OIC not backing MNLF bid for independence

From the Manila Bulletin (Jan 1): OIC not backing MNLF bid for independence

Any individual or group among local Muslims still aiming for independence of Mindanao, or parts thereof, cannot count on the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

The OIC made this clear through a clear-cut pronouncement from Ambassador Sayyed Kaseem El-Masry, a frequent visitor to the Philippines, in relation to the “Question of Muslims in Southern Philippines.”

El-Masry, the special envoy for peace for the Philippines of OIC Secretary General Iyad Ameen Madani even raised his voice and scolded two leaders of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) during a meeting of representatives of the MNLF and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) recently in Makati City.

The 57-member states OIC brokered the 1976 Tripoli Agreement and its implementation, the 1996 Final Peace Agreement (FPA) signed by the Philippine government and the MNLF.

It was the OIC which convinced the MNLF to scale down its bid for independence to autonomy.

A reliable source told the Manila Bulletin that two senior leaders of the MNLF informed El-Masry of plans to return to the struggle for independence.

“With the mention of independence, Ambassador El-Masry obviously got irked, even mad,” the source said, who asked the two MNLF leaders’ name and group affiliations be not mentioned either.

The source said El-Masry made it clear to the MNLF leaders, in the presence of MILF representatives during the second meeting for the Bangsamoro Coordination Forum (BCF) in November 13 this year, that he did not like what he heard and the OIC will not support the struggle for independence of the Bangsamoro people.

“You already chose autonomy,” El-Masry reportedly said.

It could be recalled that MNLF founding Chairman Nur P. Misuari declared what he dubbed as the “Bangsamoro Republik” on August 12, 2013, covering the whole of Mindanao, and North Borneo (Sabah) and Sarawak, both under the Federation of Malaysia.

Misuari declared himself president of the “United Federated States of Bangsamoro Republik.”

Another MNLF faction, the Islamic Command Council (ICC) headed by Habib Mujahab Hashim, supports Misuari’s reversion to independence through peaceful, democratic means.

The MNLF faction chaired by former Cotabato City Mayor Muslimin G. Sema is sticking with autonomy.

http://www.mb.com.ph/oic-not-backing-mnlf-bid-for-independence/