ZAMBO SIEGE, 1 YEAR AFTER | Old comrades believe Misuari should face trial

From InterAksyon (Sep 9): ZAMBO SIEGE, 1 YEAR AFTER | Old comrades believe Misuari should face trial



Nur Misuari. FILE PHOTO

The fugitive founding chairman of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), Nur Misuari, is not likely to talk peace anytime soon simply because of his inordinate “pride,” if not sheer arrogance, according to former comrades who helped him lead the nearly 45-year Muslim secessionist campaign in the country.

“Matigas talaga ang ulo ni Nur (Nur is really hard-headed),” said Alvir Alonto, a member of the so-called “Batch 90” as the nation marked the first anniversary of the three-week old Zamboanga siege led by the MNLF faction of Misuari. The moniker "Batch 90" is culled from the number of members of the first group of Muslim activists forming the core of the MNLF after completing their underground military training in Pangcor island off the Malaysian state of Perak in 1969.

In a separate interview, Al Hussein Caluang, the MNLF’s “field marshal “ at the height of the Muslim armed rebellion in the early 70s, shared the view of Alonto that Misuari will likely remain unrepentant for dragging his armed supporters in the bloody Zamboanga siege if only to show that he can still lead a rebellion.

Despite their sharing life-changing experiences in the past, the 70-year-old Alonto was candid enough to say that Misuari should face trial and explain whether or not his men were “hoodwinked” to join the siege of a densely populated community near the city proper on September 9, 2013.

The Department of National Defense later reported that at least 100 MNLF combatants were killed and 223 others captured after nearly two weeks of heavy fighting. Eventually, 53 MNLF rebels also surrendered after the remaining MNLF rebels were pushed on to “military controlled-constriction areas. 

Humanitarian crisis

But while Misuari's misadventure ended in failure, the siege also left scores of civilians killed during the firefight and left thousands homeless. In the course of the Zamboanga siege, as many as 10,000 structures, homes and buildings in the city were reported to have been razed. The situation prompted the United Nations to officially declare it a “humanitarian crisis."

Alonto confesses his puzzlement at what happened to the Nur he knew, someone who put such great value on the lives of non-combatants. “I’ve known Misuari for having valued the safety of the civilians. He taught us to respect non-combatants, and not to involve them in the war," he said.

But now, he adds, speaking in Filipino,"we cannot understand why he did this to Zamboanga."

Deep respect for Nur as young leader

Alonto wistfully recalled how he joined the MNLF because he then believed in Misuari’s leadership in their secessionist campaign in the south.

Alvir, son of the respected late Maranao Sen. Domocao Alonto said he was not close to Misuari, a Tausug, until they met in the house of then Lanao Rep. Rashid Lucman in Quezon City, sometime in 1968. It was then that he first heard Misuari advocating armed struggle.

But it was Alvir’s cousin, Abul Khayr Alonto, who later persuaded him to join the movement, after personally visiting him at the University of the Philippines Los Banos where he was pursuing a forestry degree. 

When Misuari emerged at the helm of the MNLF leadership, the tough-talking Abul became his vice chair. Being the most senior in military rank in the first batch of MNLF trainees, Caluang became the MNLF’s first field marshal when they returned to the country after one year and three months of extensive military training in Malaysia.

At the height of the MNLF in the south, Misuari even gave Caluang the moniker “lion of the jungle,” recalled Alonto.

Misuari to blame for 'disarray'

But now, his former comrades can only blame Misuari for the “disarray” in the MNLF, the mainstream organization of the Muslim struggle in the south during the martial law years.

“We believed in him because of his determination,” said Caluang, But he also quickly pointed that he found fault in Misuari’s lack of organizational management and considered this the waterloo in their rebellion.

Caluang said he decided to return to the fold of the law when the MNLF was splintered into several factions, one of them the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), after the influential Organization of Islamic Conference brokered a cease-fire between government and the MNLF in 1976.

He said that he was later proven right in criticizing Misuari. Given the opportunity to govern the Muslim-dominated areas in Mindanao after the 1996 peace agreement with the Ramos government, Misuari, as ARMM governor, spoiled it not only with his political mismanagement, but also the corruption that tarnished his administration, Caluang pointed out.

Reactivating before siege

Before the Zamboanga siege, Caluang said he was informed that Misuari was reactivating his old force. The founding chair even led a parade of his “troops” in Davao City, but on the condition -- reportedly set by Mayor Rodrigo Duterte -- that they would not display their firearms during their stay there.

However, Caluang said, Misuari failed to realize that local leaders in Zamboanga had a different perspective of the MNLF and blocked their entry into the city when they tried to duplicate their show of strength in Davao, triggering tension and ultimately, the violence that plunged the bustling, progressive city of Zamboanga into three weeks of hell.

Caluang, who is now based in Zamboanga City with his family, said that he has retired from the MNLF, but he continues to aspire for a lasting peace in Mindanao.

He hoped that the MNLF would still be included in the final phase of the peace process even if it was being dominated by the MILF.

Caluang admitted having supported Abul Khayr Alonto, who is now being recognized by the MILF as the MNLF’s new chair since the latter has the backing of the “Batch 90. But he also welcomes the entry of the so-called MNLF Council of 15, many of whom, he noted, have now emerged as prominent politicians in the Muslim region.

“I feel that we (the MNLF) have to be represented if only to recognize our struggle for self-determination,” he said.

Meanwhile, Caluang said that while the government now considers Misuari’s group as a spent force, he is still being respected by the OIC as the MNLF leader. He would not elaborate, although it is widely believed that Abul’s group tried to get the support of the OIC, but were advised to look at Misuari’s plight first.

According to Alvir Alonto, some of their old comrades may envy the MILF for having sustained the peace process to the point of getting the government to forge a comprehensive agreement on a Bangsamoro autonomous region, but he has a different take on the matter. The Bangsamoro roadmap based on the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro "may be our last chance for genuine peace and as long as some (forces in government) do not look at it as a form of subjugating the Muslims, this may be good for all,” he said.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/94997/zambo-siege-1-year-after--old-comrades-believe-misuari-should-face-trial