his family has supposedly gone.

The OIC sent Misuari a letter-invitation dated November 24 for him to attend the  meeting as the "sole" representative of the MNLF. The Philippines has also been trying to apply for a similar status-- permanent observer-- in the conference, but the MNLF is said to be blocking this, saying there was "no need" for the country to be part of the influential Islamic bloc.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/76648/misuari-was-never-at-oic-meeting-says-dfa