Indonesia urged to show more support for Moro rebels
Indonesia urged to show more support for Moro rebels
JAKARTA (JP): Two hundred Moslem students discussed the plight
of the secessionist Moro front in the southern Philippines here
on Saturday and decided to display more "solidarity" toward the
cause.
Political scientists Syamsu Mardam and Burhan Magenda, and
observers Fathudin Ja'far and Suryadharma extensively examined
the "oppression" of the Moro.
They agreed that Indonesia, at least its Moslems, should lend
more support to make up for "political neglect" by other
countries.
"This discussion is not held in protest over the seminar on
the East Timor question in Manila recently," a representative of
the STEKPI College of Economics, which hosted the one-day
seminar, explained. Last month's East Timor seminar gave rise to
a great deal of controversy in Indonesia and abroad.
Solutions
The discussion over the weekend examined the Indonesian
government's stance on the Moro issue and evaluated a number of
possible solutions to the problem.
Suryadharma pointed out that by calculation, the Moro Moslem
minority in the southern Mindanao islands of the predominantly
Roman Catholic Philippines, has sustained the longest struggle
ever for independence.
The people began their rebellion in 1571 against Spanish
colonialism. The struggle proceeded against America in the early
1900s, against Japan in the 1940s, and finally against the
government of the Republic of Philippines, he said.
"The front, however, has not enjoyed substantial political and
military support from their own Malay ethnic groups, or from
Moslem countries," Suryadharma said.
He pointed out that Kashmiri Moslems in India have the support
of Pakistan, Palestine had support from the Arab countries, and
Bosnia from other Moslem communities.
Non-intervention
Burhan, a staff lecturer at the University of Indonesia, and
Syamsu, from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), were
more inclined to support the Indonesian government's "non-
intervention" stance on the issue.
"(Moro) is the Philippines' internal affair," according to
Burhan, who is also a member of the People's Consultative
Assembly (MPR).
"I don't see the possibility of our government lending more
support than it has done already," Syamsu said.
Fathudin, on the other hand, believed that because Moro's
secessionist struggle is a regional problem, and an ideological
issue as well, predominantly-Moslem Indonesia should extend
stronger support.
Indonesia last year hosted two meetings between Manila and Nur
Misuari of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in order to
help the disputing parties pursue outstanding issues from an
accord reached in 1976 in Tripoli, Libya.
However, Indonesia made clear that it would not be an
intermediary in the dispute which began with the Moslems' armed
rebellion in the 1970s. The rebellion had killed more than 50,000
people prior to a fragile 1986 cease-fire. Relatively minor armed
conflicts have continued and inflicted casualties in both sides.
Obstacles
The peace process between Manila and MNLF, which demands a
separate Islamic state for some five million Moslems, was
initiated by the Organization of the Islamic Conference.
The Tripoli accord itself laid down the framework for a
peaceful solution to the Moro problem, providing autonomy in the
southern Philippines, but within the sovereignty and territorial
integrity of the Republic of the Philippines.
Suryadharma identified a number of obstacles for Moro in
pursuing autonomy, including friction within itself and the lack
of political support for Misuari from the grassroots.
"Many Moro Moslems think Misuari has not been faithful to the
mission and has used the front to further his own interests,"
Suryadharma alleged. (swe)