As most Filipinos celebrated the 30th anniversary of the
EDSA People Power Revolution last Feb. 25, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front
(MILF) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) addressed in a joint
assembly the Bangsamoro issue and called for unity and solidarity amidst the
uncertainty brought by the non-passage of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law
(BBL).
“The joint effort of the two Moro revolutionary fronts to
assemble and unite is reflective of MNLF’s commitment to the agreed convergence
of the two peace tracks of the MNLF and MILF into a single roadmap," said
MNLF Chairman Muslimin Sema, adding that the event was also part of the MILF’s
program of unification and reconciliation for Moro leaders.
The assembly, held in Carmen, North
Cotabato , was headed by the MNLF’s Bukidnon State Revolutionary
Committee and the MILF’s Kapalawan Provincial Committee.
During the 5th Ministerial Level Meeting of the Tripartite
Review Process (TRP) of the 1996 Final Peace Agreement (FPA) between the
Philippine government and the MNLF, Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)
Secretary General Iyad bin Amin Madani highlighted their intention and
understanding to combine the two peace processes of the MNLF and MILF into a
single roadmap.
Madani said at that time that "there was a need for the
two Moro fronts to find a common understanding since they share the same
political clamor and aspirations as expressed in the [BBL]."
The review process that concluded last Jan. 25 maintained
that the MNLF would participate in the 60-member Bangsamoro Transition
Authority (BTA) -- the transition government that would have bridged the
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and the proposed Bangsamoro parliamentary
government as determined in the 2014 Comprehensive Agreementon the Bangsamoro
(CAB) -- together with the leadership of the MILF and other stakeholders which
would operationalize the convergence efforts of the MILF and the MNLF through a
political exercise.
However, the BTA didn’t come into fruition due to the 16th
Congress’ collective failure to pass the BBL.
“The division among the Bangsamoro people into different
groups may have triggered the non-passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law in the
House of Representatives,” commented MILF Vice Chairman for Political Affairs
Ghadzali Jafaar.
Jafaar, noting that the Bangsamoro people have been engaged
in the peace talks for over 30 years going back to the leadership of MNLF,
commented that they “will continue a peaceful peace process until Mindanao achieves an equally lasting peace.”
In a separate statement, Office of the Presidential Adviser
on the Peace Process (OPAPP) Undersecretary Atty. Jose Lorena said that with
the completion of the TRP and in the incorporation of the MNLF agenda with the
CAB under a single framework, “the CAB and correspondingly the BBL will become
the inclusive framework for all the Bangsamoro in addressing the legitimate and
validated Bangsamoro aspiration for genuine political autonomy and the right to
self-determination. It is now clear that there will be a single framework
through the BBL which will preserve the gains of the 1996 FPA and the
CAB."
Bangsamoro youth key to unity, self-determination
In an earlier event held in Davao City
Speaking directly to the youth, the MILF vice chairman said
that they “should exhaust all means of diplomacy in fighting for the Bangsamoro
struggle before thinking of engaging ideas of war.”
The MILF leadership had earlier confirmed the inclination of
some Bangsamoro youth toward extremism as well as the ongoing recruitment of
young people in organizations that have declared allegiance with global terror
group ISIS operating within the ARMM,
especially in the cities of Cotabato and Marawi.
Nevertheless, Jaafar expressed “high hopes for the
Bangsamoro youth to serve their people someday and to become good Bangsamoro
leaders.”
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=862423
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