MNLF infighting stalls talks

MANILA, Philippines - A faction in the Moro National Liberation Front managed to stall the resumption of peace talks with the government on Monday, a ranking MNLF official said yesterday.

MNLF spokesman Emmanuel Fontanilla said the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has allowed the indefinite postponement of the tripartite preliminary talks between the government and the MNLF pending resolution of who should represent the group in the Islamic body.

“The issue on the representation has been raised so the tripartite talk between the OIC, government and MNLF has been reset to an undetermined date,” Fontanilla said.

He declined to give details but a source revealed a faction led by Muslimin Sema has questioned the representation of former MNLF chairman Nur Misuari in the talks.

Misuari has been recognized and given an observer seat at the OIC representing the Bangsamoro people in the Philippines.

Fontanilla said Misuari is set to meet with the Indonesian ambassador on June 18 to discuss the resumption of tripartite talks.

Indonesia is brokering the talks between the government and MNLF panels.

The three-day preliminary talks were supposed to discuss the final implementation of the 1996 peace agreement under the auspices of OIC.

Misuari was supposed to lead the four-man panel while Presidential Peace Adviser Teresita Deles is expected to head the government panel.

Fontanilla, a member of the MNLF panel, said among the issues that will be discussed are the two last remaining items of the peace accord: coverage of territory and sharing of resources.

Fontanilla added the resumption of peace talks is an offshoot of a resolution issued by the OIC that called on the Philippine government to synchronize the framework agreement forged by the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

“The MNLF sees no conflict with the framework agreement because it aims to address the Bangsamoro problem in Mindanao,” he said.

Fontanilla, however, clarified that if the last two items in the peace accord will not be resolved, they will seek the endorsement of the OIC to elevate their cause before the United Nations.

He said the MNLF would exhaust all peaceful and diplomatic means to attain political objective of self-rule.

“The MNLF has already renounced war to attain its political objective; we will not fight except in self defense,” Fontanilla said.

An MILF official, however, scored the government for the supposed delays in the crafting of the annexes of the Bangsamoro framework agreement.

In an article posted on the MILF website luwaran.com, Khaled Musa, deputy chair of the group’s information committee, said the delays have triggered negative reactions on the ground.

The article quoted Musa as saying that “frustration on the ground is gaining momentum as a consequence of too much unnecessary delay from the government.”

“He also disclosed the radical elements within the MILF are beginning to be restive and hitting the MILF and its peace panel,” the article read.

“More than three months have been consumed since the annex on wealth-sharing was initialed without clear direction for the talks.”

Musa accused the government of sitting on the annexes unnecessarily in the guise of due diligence.

The annexes of the Bangsamoro framework agreement involve wealth sharing, normalization and power sharing.

These annexes, which are still under review, will have to be completed before a final peace agreement with the MILF is signed. Specific details of the annexes have yet to be made public.

The MILF article claimed the government peace panel had changed its position on the annexes twice.

“The peace negotiation is an exercise in futility if there is no stop to this changing of positions by the government negotiating team,” the article quoted an unnamed MILF negotiator as saying.

The group said it has no plan to abandon the original document, saying backtracking could pose a serious drawback to the peace process.

The MILF claimed the government had its first change of position when the document on natural resources was being tackled last April. MILF negotiators reportedly “vehemently objected” to the changes.

“Except for those that are in harmony with the framework agreement on the Bangsamoro, we don’t accept the changes introduced by government on wealth-sharing,” said MILF peace panel chair Mohagher Iqbal.  â€“ Alexis Romero