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Thursday, June 09, 2005
Moro group stays out of Autonomous Mindanao polls
By Al Jacinto
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- The Moro Islamic Liberation Front on Wednesday warned its members not to engage in partisan politics in the forthcoming elections of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm) and declared they are not participating in the exercise.
The MILF, the largest separatist Muslim rebel group in the country, said it would not endorse any candidate in the August 8 elections in Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Lanao and Maguindanao provinces.
Elections in this region are often marred by violence, because of the proliferation of illegal weapons, many in the hands of political warlords and their private armies.
"We will not participate, we will not endorse, and we will not influence the results of the forthcoming Armm elections," the leader of the 12,000-strong rebel forces, Murad Ebrahim, said.
The MILF, which is fighting for independence the past three decades, had also distanced itself in the past local and national elections, saying, it does not recognize the authority of the government, despite on and off peace talks with Manila since 1997. It also criticized previous elections in the country, saying, they were dirty and rigged.
It also had rejected autonomy offered by the government in ending the secessionist problem in the southern Philippines that already killed hundreds of thousands of people since 1972, and insisted on the establishment of a Muslim homeland in the strife-torn region.
"Autonomy is not an option because it cannot solve the Bangsamoro (Muslim) problem and the conflict in Mindanao and that is why we are searching for a new formula that can really address the root cause of the problem."
"There had been several forms of autonomous arrangements implemented by several Philippine presidents, but until now the Bangsamoro problem and the conflict in Mindanao are still lingering with us," Ebrahim said.
A former Muslim rebel leader-turned-politician Muslimen Sema earlier warned of bloody Armm elections because of the proliferation of illegal weapons in the provinces and called on Congress to suspend the exercise until authorities could assure peaceful elections.
"Unless the authorities seize all these weapons, I see the elections to be very bloody," said Sema, now a mayor of Cotabato City.
Sema, a senior leader of the former rebel group Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), said thousands of illegal weapons are believed in the hands of politicians in the autonomous region. Aside from political warlords, many illegal weapons also found their way into the hands of rebel groups, gun syndicates and lawless elements, he added.
"This scenario is very scary, there are tens of thousands of illegal weapons out there and the government must act swiftly to prevent hostilities before and during elections in the Muslim autonomous region," he said.
Aside from Sema, the MNLF under Hatimil Hassan, also called on President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to scrap the elections because of security concerns.
Sulu Representative Hussin Amin is also seeking a postponement of the elections because it would interrupt the "relative peace" in the autonomous region, aside from lack of poll funds. The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said it has only allocated P200-million out of the P500 million needed for the elections.
Congress last year reset the November 26 elections in the autonomous region to August 8, this year. Arroyo declared a "free zone" in the polls that would allow interested politicians allied with the President to run in the elections.
Previous elections in the Muslim autonomous region were marred with vote buying and violence and supporters of feuding politicians clashed with guns and automatic rifles.(Sun.Star Zamboanga/Sunnex)
(June 9, 2005 issue)
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