COTABATO CITY, 1 May 2003 - Leaders of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front yesterday rejected Malaysia's appeal to drop demands for a separate Islamic state in the southern Philippines.
"It is an expression of a personal view of a leader outside of the movement," said MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu, when asked to comment on the statement made by Malaysian Defense Minister Muhammad Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak.
Najib, speaking at a regional security conference in Manila yesterday, urged the largest Muslim armed group in the Philippines to settle instead for limited self-rule.
He also called urged the MILF to purge its ranks of extremists and stop performing acts that showed "terrorist tendencies."
At the same time, he urged the Philippine government to exercise restraint in its campaign against the MILF so as not to prolong the peace talks.
Ghazali Jaafar, MILF vice chairman for political affairs, said they cannot just drop something they strongly believe in.
"When the Bangsamoro (Moro nation) revolution was launched in 1968, the demand was independence," he said.
"The MILF was set up because most of the Bangsamoro believes autonomy is not the answer to the problem," he added.
The MILF led by Salamat Hashim broke away in from the Moro National Liberation Front of Nur Misuari in 1978 when the MNLF downgraded its independence demand to autonomy.
In 1996, Misuari signed a peace treaty with Manila in exchange for autonomy for the minority Muslim population.
Jaafar said yesterday they rejected the agreement because "the MILF and the rest of the Bangsamoro did not agree to it."
In an interview, spokesman Kabalu said they recognized the important role assumed by the Malaysian government in the resumption of the peace talks between Manila and the MILF.
But he said the Malaysian goodwill role is confined only basically on the facilitation and mediation. It was this limited role that gained the confidence of both the MILF and the Philippine government to return to the negotiation table in hopes reaching a peaceful resolution of the political conflict in Mindanao.
"The issue on constitution has never been an obstacle in the holding of peace talks despite the fact that the MILF, as a policy, does not recognize the Philippine constitution," said Kabalu.
This was in reaction to Najib's call on the MILF to work for peace within the Philippine constitutional framework.
Najib said: "The whole idea that they (MILF) can form a separate Islamic state is something that we will not support or condone, and we will try to influence other Islamic countries not to support them in that cause.
Kabalu noted that Manila, in order for the peace process to prosper, has agreed not to invoke constitutional framework and national sovereignty.
In return, the MILF will not anymore raise the issue of belligerency and independence, he added.
Sabotage?
Kabalu said the MILF leadership has not yet decided on attending the Kuala Lumpur meeting, accusing the government of not fulfilling promises made in the first round of exploratory talks in late March in the Malaysian capital.
He said the government reneged on an agreement to pull out troops from a former rebel stronghold that the military overran in February and to recall the criminal charges against rebel leaders in connection with the bombings, in which the MILF denied involvement.
In a statement, MILF Chairman Salamat said a "vicious pattern" has emerged in the peace talks. Whenever the peace process "makes some positive and significant inroads, violent incidents ... are made to suddenly appear like magic to frustrate our long quest for a lasting and just peace in our homeland," he said.
He said the most recent example was the April 2 bombing outside the wharf in southern Davao city that killed 16 and injured more than 100. The incident occurred just days after the exploratory talks in Kuala Lumpur ended with both sides agreeing to resume the talks.
"The MILF leadership and the entire (Muslim minority) are now having second thoughts on the sincerity and commitment of the (government), and the military cliques that really control it, to the peaceful political settlement of the conflict," Salamat said
Amid the exchange of words, gunbattles erupted again yesterday in Central Mindanao, with separatist rebels firing mortars at houses and an army headquarters in Crossing Salvo village in Datu Piang town of Maguindanao, about 910 kilometers (570 miles) south of Manila.
According to the MILF, four soldiers and militiamen were confirmed dead in the early dawn attack launched against army's 37th IB headquarters.
Scores more were believed to have been hurt when a mortar bomb exploded right inside the army's quarters, said the separatist group. Heavy exchanges of gunfire were also observed since 7:30 p.m. in Rajamuda village of Pikit, in nearby North Cotabato.
The military confirmed the attack in Salvo but claimed that the rebels succeeded only in killing two residents - including a 1-year-old child - and wounding six others. (With inputs from agencies)
