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By Al Jacinto, Correspondent
In the first installment of this piece, it was
noted that the Moro National Liberation Front, in a resolution,
criticized Nur Misuari and branded him as a dictator and someone no
longer effective in running the group. Observers thought it was time
the beleaguered MNLF chieftain accepts that his alleged excesses and
arrogance brought him to where he is right now.
Second of three parts
SULU ISLAND: The MNLF said Misuari is not
interested in unity and neither is he interested in adopting a
Charter that will govern the conduct and behavior of its MNLF
members and set a clear direction to where the Front is heading.
“The worst thing that could happen to a ship
full of passengers is to have a captain who is indifferent and
hostile to them and does not have a compass by which to navigate the
ship,” it said, adding, Misuari wanted a perpetual leadership
with nothing to guide it and no one to question it.
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.
The 58-year-old Muslimin Sema, the MNLF’s new
chairman, criticized Misuari for dragging the MNLF into
disarray. “Misuari wanted to bring down the MNLF with him and
that’s why we are all working hard to unify the MNLF and bring
peace and development in Mindanao,” he said.
Government Peace Adviser Jesus Dureza also
welcomed Misuari’s temporary freedom. “We welcome the decision
of the Makati Regional Trial Court allowing Chairman Nur
Misuari to post bail. We hope that with his temporary liberty,
Chairman Nur will continue to be an important player in
the Mindanao peace process,” Dureza said.
But Misuari’s fall had severely affected
the MNLF which is now heavily divided and the rift among its leaders
is becoming more apparent. Misuari also supported President
Gloria Arroyo’s election bid and her allies in the Senate and
Congress in 2004 in exchange for promises that he would be pardoned
and freed.
Sema has vowed to “put into track the peace
process with the government and make good the relations between the
MNLF and government and convert it as vanguard of our people against
exploitation and oppression and also as vanguard for good
governance, transparency and accountability.”
Sema said he intends to work further with local
and international non-government organizations to bring peace and
development in Muslim areas in Mindanao.
Sources close to Misuari previously said that he
may be freed this year on condition that he will go to exile in
Libya, which had previously supported the MNLF struggle for
independence in the Philippines.
It was unknown whether Tripoli was aware or part
of the plan, but Seif al-Islam, the son of the Libyan strongman
Muammar al-Gaddafi and former Libyan ambassador to Manila, Salem
Adam, were in Manila last year and met with government and MNLF
leaders and discussed Misuari’s case.
Seif’s Gaddafi Foundation said it would invite
Misuari to a series of meetings in Libya next month to discuss the
peace agreement it signed with Manila.
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.
The Organization of Islamic Conference is
worried that the MNLF under Sema would further fragment the group
and set back the efforts of the peace accord. The MNLF is a
permanent observer to OIC. Misuari has repeatedly announced that the
peace deal the MNLF signed with the Filipino government is long dead
and buried and that he named himself President of the Bangsamoro
Republic.
(To be continued)
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