MNLF Urges President Arroyo To Pursue Peace Talks With Muslim Rebels In Mindanao

A female member of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front relaxes at a rebel base in Basilan island in southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner Photo / Mark Navales)

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / August 27, 2008) – The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), once the Philippines’ largest Muslim rebel group which a signed a peace deal with Manila, urged President Gloria Arroyo Wednesday to pursue the government’s peace process in Mindanao.

Muslimin Sema, the MNLF chairman, urged Arroyo to resume the stalled peace talks with Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels to end weeks of sporadic fighting that had killed more than 100 people in Mindanao.

“We urge President Arroyo and the MILF to resume the peace talks and put an end to the fighting in Mindanao,” Sema, also the mayor of Cotabato City, told the Mindanao Examiner.

Rebels led by Ameril Kato and Abdurahman Macapaar launched a series of attacks after the failed signing of the controversial memorandum of agreement on the ancestral domain between the MILF and the Arroyo peace negotiators.

On Tuesday, security forces recovered bomb ingredients from a captured MILF encampment in Tukanalipao village in Maguindanao’s Mamasapano town, said Lt. Col. Julieto Ando, a spokesman for the Army’s 6th Infantry Division.

Ando said troops recovered four bags of nitrates and gunpowder, including C4 explosives and four anti-tank rockets, nine rifle grenades and an alarm clock. “With all these bomb-making materials, the rebels may be planning a series of attacks probably in civilian areas to divert the military’s attention away from Kato and Macapaar. We should stay vigilant,” he said.

Manila demanded the MILF to surrender peacefully the two rogue commanders, now wanted by authorities, to face trial over the killings of civilians in the provinces of North Cotabato, Lanao del Norte, Sarangani, Sultan Kudarat and Maguindanao where rebel forces pillaged villages.

The accord would have granted Muslims their own homeland in more than 700 villages across Mindanao, but the deal sparked a series of protests from politicians and residents opposed to the inclusion of their areas to the agreement that will make up the so-called Bangsamoro Juridical Entity.

The Supreme Court stopped the signing of the deal after some lawmakers and politicians opposed to the accord filed separate petitions, saying, there were no public consultations.

Arroyo has bared a shift in the basic premise of the government's peace efforts from talking with the armed groups to holding discussions with the communities in the conflict areas.

“The focus of our talks shall shift from the armed groups to the communities. The parameters governing our negotiations shall be a balance between the constitutionality and public sentiment,” she said, adding the government must maintain a peaceful and orderly society.

Arroyo said the change in the government's approach to end the Mindanao conflict prompted by the atrocities committed by the MILF attacks in Mindanao.

Hermogenes Esperon, Arroyo’s peace adviser, said despite the attacks, the government will still pursue the peace talks with the MILF. “In spite of all that is happening (in Mindanao), we remain focused on our goals and that is to achieve lasting peace in Mindanao,” he said.

Esperon also said the ancestral domain deal is not self-executing and that that there is a need for future discussions as peace negotiators frame the comprehensive peace agreement. “The MOA (memorandum of agreement) on the ancestral domain should not be viewed as an end in itself, but rather a tool to reinforce agreement on the principles, and a roadmap for greater self-governance of the Bangsamoro people,” he said.

Esperon said there is need to amend the Constitution to allow referendum on areas under the ancestral domain.

Peace negotiators last month also signed an agreement in Kuala Lumpur that will empower the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity to build, develop and maintain its own institutions, inclusive of civil service, electoral, financial and banking, education, legislation, legal, economic, police and internal security force, judicial system and correctional institutions necessary for developing a progressive Muslim society.

Murad Ebrahim, the MILF chieftain, said they will not anymore negotiate the ancestral domain deal, saying, peace negotiators have already initialed the accord last month in Malaysia, which is brokering the peace talks.

Ebrahim also said the MILF will not surrender Kato and Macapaar, saying, the two are being investigated for their role in the deadly attacks.

Sema said he would propose to the MILF and the Arroyo government to let the ad-hoc joint action group to handle the investigations and charges against Kato and Macapaar.

The MILF forged an agreement with Manila in 2004 that created the ad-hoc joint action group which paved the way for rebel and government forces to hunt down terrorists and criminal elements in Mindanao.

In the past, the MILF, through the ad-hoc joint action group, has provided Manila of a list of suspected Filipino and Indonesian terrorists operating in Mindanao. It also previously helped Philippine authorities track down and arrest kidnappers and suspected Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya militants in the troubled region.

But with the MILF’s refusal to surrender Kato and Macapaar to government authorities, the ad-hoc joint action group may fail to get hold of the two rebel commanders. Manila has already offered up to P10 million for the capture of Kato and Macapaar.

The MNLF appealed to lawmakers and politicians in Mindanao to support the peace process and not to inflame the already tensed situation by issuing statements that could provoke divisiveness or an all-out war between rebels and soldiers.

“We appeal to lawmakers and politicians to help sustain the peace process and not douse the flame of hope and peace in Mindanao. Our people are suffering from the war in Mindanao. We all want peace,” Sema said.

Sema said his group, which signed a peace deal with Manila in September 1996, is supporting the seven-year old peace talks between the MILF and the government.

“We cannot afford to be divided in the peace process because it will also divide our people. We are now pursuing on how the MNLF and the MILF can work together for peace in Mindanao,” he said.

The MILF, then under Salamat Hashim, broke away with the MNLF in 1977 and fought the government for the establishment of a separate Muslim homeland in the southern Philippines. Hashim died of a heart attack in 2003 and Ebrahim, then the MILF military chief, had been appointed to take over as the new chieftain of the rebel group.

(Mindanao Examiner)

Malaysia Furious Over Renewed RP Claims On Sabah

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / May 27, 2008) – A senior Malaysian politician furious over a renewed Philippine claims on Sabah have called for a stricter laws on Filipinos traveling to the oil-rich state.

Sabah Progressive Party president Datuk Yong Teck Lee said the National Security Council should closely watch developments in the southern Philippines with the collapse of the Moro peace deal and release of former rebel leader Nur Misuari, the Malaysian’s Star reported.

Lee said the withdrawal last month of the Malaysian truce observers from Mindanao was a clear indication of the failure of the peace process involving the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

“Further worries included the rumblings from freed rebel Nur Misuari over the Philippines’ claim to Sabah and the re-grouping of the Moro National Liberation Front,” the Star said.

Misuari, who was ousted as MNLF chairman by Muslimin Sema, the Front’s Secretary General, wanted the International Court of Justice to settle the Philippine claims on Sabah if Malaysia fails to resolve the issue.

Lee said the NSC and the Sabah State Security Committee should act on the problems brought about by the failure of the peace process and Misuari’s revival of the Sabah claims.

“All these warrant the immediate attention of the National Security Council in Putrajaya and the Sabah State Security Committee,” he said.

He also urged Kuala Lumpur to suspend the ferry service between Zamboanga and Sandakan. “Malaysia can also suspend the Zamboanga-Sandakan ferry service, impose bonds on incoming visitors, require ferry passengers to have return tickets and step up enforcement at all levels of government,” he said.

The Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo lays claim to Sabah. The Sultanate of Sulu was a Muslim state that ruled over much of the islands off the Sulu Sea. It stretches from a part of the island of Mindanao in the east, to North Borneo, now known as Sabah, in the west and south, and to Palawan, in the north.

The Sultanate of Sulu was founded in 1457 and is believed to exist as a sovereign nation for at least 442 years. The Sultanate of Sulu obtained Sabah from Brunei as a gift for helping put down a rebellion on the Borneo Island.

The British leased Sabah and transferred control over the territory to Malaysia after the end of Second World War. Even after Borneo became part of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur still pays an annual rent of 5,000 ringgit to the heirs of the Sultan of Sulu Ismail Kiram.

Misuari said what Malaysia pays to the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo is but a pittance.

The MNLF, under Misuari, signed a peace deal with Manila in September 1996 ending more than three decades of bloody fighting in the southern Philippines, and accepted a limited autonomy over four Muslim provinces – Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Maguindanao that were later expanded into 5 provinces with Maguindanao as an addition and now has become six with the inclusion of Shariff Kabunsuan.

Misuari later became governor or the Muslim autonomous region, but later accused the government of failing to honor the peace agreement, and his forces attacked major military bases and held civilians hostage in Sulu province and Zamboanga City in November 2001.

He fled to Sabah, his former refuge, but was arrested by Malaysian authorities and sent back to Manila where he is now facing rebellion charges and currently out on bail.

Sema said the issue on Sabah has been a long irritant between the Philippines and Malaysia and he appealed to Misuari not to use this to stir restlessness among local Muslims in Mindanao.

“This has been a very old issue and we don’t want to strain our good relations with Malaysia at the expense of everybody. The Philippines has in the past approached this old issue with diplomacy and respect to maintain good bilateral relations with Malaysia and we wanted this to continue,” Sema told the Mindanao Examiner. (Mindanao Examiner)

Special Report: Nur Misuari, Muslimin Sema And The Future Of The MNLF

SULU, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 28, 2008) – Freed former Moro National Liberation Front chieftain Nur Misuari will begin touring Muslim communities in the Philippines to campaign for peace.

His followers in Sulu province said they will prepare a big welcome party for Misuari, who is accused of rebellion after his forces attacked a major military base in Jolo town in 2001 in an effort to stop the elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, to which he was governor.

“We are waiting for our one and only leader and we will give him a big welcome in Sulu,” Abdul Sahalul, one of Misuari’s loyal followers in Sulu, told the Mindanao Examiner.

Misuari’s other leaders here, among them Ustadz Habier Malik, are still in hiding after they clashed with security forces last year and held hostage a group of military officers in a failed effort to pressure Manila to free Misuari.

Misuari was granted a P50,000 bail by a court last week after spending more than five years under house arrest in Manila. He said he would not run for governor again in the autonomous region, whose system he branded as “dirty” and ran by Malacañang.

“I don’t want to be part of a system which is dirty,” said Misuari, who also ran as governor in Sulu province twice and but lost.

Misuari maintained the ARMM was created as part of a peace deal the MNLF with Manila in September 1996.

Zaldy Ampatuan, a former town mayor in Maguindanao province, is the current governor of the Muslim autonomous region after he won the polls against Parouk Hussin.

Hussin, a senior MNLF leader, was one of those that made up the so-called Council of 15 that deposed Misuari as chairman of the organization that was once the largest Muslim rebel group in the Philippines.

Ampatuan, as governor of the Muslim autonomous region, has introduced reforms and fought corruption in government. He also prioritized development projects in areas where there are MNLF communities in support to the peace agreement.

Just this month, the MNLF Central Committee named Muslimin Sema, the group’s Secretary General, as its new chairman, But Misuari did not recognize Sema as the legitimate ruler of the MNLF.

Misuari has been criticized for his tough stance and his refusal to abide by the MNLF decision that catapulted Sema into power. Sema, who originally belonged to the Council of 15, said Misuari should stop bickering and work for peace and unity in the southern Philippines.

“We should to put things in their order and work for lasting peace in the country. This is our direction now and we will make ourselves available to the government to achieve peace and unity and bring development to our people,” Sema said in a separate interview.

Sema also praised the current governor of the autonomous region because of his many accomplishments in the six provinces that comprise the ARMM – Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Lanao, Maguindanao and Shariff Kabunsuan.

“Through these accomplishments, we can see his many achievements in the ARMM,” Sema said, referring to Ampatuan.

The MNLF, in a resolution, also criticized Misuari and branded him as a dictator and said he is no longer effective in running the group.

“We strive against the divisive dictatorial leadership, callousness and incorrigibility of Brother Nur Misuari that keep on weakening the MNLF and giving us the impediment to attain meaningful peace and development and against his disposition by repudiating senior MNLF members credibility and barring their participation in the tripartite meeting as members of the MNLF panel delegation because he enlisted non-MNLF members to replace them both in domestic and international forums,” it said.

The MNLF said Misuari appointed Yolanda Stern to represent him in meetings abroad instead of senior MNLF leaders. A streamer was also put up in Sulu saying: “Misuari has no right to send Yolanda, a Yahudi (Jew), to head the MNLF delegation to the last OIC summit meeting in Dakar, Senegal.”

Stern, head of an international foundation that helps the poor in the Philippines, said the sign is anti-female and an anti-Jewish remark directed at her name and husband, Dr. Tom Stern who is an American of Norwegian ancestry, but whose father was of Russian-Jewish heritage.

Misuari, as the official invitee to the Dakar summit of the Organization of Islamic Conference in March, was not allowed to go by the Philippine government for fear that he would never return. So he sent his emissaries, Ustadz Zain Jali and Abdul Muhaimin and Stern and her husband were the support team.

Stern said she is a senior adviser of the MNLF to the Americas. “My husband and I went as a support team because he speaks French and I know the Secretariat Staff. Dakar is a French speaking country.”

“I signed a memorandum of agreement with the MNLF in 1996 after the (signing of the) peace agreement (with the Philippine government). I will continue working with Chairman Nur Misuari towards peace for Mindanao until the leadership is determined by the Peoples Congress and not by underhanded treachery. Our foundation works hard to serve the people of the Philippines, especially Mindanao. I am a daughter of Mindanao, a free woman. Pity those who still resort to medieval thinking,” she said.

Aishah Fatima, of the MNLF, said Stern is not a member of the former rebel group and criticized her for underestimating the current leadership.

“That's reality and you had to accept it. Do not underestimate the new leadership now of the MNLF because without these leaders, Misuari is nothing and neither you have the right to scrutinize their decisions.”

“Misuari already made a big blunder by exchanging the struggle of the MNLF for a piece of paper where implementation never became a reality and where it only made rich foundations like yours, non-MNLF individuals who grab the opportunity of being close to Misuari and some government officials and NGOs,” she said.

Adler Heirman, a blogger who had followed Misuari’s political career, said the former rebel leader failed to bring unity to the MNLF.

“The problem with Nur Misuari is that he never values the efforts of those people who placed him to the top. The truth is, he is not the only founder of the MNLF, but just one of them and he now claims he’s the only founder of the MNLF. He should accept now that his excesses of dictatorial decisions and arrogance resulted to his situation now.”

“And Misuari’s allowing Yolanda (Stern) to represent the MNLF is a total betrayal of the noble cause of the MNLF. If we only follow Islamic way of punishing traitors of Jihad, what happened to Misuari now is not enough punishment for his treachery. Yolanda should call her boss the one perpetrating “underhanded treachery” not those leaders who were sincere in their Jihad Fi Sabillillah. Of course, you can’t understand this because you are not a Muslim and never became a Muslim,” he said.

The MNLF said Misuari is not interested in unity and neither is he interested in adopting a Charter (for the MNLF) that will govern the conduct and behavior of its members and set a clear direction to where the Front is heading.

“The worst thing that could happen to a ship full of passengers is to have a captain who is indifferent and hostile to them and does not have a compass by which to navigate the ship,” it said, adding, Misuari wanted a perpetual leadership with nothing to guide it and no one to question it.

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.

The 58-year old Sema has criticized Misuari for dragging the MNLF into disarray.

"Misuari wanted to bring down the MNLF with him and that's why we are all working hard to unify the MNLF and bring peace and development in Mindanao," he said.

Government peace adviser Jesus Dureza also welcomed Misuari’s temporary freedom. "We welcome the decision of the Makati Regional Trial Court allowing Chairman Nur Misuari to post bail. We hope that with his temporary liberty, Chairman Nur will continue to be an important player in the Mindanao peace process," Dureza said.

But Misuari’s fall had severely affected the MNLF which is now heavily divided and rift among its leaders is becoming more apparent. Misuari also supported President Gloria Arroyo's election bid and her allies in the Senate and Congress in 2004 in exchange for promises that he would be pardoned and freed.

Sema has vowed to "put into track the peace process with the government and make good the relations between the MNLF and government and convert it as vanguard of our people against exploitation and oppression and also as vanguard for good governance, transparency and accountability".

Sema said he intends to work further with local and international non-government organizations to bring peace and development in Muslim areas in Mindanao.

Sources close to Misuari previously said that he may be freed this year on condition that he will go to exile in Libya, which had previously supported the MNLF struggle for independence in the Philippines.

It was unknown whether Tripoli was aware or part of the plan, but Seif al-Islam, the son of the Libyan strongman Muammar al-Gaddafi and former Libyan ambassador to Manila, Salem Adam, were in Manila last year and met with government and MNLF leaders and discussed about Misuari’s case.

Seif’s Gaddafi Foundation said it would invite Misuari to a series of meeting in Libya next month to discuss the peace agreement it signed with Manila.

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.

The 58-year old Sema has criticized Misuari for dragging the MNLF into disarray. "Misuari wanted to bring down the MNLF with him and that's why we are all working hard to unify the MNLF and bring peace and development in Mindanao," he said.

The Organization of Islamic Conference is worried that the MNLF under Sema would further fragment the group and set back the efforts of the peace accord. The MNLF is a permanent observer to OIC. Misuari has repeatedly announced that the peace deal the MNLF signed with the Filipino government is long dead and buried and that he named himself as President of the Bangsamoro Republik. (Mindanao Examiner)

MNLF Praises Release Of Nur Misuari, But With Caution

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 25, 2008) – Former Muslim separatist rebel group Moro National Liberation Front has praised Manila on Friday for allowing its deposed leader Nur Misuari to post bail for his temporary liberty, but cautioned the Libyan firebrand against dividing the MNLF.

The Department of Justice said a court granted Misuari temporary freedom.

Misuari is facing rebellion charges after his forces tried, but failed to overrun a major military base in the southern Sulu province and another group held hostage over 100 people in Zamboanga City in 2001 in an attempt to stop the elections in the Muslim autonomous region where he was then the governor.

Misuari then escaped by boat to Malaysia, where he had been arrested and deported to the Philippines. He is now under house arrest and facing rebellion charges in Manila.

“We welcome the news of his release. And we hope this will bring unity and peace to the people,” Muslimin Sema, the new MNLF chieftain, told the Mindanao Examiner newspaper.

Misuari previously accused Sema’s group of removing him as chairman of the MNLF. His followers in Sulu said Misuari never recognized Sema as the new chieftain of the MNLF.

“Sema expects resistance to his leadership only by those whom he called as having different direction in the pursuit of the MNLF’s goals. He stressed that the Front is not fractured and that reorganization is in the offing,” Abdullah Cusain, Sema’s spokesman, said.

A former rebel leader, Sema, now the mayor of Cotabato City in Mindanao Island, has been elected earlier this month by the MNLF Central Committee as its new chieftain. It was the second time in nearly a decade that Misuari, who founded the MNLF, was removed by his own commanders.

In 2000, Misuari was also ousted by his Foreign Affairs chief Parouk Hussin, who along with Sema and other senior leaders, made up the so-called Council of 15. Sema’s group previously appointed Misuari as chairman emeritus, but he rejected the position.

The Council of 15 accused Misuari of being incompetent as governor of the Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao.

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, 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.

The 58-year old Sema has criticized Misuari for dragging the MNLF into disarray. “Misuari wanted to bring down the MNLF with him and that’s why we are all working hard to unify the MNLF and bring peace and development in Mindanao,” he said.

Government peace adviser Jesus Dureza also welcomed Misuari’s temporary freedom. “We welcome the decision of the Makati Regional Trial Court allowing Chairman Nur Misuari to post bail. We hope that with his temporary liberty, Chairman Nur will continue to be an important player in the Mindanao peace process,” Dureza said.

But Misuari's fall had severely affected the MNLF which is now heavily divided and rift among its leaders is becoming more apparent. Misuari also ran twice for governor in Sulu province even while under detention, but lost.

Misuari also supported Arroyo's election bid and her allies in the Senate and Congress in 2004 in exchange for promises that he would be pardoned and freed.

Sema has vowed to “put into track the peace process with the government and make good the relations between the MNLF and government and convert it as vanguard of our people against exploitation and oppression and also as vanguard for good governance, transparency and accountability”.

Sema said he intends to work further with local and international non-government organizations to bring peace and development in Muslim areas in Mindanao.

Sources close to Misuari earlier said that he may be freed this year on condition that he will go to exile in Libya, which had previously supported the MNLF struggle for independence in the Philippines.

It was unknown whether Tripoli was aware or part of the plan, but Seif al Islam, the son of the Libyan strongman Muammar al-Gaddafi and former Libyan ambassador to Manila, Salem Adam, were in Manila last year and met with government and MNLF leaders and discussed about Misuari’s case. (Mindanao Examiner)

Photo: Anti-Nur Misuari Sign In Sulu Province

A young boy looks curiously at a sign left by unidentified men at the Jolo airport in the southern Philippine province. The sign criticized Nur Misuri, founder of the Moro National Liberation Front for sending a woman to represent the former Muslim rebel group at a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) in Senegal. The sign reads: Misuari has no right to send Yolanda, a Yahudi, to head the MNLF delegation to the last OIC summit meeting in Dakar, Senegal." Misuari was ousted last week as MNLF chairman, by his former aides and named Muslimin Sema, the mayor of Cotabato City, as the new head of the organization. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

Libyan Firebrand Nur Misuari Is Removed As Chieftain Of MNLF In New Coup

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 02, 2008) – A former Muslim rebel leader, Nur Misuari, jailed on charges of rebellion in the Philippines, has been removed as chieftain of the Moro National Liberation Front.

A former rebel leader, Muslimin Sema, now the mayor of Cotabato City in Mindanao Island, has been named as the new chieftain of the MNLF. It was the second time in nearly a decade that Misuari, who founded the MNLF, was removed by his own commanders.

In 2000, Misuari was also ousted by his Foreign Affairs chief Parouk Hussin, who along with Sema and other senior leaders, made up the so-called Council of 15.

Sema’s group previously appointed Misuari as chairman emeritus, but rejected the position. The Council of 15 accused Misuari of being incompetent as governor of the Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao.

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, there was a widespread disillusionment with the weak autonomy they were granted.

And in November 2001, on the eve of the elections in the Muslim autonomous region, Misuari accused the government of reneging on the peace agreement, and launched a new rebellion in Sulu and Zamboanga City, where more than 100 people were killed.

Misuari then escaped by boat to Malaysia, where he had been arrested and deported to the Philippines. He is now under house arrest and facing rebellion charges in Manila.

Misuari's arrest in Malaysia, which also previously supported the MNLF bid for a separate homeland in Mindanao, was said to be in retaliation for his failure to secure the release of dozens of foreigners and Malaysian citizens kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf group on two island resorts off Sabah in 2000 and brought to Sulu province.

Hussin, who became governor of the Muslim autonomous region, was also ousted several years later after the Council of 15, disgruntled at his leadership, put back Misuari as head of the MNLF in 2007.

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.

But Misuari's fall had severely affected the MNLF which is now heavily divided and rift among its leaders is becoming more apparent. Misuari also ran twice for governor in Sulu province even while under detention, but lost.

He also supported Arroyo's election bid and her allies in the Senate and Congress in 2004 in exchange for promises that he would be pardoned and freed.

Sema’s spokesman, Abdullah Cusain, said the former rebel leader was unanimously elected by the MNLF central committee after a plenum on Tuesday in Pagadian City in Zamboanga del Sur province.

“With two-thirds of the Central Committee’s members and more than 300 ground commanders in attendance, the 3-day assembly settles the leadership crisis and absence of policy directions engendered in part by the refusal of Misuari in 2000 to abide with the decision of the then Council of 15 elevating him as chairman emeritus,” Cusain said.

Cusain said the 58-year old Sema vowed to “put into track the peace process with the government and make good the relations between the MNLF and government and convert it as vanguard of our people against exploitation and oppression and also as vanguard for good governance, transparency and accountability”.

Sema, he said, intends to work further with local and international non-government organizations to bring peace and development in Muslim areas in Mindanao.

“Sema expects resistance to his leadership only by those whom he called as having different direction in the pursuit of the MNLF’s goals. He stressed that the Front is not fractured and that reorganization is in the offing,” Cusain said.

A former aide of Misuari and member of the Council of 15, Abdul Sahrin, have also been named as the new MNLF secretary-general. Misuari has previously branded the Council of 15 as a group of traitors.

Sources close to Misuari said he may be freed this year on condition that he will go to exile in Libya, which had previously supported the MNLF struggle for independence in the Philippines.

It was unknown whether Tripoli was aware or part of the plan, but Seif al Islam, the son of the Libyan strongman Muammar al-Gaddafi and former Libyan ambassador to Manila, Salem Adam were in Manila last year and met with government and MNLF leaders and discussed about Misuari’s case. (Mindanao Examiner)

Japan Renews Commitment To Peace In Mindanao

Japanese Ambassador Makoto Katsura and Cotabato City Mayor Muslimin Sema. (Abdullah Cusain/Mindanao Examiner Photo)

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 31, 2007) – Japan on Wednesday renewed its commitment to support the peace process in Mindanao island in the southern Philippines.

Japanese Ambassador Makoto Katsura flew to Cotabato City and met with the local mayor Muslimin Sema, also the Secretary General of the former Muslim rebel group, Moro National Liberation Front which signed a peace deal with Manila in 1996.

Katsura also inaugurated a center that offers women training on mat weaving.

“The Ambassador stressed that they are here to help in peace-building and that their assistance is open to all and not just limited to conflict-affected areas. Ambassador Katsura stated his admiration for the natural wealth of this place and said that it could have been richer if not for the armed conflict,” Sema said.

Katsura was also accompanied by Yasunori Nakayama, the Embassy’s political minister; Yoshihisa Ishikawa, the Embassy’s First Secretary and Nagaishi Masafumi, senior advisor for reconstruction and development of Mindanao program and also a member of the International Monitoring Team (IMT).

Manila is currently negotiating peace with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front which is fighting the past three decades for the establishment of a strict Islamic state in Mindanao. (Abdullah Cusain)

Cotabato Mayor Wins For Last Time

Cotabato City Mayor Muslimin Sema. (Mindanao Examiner Photo Service/Dong Cusain)

COTABATO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 25 May) – Thousands of supporters of Cotabato City Mayor Muslimin Sema celebrated his victory Friday after the former rebel leader-turned-politician has been proclaimed winner in the recent elections.

Sema (LAKAS-CMD) topped again the mayoralty race, defeating close rival, Maguindanao 1st District Rep. Bai Zeny Dilangalen (PMP) by a huge margin. Sema was proclaimed winner by the City Board of Canvassers on Wednesday at the Sangguniang Panlungsod session hall where the canvassing was held. He got 34,773 votes against the 15,743 votes of Dilangalen.

"We are so happy and glad that Mayor Sema has won again. He has stirred Cotabato to what it is now," said Aquil Payunan, a trader.

Sema is the secretary-general of the former rebel group, Moro National Liberation Front, which signed a peace agreement with Manila in September 1995.

Unexpectedly, Estrellita Juliano (GO), who was predicted by many to emerge victorious as Sema and Dilangalen were to split the “Muslim votes”, fared poorly in the polls.

Three other unknown mayoralty candidates - Samad Candao, Baguindali Sapi and Habib Ibrahim - got a beating. This would be Sema’s third and final term as city mayor.

Also proclaimed was incumbent City Vice-Mayor Japal Guiani, Jr. (GO) who defeated Sema’s running mate, Councilor Cynthia Costales. Those who won in the City Council race are Abdullah Andang (LAKAS-CMD, 26476), Anwar Malang (LAKAS-CMD, 25238).

Florante Formento (LAKAS-CMD, 22426), Linda Ampatuan (GO, 20362), Eduardo Rabago (GO, 20036), Kusin Taha (LAKAS-CMD, 19993), Froilan Melendrez (GO, 19701), Wilfrido Bueno (GO, 19519), Marino Ridao (GO, 18686), and Madatu Datumanong (LAKAS-CMD, 17912). (Dong Cusain)

Cotabato City, International Partners Ink Pact On P40-M Waste Program

Cotabato City Mayor Muslimin Sema during the MOA signing. (Dong Cusain)

COTABATO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 15 Mar) - The City Government of Cotabato entered into and signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Accion Contra El Hambre and Handicap International for the commencement of a three-year P40-million project on solid waste management.

Cotabato City Mayor Muslimin G. Sema, along with Nancy Troup, Program Coordinator of Accion Contra El Hambre and Benjamin Gobin, Program Director of Handicap International, signed recently the multi-sectoral undertaking dubbed as “Project on Improvement of the Environmental Living Conditions of Some of the Most Vulnerable Urban Households in Cotabato City”.

Hailed as a shot in the arm for the city government’s waste management program, the said project shall be implemented within 3 years and will eventually benefit an estimated 10,582 households of 10 chosen pilot areas in the city. These include the villages of Tamontaka Mother and 1, Kalanganan Mother, Poblacion Mother, 1, 5, 6, 7 and 8; and Bagua Mother.

Troup said the project aims to improve the standard of living of vulnerable populations in a sustainable manner. It is specifically designed to “reduce the environmental health risks of the beneficiary households living in urban and peri-urban villages of Cotabato City in a sustainable manner through improved waste management practices.”

Meanwhile, Gobin reminded that caring for nature is everybody’s concern. Failure to do so may mean putting every one into environmental risks. He urged everybody to work harder in order to build a clean environment. “We can’t destroy nature without destroying ourselves”, he said.

For his part, Mayor Sema expressed his appreciation and gratefulness to his international partners as the project finally came into reality. He put much hope on the success of the project as it will give the people the chance to have a surrounding cleaner and more conducive to live on.

He is optimistic that waste collection and disposal in the city “will never be the same again” as the project eventually gets momentum. The European Union, thru its Asia Pro-Eco Programme, is co-funding the project. (Dong Cusain)

ARCs Launch In Cotabato

Cotabato City Mayor Muslimin Sema. (Mindanao Examiner Photo/Dong Cusain)

COTABATO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 09 Mar) – Muslim and Christian farmers hailed the implementation of the government agrarian reform programs in Cotabato City in southern Philippines.

Agrarian Undersecretary Kashmir Leyretana and Mayor Muslimin Sema, of Cotabato City, on Thursday led the opening of 5 Agrarian Reform Communities (ARC) here. More than 5,000 farmers are expected to benefit from the program, said Sema.

“We will continue to work real hard so our farmers would enjoy the fruits of their labor,” he told the Mindanao Examiner.

Some 5,000 hectares planted to rice and coconuts are covered by the ARC. Sema urged more farmers to put up cooperatives so the government can provide them aid and other assistance.

The DAR also has a program called “Support to Agrarian Reform Communities” of STARCM and previously distributed cultivation machineries to farmers’ multi-purpose cooperatives.

But cooperative members should undergo training they would be given assistance to ensure proper management of the projects.

STARCM is a seven year rural development program that assists in bridging the economic disparities of 50 agrarian reform communities (ARCs) in central Mindanao.

ARCs are groups of villages, where sustainable activities through convergence of development initiatives from various agencies, are introduced to improve the lives of poor farmers.

Over 51,000 farming households in Mindanao have benefited from the project. (Dong Cusain)

Photo: Cotabato City Mayor Muslimin Sema

GO COTABATO GO. Cotabato City Mayor Muslimin Sema operates a backhoe during the ground breaking ceremony of the construction of the multi-million trade center in Cotabato City in the southern Philippines. The center is partially funded by the United States Agency for International Development-Growth with Equity in Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner Photo/Mark Navales)

Photo: PAL Airbus Flies To Cotabato

PAL AIRBUS FLIES TO COTABATO. Crew and ground staff of the Philippine Airlines (PAL) and officials of the Air Transportation Office pose with Cotabato City Mayor Muslimin Sema in front of the PAL’s Airbus A320-200, RP-C3230 at Awang airport in Datu Odin Sinsuat town in Maguindanao. (Mindanao Examiner Photo/Mark Navales)

OPINION: "The Untold Story" By Amirah Ali Lidasan

WHEN I RECEIVED text messages from Jolo about the news that Ustadz Habier Malik of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) had “held hostage” a government peace executive and Major General Benjamin Dolorfino of the Marines, I felt afraid for the people of Sulu.For weeks now, I have been a constant visitor of Sulu.

I have visited members and supporters of the Suara Bangsamoro party-list organization and told them what they have been waiting for years to hear — that despite our loss in the 2004 elections, Suara Bangsamoro will again run in this year’s elections.

In my visits, I observed that while President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Armed Forces chief General Hermogenes Esperon had been receiving congratulations from US President George Bush for the death of Abu Sayyaf leaders Khadaffy Janjalani and Abu Solaiman, the people of Sulu were indifferent about the issue.

I got the same reactions from the people of Basilan.But when on Jan. 18, the Marines in Jolo reported that they had killed nine Abu Sayyaf men in an encounter in Timpuuk, Patikul town, many Joloanos were angered by the report.

According to the families of those who were slain, they were not Abu Sayyaf but card-bearing members and a commander of the Moro National Liberation Front who were visiting their families in a village very near the Bonbon village, the main camp of the Marines Landing Team 9 in Sulu.

In our interviews with the family, we learned that a 12-year old-kid was shot. Rodimar Julali was merely accompanying his father in a Tamaraw jeepney going to the city to report an incident about the killing of their comrades in Timpuuk. A 90-year-old man, Sarail Jaynatul, was also among the casualties.

This sparked anger from the Tausugs, and even merited an investigation from a joint monitoring group of the GRP (government of the Republic of the Philippines) and MNLF for a week. While investigations were going on and protest from organizations reached the military and the media, the Philippine Marines refused to admit their mistakes and continued to refer to those killed as Abu Sayyaf members.

On Feb. 1, both the GRP and the MNLF presented their reports of what really happened in Patikul on Jan. 18. The next day, the report was also submitted to Ustadz Habier Malik, chairman of the MNLF in Panamao, Sulu, where Camp Bitanag is situated.

When the news broke Friday that Ustadz Malik was holding the GRP team hostage, I was afraid that war will erupt in Jolo and I feared for the lives of my fellow Moro people. They are often misunderstood and often their actions are being capitalized on for war.

As MNLF secretary-general Ustadz Murshid Ibrahim puts it: “Taking hostage of anyone is violative of Islam. It is against MNLF doctrines and principles as a revolutionary organization. Using the word hostage is too harsh and unfair. Ustadz Kahber Malik is a man of peace. He only requested GRP representatives to prolong their stay in Beta’nag for inquiries in view of so many confusing situations going on.”

And the GRP really has a lot of explaining to do. How come they are now targeting MNLF members in their pursuit of Abu Sayyaf?

Why did they arrest six civilians on Jan. 20 in the municipality of Parang and accused them of being Abu Sayyaf?

Families have complained that Julpi Bastillan, ASli Bahari, Gapur Angkijh, Ben Lipae, Boy Lipae and a certain Karam were tortured to admit they were terrorists. After three days, they were released for lack of evidence.

Why was the tripartite meeting in Jeddah canceled? This would have been an opportunity for the MNLF to raise the human-rights violations issues perpetrated by the GRP against their members and commanders in Sulu since 2000.

And, of course, it would have been a venue to raise the issue of the illegal detention of Professor Nur Misuari, the chairman of the MNLF.

Just recently, US ambassador Kristie Kinney and a US diplomat, Karen Hughes, went to Jolo to congratulate the Marines there for a job well done. But did they listen to the Tausugs who had reported about the wounded Tausug woman from Indanan who suffered several wounds in the back because an American soldier “accidentally” fired at her home? Buh Bizma Johan, 45, was washing her clothes in their home in Tagbak, Indanan, when bombs from a nearby military camp in Bud Daju were fired at her place and shrapnel hit her back.

Her case was considered closed by the military and state officials because her family and relatives entered into an agreement with the US soldiers. Her relatives signed an agreement allowing the US soldiers to pay for her medication and moral damages, but there was also the tacit agreement that they should not file a complaint against the US soldiers.

In our talk with her, Buh Bizma even told us that he had been told by the military that she should be thankful that she was being paid a big amount. Had that happened with a Filipino soldier, she would have received a much lower amount, she was told.

Buh Bizma said she was not going to complain because she was more afraid of the repercussion if she went after the Americans.President Arroyo should review her “hands of steel” policy. For while she is boasting of her recent “victories,” the Moro people who are victims of her militarist strategy are not clapping their hands.

There is still no peace in Sulu and the rest of Mindanao. Her military solution undermines the peace negotiations and the Moro people’s resolve to seek justice for victims of human rights abuses. (Amirah Ali Lidasan is the national vice-chairperson of the Suara Bangsamoro partylist organization)

P56-M Commercial Center To Rise In Cotabato City

Cotabato City Mayor Muslim Sema speaks with a Muslim woman during a medical mission held inside the CIty Hall. Sema signs an agreement with the Growth With Equity in Mindanao, of the United States Agency for International Development, for the construction of a P56-million Cotabato City Commercial Center. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

COTABATO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 02 Feb) – A P56-million commercial center is expected to rise in Cotabato City after the local government and the Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM II) Program signed a memorandum of agreement to build one of the biggest structure here.

The construction would take at least six month, said Cotabato City Mayor Muslimin Sema. "We are happy to announce the construction of this Cotabato City Commercial Center, with the help of GEM II, and we are optimistic that more investments would come to our beautiful place," Sema told the Mindanao Examiner.

Sema and Carlos Canda Tan, GEM II deputy program manager, both signed the agreement this week in Cotabato City. Under the agreement, GEM II will shoulder the main bulk of the project cost amounting to P42.64 million while the local government shall put up an equity fund totaling P14.21 million.

Just recently, the City Council has authorized Sema to secure a loan amounting to P6.2 million as counterpart money for the project.

GEM II will be primarily responsible for site development including concreting of interior road system, drainage system, potable water line, landscaping & lighting, and construction of 60 units (30 sq.m. each) stalls, toilets, parking area, fountain, an open space for gatherings, an administration office, passenger waiting shed and perimeter fence.

The city government already cleared the proposed 1.5-hectare site of the Cotabato City Commercial Center of illegally-built houses and structures and had relocated tenants to Tamontaka 1 and some portions of Malagapas Resettlement Phase 2 here.

This month, it will begin embankment works that would cost P6.25 million as its major counterpart for the project. (Abdullah Cusain)