|
DAVAO CITY—After
blaming “hawks” in the government, the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front (MILF) warned that the standoff in the
peace talks is being exploited by its own hard-liners.
The MILF
earlier blamed the government for the postponement of
the scheduled negotiations in
Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia,
from December 15 to 17 because the government presented
instead a draft memorandum of agreement that sought to
bind the implementation of all agreements under the
constitutional process.
The MILF
reminded the government that the talks had progressed
since 2001 owing to the absence of the government’s
insistence of binding whatever agreement that may be
forged to the Constitution despite repeated and periodic
attempts to push it.
“The
betrayal of the government on the consensus points of
ancestral domain of the Tripoli Agreement of 2001 has
reverberated like a thunderbolt among hard-liners in the
MILF who showed clear displeasure over the opening up of
talks with the Philippine government more than six years
ago,” the MILF said.
It said
that the displeasure among its hard-liners was reported
“from various parts of Mindanao where the MILF has
military presence, including lately the provinces of
Tawi-Tawi and Sulu.”
“A
commander in Basilan, who requested anonymity, [said]
that if it were not obligatory in Islam to follow the
leaders, he would defy the decision to hold talks with
the government and hit back at government forces
straying into MILF bailiwicks,” it said.
“Another
one in Maguindanao,” who the MILF did not name,
“protested bitterly the latest government insincerity by
saying, ‘Do we allow ourselves to be fooled forever?’”
Al Haj
Murad Ebrahim, chairman of the central committee of the
MILF, has appealed to the Moro residents, however, “to
be patient and steadfast,” saying that “when one is
faced with a difficult situation, always remember Allah,
seek His guidance, and look back at those achievements
that we have collectively worked for.”
“The
road to freedom is always full of twists and turns, and
to overcome [these], we must work, persist and
sacrifice,” Murad said.
Murad
had also called on the MILF political leaders “to
conduct the affairs in their respective provinces by
consultation and collectivism, but be decisive once
decisions are made.”
The
warning came as the MILF also rejected proposals on the
creation of a federal state for Filipino-Muslims in
Mindanao by amending the 1987 Constitution.
“This is
a deceptive offer, and only [a] fool will not see the
trick behind it,” said Khaled Musa, deputy chairman of
the MILF committee on information.
“We are
tired of these endless manipulations,” he said.
Musa
said that the MILF “will never agree to participate in
any constitutional process to implement any agreement
with the government,” although he clarified that the
MILF “does not ask the government to violate its
Constitution.”
He said
the government “can follow its Constitution to deliver
its commitments to the MILF and the Bangsa-moro people,
but not to use the same to obstruct it as what the
government did to the Moro National Liberation.” |
