Misuari camp hits out at govt tactics

From the Manila Standard Today (Mar 18): Misuari camp hits out at govt tactics

The Moro National Liberation Front-Nur Misuari faction on Monday accused the government of employing a “shepherd”  in an attempt to discredit its founding chairman Nur Misuari who went into hiding after the attacks on Zamboanga City last year.

MNLF spokesman Absalom Cerveza identified the “shepherd” as  Hadji Abul Khayr Alonto, a former founding member of the muslim rebel movement.

 The Misuari camp  issued the statement after  Alonto last week declared Misuari “persona non grata” for leadership blunders, inviting all factions within the Misuari faction, including the MNLF Council of 15 led by former Cotabato City Mayor Muslimin Sema  to join them.

Alonto was being utilized by the government as an option to  solidify  the MNLF and eventually ease out Misuari, Cerveza said.

“I think the government is using him (Alonto) for the government’s own purpose to form another MNLF whom to deal with because they could not remove Misuari,” Cerveza said.

The Misuari camp said  Alonto sufrace after Jimmy Labawan, Misuari’s deputy, tried but failed to be recognized as the sole representative of the MNLF in the supposed resumption of the Jakarta tripartite talks on the final peace agreement.

Labawan was sacked by Misuari for misrepresenting the MNLF during the aborted talks in Jakarta last year, few months before the Zamboanga City incident.

“The government wanted to organize a group  with  whom it could deal because they can’t remove Misuari from the organization,” Cerveza said.

 He said Alonto was only sowing intrigue purposely to create a vacuum in the MNLF leadership, a tactic used by the government to unseat Misuari.

http://manilastandardtoday.com/2014/03/18/misuari-camp-hits-out-at-govt-tactics/