Getting to the bottom of the Philippines-Muslim separatists

Noralyn Mustafa, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Asia News Network, Manila

In his report, titled On the Question of Muslims in Southern Philippines (submitted to the 26th Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers, held at Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso June 28-July 2, 1999), Organization of Islamic Conference Secretary General Azeddine Laraki stated: "The MNLF is on the verge of losing its credibility with its people and Mujahideen freedom fighters because of the Philippine government procrastination, prevarication and filibuster tactics with regard to the implementation of the peace agreement."

To this day-with almost six years gone by-the same lament is repeated whenever there is a breakout of hostilities between Moro armed groups and the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

The non-compliance by the government with the terms of the GRP-MNLF Peace Agreement, which was signed on Sept. 2, 1996, has also been the complaint of MNLF Chair Nur Misuari and his followers since that time, and the issue has surfaced again in the wake of the recent gun battles between the so-called Misuari MNLF faction and the government military.

The sporadic fighting, which has brought six battalions of AFP soldiers, helicopter gunships and bomber planes to this tiny island, has resulted in the death of over 35 servicemen with 85 injured, an undetermined number of MNLF and Abu Sayyaf killed, and close to 20,000 civilians evacuated.

And while both the Misuari camp and the AFP blame each other as to who first pulled the trigger, with both sides determined that there will be "no retreat, no surrender," guess who's going to weep?

The damage to public and private property (especially schools) has not been quantified so far. But surely unquantifiable is the grief and the desperation, the trauma and the sense of loss, the confusion that come with losing grip of a familiar, normal existence and its supposedly secure moorings, like going to school.

In the meantime, it is certainly worth our while to examine Laraki's report and, maybe, with a minimum of discernment, get to the bottom of an issue which, a preponderance of evidence notwithstanding-as a detective would say-manages to evade fact.

The report is actually an enumeration of the government's sins of omission and betrayal of trust. The paper is also significant in that it was submitted to the OIC in 1999. The plebiscite to determine the area of autonomy was yet to be held that year; this, according to the report, Misuari sought to postpone, including the elections, insisting that he should remain as governor of the ARMM until the "full implementation of the peace agreement."

But the elections and plebiscite were held as mandated by law, and on Nov. 19, 2001, forces loyal to Misuari-refusing to recognize the 15-man central committee formed in April of that year-attacked the 104th army brigade headquarters. As a result, 100 people were killed and Misuari was arrested. He is now facing rebellion charges.

The report also includes capsule profiles of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Abu Sayyaf. Though written six years ago, it may yet provide us with some clues to the cause of our present woes.

"The MILF," says the report, "is the second most credible and important Muslim organization after the MNLF...

"Incidents point to the fact that members and supporters of the MILF are the target of government-led military operations. Under such difficult circumstances, the MILF is taking the necessary measures to reshuffle its military command for better self-defense.

"The MILF's main claim is to set up an independent Islamic state in the areas it controls.

"The Abu Sayyaf Group ranks third in terms of the number of men and the strength. It is an independent Islamic group fighting its way against government forces into recognition of Muslim rights. The movement's leader Abdul Razzaq Janjalani was killed Dec. 18, 1998, in a clash with government forces. But while the Abu Sayyaf Group is considered as an Islamic movement whose goal is to recover Muslims's rights, the Government of the Republic of the Philippines views it as an extremist, terrorist movement."

A year later in April 2000, the Abu Sayyaf kidnapped 21 Europeans and Malaysians in the island-diving resort of Sipadan, Malaysia.

In her latest pronouncement, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo sounded like she was backed by solid facts when, citing military intelligence, she implied that there was an alliance between the Misuari MNLF forces and the Abu Sayyaf.

Charts were shown in TV newscasts, to illustrate the network linking the MNLF, the ASG, the Jamaah Islamiyah and "renegade" MILF to one another and to the series of bomb blasts that killed and maimed scores of innocent people.

The distrust of Muslims is again at an all-time high. And Muslim communities in Metro Manila increasingly fear of arbitrary arrests and other forms of discrimination. This is the kind of social divisiveness, heavy as it is with religious overtones, that we need like a hole in the head in our present situation.

The military might have overrun camps of known MNLF and Abu Sayyaf commanders. But those camps were mere structures; they can be rebuilt. Nothing has been won except control of a piece of territory.

It is time to face the greatest, most crucial battle of all- the fight for truth.