ZAMBOANGA CITY – The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) has renewed its commitment to peace and vowed to fight alongside the Philippine security forces against the pro-ISIS group Abu Sayyaf in the southern Sulu province.
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| Philippine Army's 11th Infantry Division releases photos of a meeting between Lt. Gen. Abraham Joel, Chief of Staff of the MNLF’s Bangsamoro Armed Forces, and Maj. Gen. Ignatius Patrimonio, commander of the 11th Infantry Division in Sulu province. |
Lt. Gen. Abraham Joel, Chief of Staff of the MNLF’s Bangsamoro Armed Forces, made this commitment during a meeting with Maj. Gen. Ignatius Patrimonio, commander of the 11th Infantry Division, in the province.
“Kasama ko ang aking mga field commanders upang personal na makipagkita kay Major General Patrimonio na itinuturing namin na aming kapatid upang ipahayag ang aming suporta sa kanya lalo na sa pakikipaglaban sa mga Abu Sayyaf Group,” Joel said in a statement released by the 11th Infantry Division.
Patrimonio expressed his gratitude to Joel for the MNLF’s assurance to support the peace and development campaign to end terrorism in Sulu. “It is assuring to know that we have come into understanding on our one purpose and one mission to totally end terrorism in the province of Sulu. Let us continue to collaborate in attaining our collective vision of lasting peace and sustainable development in Sulu,” he said.
Joel was accompanied by the chief of the MNLF’s White Lion Command, Jul Ajani and his deputy Commander Bahid Pawaki; MNLF Coordinating Group chairman, Amilhamja Hadjiri and his vice-chairman, Commander Bala Badda; the chief of Sulu and Tawi-Tawi Command, Commander Al Abdurahman; vice-chairman of State of Sulu, Saikal Madjuri; Chief of Satellite Command 5 Ustadz Gabir Abbas; Chief of Samidin Command, Salih Muhamad; commander of Camp Macopa, Akmadul Totoh; and other MNLF members.
No other details were made available by the military at the meeting, but
the number of Abu Sayyaf in the province is dwindling following the
government’s campaign against the militants and the mass surrender of its
members in the past years.
The MNLF under the former Libyan firebrand Nur Misuari signed a
peace deal with Manila in September 1996 ending decades of bloody war. After
the peace agreement was signed, Misuari became the governor of the Muslim
autonomous region. But despite the peace accord, he said there was a widespread
disillusionment with the weak autonomy they were granted.
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.
In January 2020, President Rodrigo Duterte appointed Misuari as the
country’s Special Envoy to the influential Organization of Islamic Cooperation
(OIC). Duterte first announced his choice of Misuari in December
2019.
Muslims in Mindanao, especially in Misuari’s stronghold in Sulu, welcomed
Duterte’s official designation of the former rebel leader, saying, his
expertise in Islamic diplomacy will greatly boost the Philippines’ relations
with Arab and Muslim countries.
Duterte vowed to continue talking peace to Misuari and both have agreed
for the establishment of a coordinating committee between the MNLF and the
national government.
Misuari has previously asked Duterte to include OIC in the peace talks. The OIC, which has 57 member states, had played a vital role in the peace process between the Philippine government and MNLF in the past. (Mindanao Examiner)
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