MNLF, MILF vow greater cooperation

From the Manila Times (Jul 15): MNLF, MILF vow greater cooperation

Leaders of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have agreed to further their cooperation for them to be able to better address concerns of the Bangsamoro people in southern Philippines.

The agreement was made during a recent meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, among Iyad Madani, newly installed secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC); Jimmy Labawan, vice chairman of the MNLF Central Committee; and Mohager Iqbal, chief negotiator for the MILF in peace talks with the Aquino administration.

Labawan, during a news briefing in Davao City on Tuesday, said the MNLF and the MILF reported their respective engagements with the Philippine government as they agreed to activate the Bangsamoro Coordination Forum and utilize the same as venue for tackling common grounds and exploring collaborative efforts at addressing concerns of each party; and to continue to engage specific issues including establishment of working groups to discuss legal and technical issues involving the two Muslim fronts.

The fronts thanked Madani and the OIC for their continued support for the Bangsamoro people and the facilitation of the meeting in Jeddah.

Also during the meeting, according to Labawan, the OIC welcomed the MILF’s acceptance of autonomy as the solution to the Bangsamoro problem even as it expressed reservations on provisions of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro between the MILF and the Aquino administration that it had deemed inconsistent with the 1976 Tripoli Agreement and the 1996 Jakarta Peace Agreement.

Labawan, during the news briefing in Davao City, called on the Philippine government to consider the Bangsamoro people’s demand for holding a plebiscite outside the existing autonomous region to finally determine territorial boundaries of the autonomous government in Mindanao in accordance with the 1976 Tripoli Agreement.

According to him, also during the Jedddah meeting, the MNLF and MILF leaders agreed to affirm their support for the leadership of Nur Misuari, MNLF founding chairman, who supposedly is backed by the OIC.

http://www.manilatimes.net/mnlf-milf-vow-greater-cooperation/111686/