Sunday, December 24, 2006 MNLF to MILF: Beware of 'language engineering' By Gandhi C. Kinjiyo
PIKIT, Cotabato -- Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) spokesperson Absalom Cerveza issued a warning to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) negotiating panel to be cautious in negotiating with the government and not to be deceived by its "language engineering."
He said the "provisional government" for the Bangsamoro, which the government should have implemented already as stipulated in the 1996 government-MNLF, was not realized, "instead it (government) gave the Bangsamoro people the Southern Philippine Council for Peace and Development (SPCPD), which had no power at all and was already dissolved."
The MILF is currently negotiating with the government under the brokerage of Malaysia.
"I call on our MILF brothers to be wary of that language engineering," Cerveza said over a crowd of more than a thousand of MNLF supporters from all sectors who attended the 11th Bangsamoro Peoples Congress at Camp Nurbalam, this town, on December 9, 2006.
"However, I am confident of the intelligence of the current members of the MILF panel," he pointed out.
He said the MILF panel must be meticulous in the terms used and avoid vague phrases or statements for any agreement that may be reached out of the ongoing government-MILF peace talk.
MNLF national coordinator Haji Gapul Hadjirul, who was present during the affair, said the SPCPD was merely like a "commission" rather than "governance."
"What the Moro people need is an autonomy where they can exercise their rights and have control over their resources," Hadjirul added.
Cerveza said the MNLF will send 20-person delegation to the tripartite meeting of the MNLF, government, and the Organization of the Islamic Conference in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on February 6 to 8.
The meeting is intended to review the implementation of the provisions of the 1996 Final Peace Agreement signed on September 2, 1996, and recommend proposals on how to remove obstacles and what mechanism to set up to effectively monitor its implementation.
The Congress participants urged the government to free MNLF chairman Nur Misuari for him to lead the MNLF delegation in Jeddah. They also allowed MNLF to represent the Bangsamoro people.
Misuari, charged with rebellion in 2001, has been detained since January 2002.
