Muslim groups urge MILF, MNLF to unite

From the Mindanao Examiner blog site (Dec 1): Muslim groups urge MILF, MNLF to unite


Muslims groups here have called on two Moro fronts to unify their efforts in advancing the interests of the Bangsamoro people.

“[The unity between the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)] is very important. This is to facilitate discussions in the peace process,” Ali T. Yacub, president of a Muslim group called Golden Crescent.

Yacub, who is also one of the conveners of the Interreligious Solidarity Movement for Peace in this city, said there is a need for the two fronts to come into terms and address their differences.

Both fronts have been at odds for years due to ideology differences and to some extend the issue of Moro ethnolinguistic division. The MNLF has huge followers in Western Mindanao, while the MILF controls the mainland Mindanao.

“Unity of purpose is the emphasis not the movement,” said Alih Sakaluran Aiyub, of the Darul Ifta of the Philippines.

The Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has earlier created a Bangsamoro Coordination Forum as one of the solutions to unite the two Moro fronts in Mindanao to solve their difference in the ideologies.

Earlier, Prof. Ekemelddin Ihsanoglu, Secretary-General of the 57-nation OIC, has said the two Moro fronts should unite since the peace processes of the MILF and MNLF “revolve around the same problem and the same territory. The process of coordination between the two fronts has become of utmost necessity.”

Several international groups have earlier noted that the divisions between Moro groups in Mindanao weakens and undercuts the efforts to establish a strong and unified Bangsamoro identity, and clear shared goals.

Other Muslim groups here have also noted that before any efforts to unify the two Moro fronts, the MNLF itself should be unified.

Years after the signing of the 1996 Final Peace Agreement between the Ramos government and the MNLF, the organization has broken into several factions due to the leadership issues.

Datu Randy Karon, an MNLF leader based in Central Mindanao, said there are efforts to resolve the internal conflict within the MNLF.

He said dialogues have started among key senior leaders of the MNLF in unifying its efforts to move the peace process forward.

The senior leaders came from the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi, and mainland provinces of Maguindanao, and Davao areas.

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