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By Al Jacinto, Correspondent
In the second installment of this series, MNLF
Chairman Muslimin Sema criticized Misuari for dragging the
group into disarray and seemingly wanting to bring it down with him,
which is the reason all are working hard to strengthen unity in the
MNLF and in the process bring peace and development in Mindanao.
Last part
SULU ISLAND: Freed former Moro National
Liberation Front Chieftain Nur Misuari will begin touring Muslim
communities in the Philippines to campaign for peace.
His followers in Sulu said they would prepare a
big welcome party for Misuari, who was accused of rebellion after
his forces attacked a major military base in Jolo town in 2001 in an
effort to stop the elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim
Mindanao, where he was governor.
“We are waiting for our one and only leader
and we will give him a big welcome in Sulu,” said Abdul Sahalul,
one of Misuari’s loyal followers in Sulu.
Misuari’s other leaders here, among them
Ustadz Habier Malik, are still in hiding after they clashed with
security forces last year and held hostage a group of military
officers in a failed effort to pressure Manila to free Misuari.
Misuari was granted a P50,000-bail by a court
last week after spending more than five years under house arrest in
Manila. He said he would not run for governor again in the
autonomous region, whose system he branded as “dirty” and run by
Malacañang.
“I don’t want to be part of a system that is
dirty,” said Misuari, who also ran as governor in Sulu province
twice but lost.
Misuari maintained the ARMM was created as part
of a peace deal the MNLF had with Manila in September 1996.
Zaldy Ampatuan, a former town mayor in
Maguindanao province, is the current governor of the Muslim
autonomous region after he won the polls against Parouk Hussin.
Hussin, a senior MNLF leader, was one of those
that made up the so-called Council of 15 that deposed Misuari as
chairman of the organization that was once the largest Muslim rebel
group in the Philippines.
Ampatuan, as governor of the Muslim autonomous
region, has introduced reforms and fought corruption in government.
He also prioritized development projects in areas where there are
MNLF communities in support to the peace agreement.
Just this month, the MNLF Central Committee
named Muslimin Sema, the group’s secretary general, as its new
chairman but Misuari did not recognize Sema as the legitimate ruler
of the MNLF.
Misuari has been criticized for his tough stance
and his refusal to abide by the MNLF decision that catapulted Sema
into power. Sema, who originally belonged to the Council of 15, said
Misuari should stop bickering and work for peace and unity in the
southern Philippines.
“We should put things in their order and work
for lasting peace in the country. This is our direction now and we
will make ourselves available to the government to achieve peace and
unity and bring development to our people,” Sema said.
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