SIX YEARS AFTER the deadly siege of Zamboanga by hundreds of armed Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) members, residents here are still crying for justice which remains elusive for the victims of the September 9, 2013 attack.
Mayor Beng Climaco set September 9 as a “Special Day of Remembrance” in honor of all those who perished in the siege that lasted for 3 weeks.
Supporters of Nur Misuari, the MNLF chairman, attacked Zamboanga after declaring independence and their failed attempt to raise the Bangsamoro Republik flag at City Hall. The siege displaced over 100,000 people and affected the economies of Basilan and Sulu which are dependent on Zamboanga for their trades and goods.
Misuari has publicly denied involvement in the siege of Zamboanga.
In 2016, Climaco – who stood firm against the MNLF during the entire period of the crisis – has banned any so-called peace rally or gathering of the MNLF members in Zamboanga City.
She said such rallies will not be allowed in the as this might disturb Zamboanga anew. “I am giving you a categorical no; you must not disturb Zamboanga anymore. If you want to come up with your rally, make it in your area, Zamboanga will not welcome a rally by MNLF, not at this time because you still have to be accountable with the killings and devastations we are suffering from,” Climaco said in the past.
“The destruction wrought by the 2013 siege continues to linger, as internally displaced persons – both Muslims, Christians and Lumads, most of whom are those who eluded the conflicts in Sulu and Basilan – have suffered the brunt of the MNLF attack in Zamboanga,” she said.
The siege of Zamboanga. (Photos courtesy of the Mindanao Examiner Regional Newspaper)
Misuari signed a peace deal with Manila in September 1996 ending decades of bloody war. After the peace agreement was signed, Misuari became the governor of the Muslim autonomous region. But despite the peace accord, he said there was a widespread disillusionment with the weak autonomy they were granted.
Under the peace agreement, Manila would have to provide a mini-Marshal Plan to spur economic development in Muslim areas in the south and livelihood and housing assistance to tens of thousands of former rebels to uplift their poor living standards.
It was the second attack by MNLF in the past decade. In November 2001, hundreds of MNLF members occupied the Cabatangan Complex and held hostage dozens of civilians, including children; and another group also attacked a military base in Sulu province in an effort to stop the elections in the Muslim autonomous region after Misuari was ousted as governor.
More than 100 people were killed in the fighting and in the end, then Mayor Maria Clara Lobregat allowed the attackers to leave Zamboanga in exchange for the hostages.
Misuari then escaped by boat to Malaysia, where he had been arrested and deported to the Philippines and was eventually pardoned and released by President Gloria Arroyo in exchange for MNLF support to her election bid as well as her allies in the Senate and Congress in 2004.
He also ran several times for governor in Sulu even while under detention, but lost. Now, President Rodrigo Duterte said he wanted to resume the peace process with Misuari and ordered police and military not to arrest the MNLF chieftain. (Zamboanga Post)
https://mindanaoexaminer.com/remembering-zamboanga-siege/
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