By Dr. Aland Mizell in Island of Mindanao, Philippines
Introduction
The conflict in Mindanao between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Bangsamoro rebel groups has been going on more than three decades. The conflict has killed more than a hundred thousand people, displaced millions of natives, and prevented the development of the resource-rich southeastern part of the Mindanao region.
The main problems of land ownership, poverty, neglect, underdevelopment, illiteracy, corruption, and questions about historical roots are a major cause of other inequities resulting in social and economical problems (Professor Lingga). The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) broke away from the MNLF, addressing the importance of Islamic renewal as part of the struggle for self-determination. Its goal is an independent Islamic State. For the MILF the rights of Bangsamoro People entail three important elements: an Islamic way of life, government according to Islamic teaching, and self governance in lieu of being governed by others. Currently, the Philippines government and the MILF signed an initial agreement in Kuala Lumpur that contained eleven consensus points.
The government and the MILF have agreed to establish a future autonomous Bangsamoro political entity and to have a "ministerial form of government," according to the two-page agreement signed by Marvic Leonen, the government's chief negotiator, and the MILF counterpart, Mohager Iqbal, in Kuala Lumpur on April 24, 2012. The powers that will remain exclusive to the Philippines national government are: external security, defense, foreign policy, common market and global trade, coinage and monitory policy, citizenship and naturalization, and postal service. The power to enter into economic agreements, however, will be transferred to the new Bangsamoro entity. Both parties agreed that the future Bangsamoro entity must be given the power to create its own sources of revenue and to have a just share in the revenue generated through the exploration, development, or utilization of natural resources. The political entity will also have the power over the Shariah justice system. The autonomous political entity envisioned is a secular political unit, existing within the Republic of the Philippines, located within its territory and subject to its sovereignty as a state.
Despite its being described as fundamentalist, the MILF has continued willingly to have a relationship with other forces and civil society within and beyond the Muslim community. MILF leader, Salamat Hashim, heads a council of reclusive Ulama Islamic scholars, who live strictly according to Islamic rules and meditate on the Quranic teachings. The MILF is the largest and now most influential Islamic movement in the Philippines. It has embarked on peace negotiations with the Government of the Philippines with the facilitation of the Government of Malaysia since 2001 MILF leaders initiated diplomatic visits in 2009 to the European Union (EU) and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member countries, besides Japan, that intend to join the formation of the International Contact Group accompanying the Philippines government - MILF ceasefire mechanism.
The Malaysian led International Monitoring Team was formed with Brunei, Libya, and Japan, as mutually agreed by the both sides in 2004. The MILF is a religious and political organization made up of Islamists engaged in a liberation struggle based in their traditional homeland embracing Mindanao, its adjacent islands, and the Sulu Archipelago. The Sunni sect with its Islamic seamless identity of self and nation is a part of the Moro narrative, which is a historical process in modernity. The MILF formed in the early 1980s; its founder, Salamat Hashim, led the MILF until his death in 2003. His successor, Alhaj Murad Ebrahim, holds a political worldview heavily influenced by the ideas of Hasan al- Banna and echoes those of Sayyid Qutub on social justice.
Ebrahim often writes on Jihad issues as they relate to the struggle for justice and recognition of the legitimate rights of the Muslim people in the Philippines. Sharing his longing for justice, his ideology, and the MILF ‘s ideological position, he makes it clear that in his view the Moro problem is deeply rooted in the illegal, immoral incorporation of the Moro ancestral domain of the Philippines' unitary state system. MILF leader, Salamat Hashim, heads the Ulama Council that sets policy for the Front and comes to decisions to be implemented by political and military leaders, among whom is Mohagher Iqbal.
For decades the MILF with its more than eleven thousand guerilla fighters has been fighting the Philippine army to establish a self-ruled Muslim sub-state in the southeastern Philippines, a predominantly Catholic-Christian area. Recently Philippine President Benigno Aquino met with the leader of the MILF in Japan. It is the first time in several decades that a Philippine president has met face to face with a leader of the rebel group. President Aquino, who has been in office for a year, has placed a high priority on solving the country's long running Muslim and Communist insurgency problems. The Philippine government has been proposing an enhanced autonomy to address the conflict in the southern Philippines.The MILF, on the other hand, is asking for a sub-state where the Bangsamoro people will run their own government but still be under the Philippine government.
Like the MILF, the Kurds have a minority status. Since the 1970s, Turkey has been struggling against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (the PKK), a group who has a desire to live free and to enjoy self-rule internally. The character traits of leaders can often improve or detract from a minority's shared goals. Humility is not cowardice nor is meekness weakness. Humility and meekness are indeed powerful. The question is will Turkey's Prime Minister Erdogan learn any lessons from Philippine President Aquino to show humility and to meet face to face with the PKK leaders to end this bloodshed? History shows that true advocates of peace will exhaust all alternatives. The time is fast approaching that Mr. Erdogan should act in a humble manner and not provoke the Kurds, but respect the rights, freedoms, and status of the Kurdish citizens. I believe the first test of a truly great man is in his humility. Changes happen by listening to the oppressed, not by provoking them, for example, the Kurdish people. Then by starting a dialogue with the people who are committing acts that do not seem right, a leader may correct them.
What follows is the interview of Mohager Iqbal Chairman of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front Peace Panel by Dr. Aland Mizell on December 2011, in Island of Mindanao, Philippine
Dr. Aland Mizell: What is the "Moro Problem or Question"? How would you define it?
Mohager Iqbal: The Bangsamoro Muslim problem is the illegal usurpation of their legitimate rights for freedom and self-determination. We Muslims are the native inhabitants of portions of the Islands of Mindanao, Basilan, Sulu, Palawan, and some neighboring islands. These islands were independent for centuries before the creation of the Republic of the Philippines by Spain and the United States of the America.
When the Republic of the Philippines received its independence from the USA in 1946, they plotted to annex the Bangsamoro homeland. After the annexing of this territory, the Philippine government implemented some unjust policies against the Bangsamoro people, such as the establishment of Catholic Christian settlements; individual and group migration from Luzon and Visayas to the Bangsamoro homeland; illegal killing of Muslims, burning of their houses and livestock, and the destruction of the Muslim houses, farms, and Islamic schools.
The Philippine government exploited our natural resources to deprive us of such natural and given wealth. That's why today Bangsamore people are culturally and socio- economically backward, with mass poverty, corruption, and illiteracy in the country. That's why the situation got the immediate attention of President Aquino's government to solve this problem. MILF is not negotiating for total independence nor is a total independence a part of the current peace process between the MILF and Philippine government.
Mizell: What Is the MILF?
Iqbal: MILF stands for Moro Islamic Liberation Front. The MILF is the first Islamic movement in the Bangsamoro homeland in Mindanao, Philippines begun because of the deep rooted and unjust policy of the Philippine government, oppression, as well as illegal and immoral usurpation of the Bangsamoro people's freedom and self-determination.
Actually the problem of the Bangsamoro people begins with the colonial power immorally annexing the ancestral homeland of the Bangsamoro people when the United States of America granted the Philippines independence in 1946.
A group of Bangsamoro students who studied in Saudi Arabia and Egypt united together and organized themselves in 1962; those students were unified by the common cause concerning the usurpation of their legitimate and God-given inalienable rights to freedom and self-determination, and the notion that the usurpation of Moro Land was a plot against Islam and the Muslim people in the region.
The group of students urged their Bangsamoro people to fight against the aggressors. The MILF makes sure that all the policies are in conformity with the teaching of Islam and that its members and followers adopt s system accordance of the teaching of the Quran. The majority of the Bangsamoro Muslims sympathize with the MILF.
Mizell: What is the place and importance of the Moro Question in regional and international policy?
Iqbal: Yes, the regional and international multi- donor agencies play a positive role to create an environment for continued trust in the negotiations to provide support for the peace process. Members of the International Contact Group (ICG), including Turkey, and the Malaysian Government are for the peace process between the MILF and the government of the Philippines.
Other members of the ICG are Japan, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, and representatives of the Asia Foundation, the Center for Humanitarian Dialogue, and NGOs. The role of the International Contact Group is to attend and observe the negotiations, as well as to visit and advise the parties in conflict with assistance in order to solve the problem.
The consultation of the ICG is coordinated through the Malaysian Facilitator Act as a bridge between peace processes. I would say the role of regional and international donor agencies is to help keep the negotiations going. For example, the International Monitor Team also has played a positive role in the past.
Sometimes it is hesitant to let a third party intervene in this kind of conflict because it was perceived as a domestic issue, but it is good to have a third party participating as long as they do not bring their own agenda to the negotiations or actually establish the framework of the peace process. The negotiation process should be able to implement the road map or mechanism that would include the active participation of the international community.
Mizell: What is the place and importance of the Moro Question in foreign policy of the Muslim nations? Do the Muslim nations and European countries have any policy or strategy toward the Moros as a nation?
Iqbal: As I said, as a member of the International Contact Group (ICG), and the Malaysian Government, the MILF is really serious in this negotiation. We want to finish this process as soon as possible and give our people the much sought for peace, which they have never had since Spain started the war that lasted for more than three centuries.
The support of the Muslim countries to the Bangsamoro is very important and much needed. The Bangsamoro struggle for freedom and self-determination is the bloodiest in history. It first started when Spain invaded the Bangsamoro land in the fifteenth century. The Bangsamoro people fought against the Spaniards for more than three centuries and against American for about forty years and have been fighting with the Philippine government for the past sixty plus years.
The Bangsamoro people fought for more than four centuries to preserve their Islamic faith and identity to defend their legitimate rights to freedom and self-determination. They have no one to ask help except Allah and their brothers in the faith. Muslim nations such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Libya, and OIC have helped in the past, and even non-Muslims countries, such Japan and other countries, have helped to bring the problem to the negotiation table.
Mizell: What is the uniqueness of the current peace process?
Iqbal: The MILF agrees fully with the Philippine government in fast tracking the negotiations. We have been in this negotiation for the last fifteen years since 1997. This is too long a process, so that not everybody has the courage to stay on course. We hope and believe that the government is sincere and that both parties are trying to come up with some kind of agreement. The MILF peace panel can withstand any challenge as long as we can walk and speak and have the confidence and authority of our principles.
Since the Philippine government also has the majority of Filipinos who have voted for the President and have confidence in the President's decision, it is a plus for this peace negotiation. But if the government continues to delay the peace process, we are afraid that we might not able to hold on indefinitely against the groups whose radical agenda are feeding on the failure of this negotiation, so we hope the government will not cause more delay and will not put the MILF in a tough position.
We are not as productive as we expected; we have not moved fast enough from where we started a year ago; and perhaps the only complement that we can be ok with for the moment is our agreement on the eleven points regarding basic issues and concerns developed during our exploratory talks that included autonomy as the form of self-governance that the MILF intends to put into place in a future Moro state or sub-state.
It is true that the Philippine government does recognize the Bangsamoro Muslim nation but not as a separate country, and the MILF is not negotiating for absolute independence or to have a separate country. We are asking for some kind of sub- state or autonomous one because we want to have majority control over the land we live in. We want our own governance, but do not want to include foreign affairs, currency, and coinage. The MILF and Philippine government are willing to come up with a third way.
Mizell: What are the main differences between the MILF and the GPH political settlements? What is the common ground for the MILF and the Government of the Philippines (GPH)?
Iqbal: We are Muslim, and we should be governed according to our law and the teaching of Islam; we are native in this land; we should have self-governance, and we do not want to be governed by outsiders. We want to take care of our own house; we don't need someone to come and tell us how to live in our house.
The moment we focus on this form of self-governance, given the abundance of models in the world today like Scotland, Hong Kong, and Puerto Rico, we can expect swift development in the talks. We must first solve the political issues; otherwise, we will pass the problems to the next generation. We MILF want to have a sub-state, and a sub state is within a country.
We can wait for the constitutional amendment; we have learned from previous experience. An eight- year old daughter asked her father, the chief of the Philippine government's negotiating panel, "Papa, why don't you give the MILF what they want?" The answer is "They are asking for more than what we can give. They are asking for something they cannot manage. They are asking something where others have a rightful claim. They are asking for something that is not do-able and implementable in our terms. They are asking for something that is not any better than what we offer. They are asking for coffee when tea is healthier."
"But, Papa, who determines what is better and healthier for them?" asked the daughter. "We know better," the father said. "But why do you insist on tea when they like coffee? Have you tried their coffee? What if they couldn't live with tea? Can't you drink your tea and let them drink their coffee?" insisted the daughter. We hope that peace talks will conclude a political settlement in a year's timeframe. A good constitution must be brief and not rigid. We can't make economic reform without first addressing the political issues. We MILF believe that the sub-state proposal is the highest expression of their right to exercise self-determination without jeopardizing the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Philippines.
The Philippine government proposed a "3 for 1" solution in the form of massive economic development, a peace accord, and cultural and historical acknowledgement. My understanding is that the Philippine government is trying to solve the Bangsamoro Question, because we are not solving the problem by addressing the socio- economic needs of the Bangsamoro people but rather through a reformed and enhanced autonomy, in partnership with the MILF and possibly with the MNLF. A constitutional amendment to pave the way for a sub-state is not a priority of the Philippine government.
The MILF's socio-economic service, Enhancing Autonomous Region, as well as other proposals, did not work and will not work. Dropping our bid for independence, the proposed sub - state is our minimum demand to address our struggle for self-determination. We agreed to talk about ancestral domain with the previous administration as one of our consensus points. ARMM is the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). However, the Supreme Court found the MOA-AD unconstitutional.
The public has nothing to fear about the proposed sub-state because it is not secession; it is still part of the Philippines; it is about a federal system of government like the United States of America, Malaysia, and Germany. In the Federal system, all member states are each independent, and laws on interstate commerce cover their relations with each other. But they do agree on a common currency, postal system, foreign relation, and defense forces.
Basically what MILF is asking for is very simple: let the Moros run their affairs; let them decide their own destiny. The core issues up for discussion are the power of the government, natural resources, ancestral domains, and the geographic culture of autonomy.
Regarding the governance, the MILF and the Philippine government are of one mind that powers relating to foreign affairs, national defense, postal service, coinage and monetary policies, citizenship and naturalization, and global trade shall remain with the national government.
Mizell: What will the MILF do if the Philippine government peace panel still fails to give its counter-proposal agreement in the forthcoming talks?
Iqbal: The MILF will press them to submit their counterproposal. We are also telling them that the longer they delay the submission of their counterproposal, the more they are giving the wrong signal on the ground, and the hardliners or those against peace talks will be happy about that.
The burden is with the government. If anything happens on the ground, the MILF is not responsible; the government is responsible; it's not our fault. This is a great opportunity for both parties to come up with the agreement.
The pragmatic approach to the MILF, vis-à-vis the political settlement of the problem in Mindanao, proved too hard to prevail over the utopian mindset and advocacy of the idealist and the hardliners.
We hope that the peace process continues, and we hope the current government will not delay the peace process any more but instead will address the fundamental political issues of the problem and be willing to put an end to this long Bangsamoro struggle and suffering for justice.
Mizell: How does the MILF maintain its strength? What is the role of the OIC?
Iqbal: The MILF gets its strengths from Allah and its people. As long as the Muslim problem has not been solved, we will consolidate; we will organize committees and military units. That is not illegal. Yes, Muslim countries do help us solve this problem, such as Malaysia, and others.
Mizell: Is independence for the Moros on the negotiation table? What does autonomy implies, and what does sub-state mean?
Iqbal: The MILF is not negotiating for total independence for the Bangsamoro people. Basically, the sub-state is still under the Philippines, and it has four layers of power and authority reserved for the central government, which are foreign relations, national defense, currency, and postal services, and there is residual power for the sub-state.
It is a kind of federal system of government such as in America, Malaysia, and Germany. In the federal system, all member states are each independent, and their relations with each other are covered by laws on inter state commerce. But they do agree on a common currency, postal, foreign relation, and defense.
As a political solution, the MILF is no longer asking for independence but for a sub-state. Also, there are joint jurisdictions of power, exercised jointly by the central government and the sub-state government.
Mizell: What is the role of civil society? Of NGOs? Have programs been implemented to increase civic participation? Do you think that the MILF needs to engage more actively with civic society in fighting corruption? Iqbal: The MILF continues to engage with civil society groups and NGOs to be involved in the peace negotiations because we believe civil society groups and NGOs have the potential to make significant contributions to the management of conflict in the Mindanao.
However, the Muslim civil society needs to be strengthened to rectify Muslim-Christian imbalances. There is an active peace movement in Mindanao that strengthens civil society in the Philippines as a whole from both parties. Muslim and Christian groups have tried to build avenues to manage the hostilities through NGOs, churches, and business communities, such as Mindanao People Caucuses, and Bishop Ulema conference.
These types of organizations and civil societies have been involved and tried to manage the conflict. The MILF has engaged with civil society and NGOs to expose citizens to issues involved in peace talks. Civil society organizations must work with policy elites to reach the public at large, to expose citizens to issues involved in peace talks, and to win the hearts and minds of the Christian people.
Of course, if civil society and NGOs are not fair and balanced and have a political agenda, it can backfire, and it can be an obstacle to the peace process. Due to the lack of law and order, the impact of social groups and NGOs has been limited to a political process.
Nevertheless, the current role of civil society in peace-building has made progress; for example, the Second Solidarity Conference on Mindanao, representing religious groups, businesses, civil societies, and national NGOS, as well as international NGOs, gathered in Davao City in September to tackle the current Philippine government and MILF peace talks. These relationships should be developed, because civil society and NGOs deepen both actors' interactions with the public at large, and civil society can play a role in bringing about lasting peace in Mindanao.
The MILF certainly welcomes just and fair participation of NGOs and civil society. Regarding corruption, in our religion it is not allowed to take a bribe or give a bribe, but that does not mean we do not have a corruption problem. We do have; that's another reason we support civil society, to check on local and national government and to make them responsible and accountable, which will certainly help to reduce the corruption.
Mizell: What policies would decrease violence in the south?
Iqbal: The government needs to have a fast track for the peace negotiations, which have dragged us for the past fourteen years. Bangsamoro people are convinced that the sub-state proposal of the MILF constitutes the highest expression of their right to exercise self-determination without jeopardizing the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Philippines. The most important of the demands of the MILF are self-governance and a constitutional amendment that will recognize the Bangsamoros, because the Philippine Constitution is copied from colonial powers and therefore does not recognize the sovereignty of the Bangsamoro people. It will be more functional, more inclusive and representative, and more participatory for governance institutions.
Resource sharing should be managed by the Muslims, and the role of the military should be decreased in the region; both are policies that would decrease violence in Mindanao for a constitutional amendment that will allow the creation of a Moro sub-state whereby they can craft a Bangsamoro basic law that will certainly help to reduce the violence.
Once we solve the political issues and have just policies, then economic and human development can take place, but without political issues being solved, we can't just expect economic development, education development, or reduction of poverty and unemployment.
That's why we need self-determination with a just constitution that will have equal representation, will not favor one group over another, and will recognize that the Moro people have a right to self-determination.
Mizell: What are the motives behind the Bangsamoro Muslim uprising?
Iqbal: The major cause behind the struggle of the Bangsamoro people is the illegal usurpation of their legitimate rights for freedom and self-determination.
We are the native inhabitants of the islands of Mindanao, Basilan, Sulu and Palawan. They were independent and sovereign before the Spaniards came for 3- Gs (meaning God, Glory, and Gold). With the help of America they annexed the Bangsamoro homeland when she was granted to the Philippines.
The methods that they use against the Bangsamoro people were grabbing Muslim lands, establishing Catholic settlement, systematic killing Muslim people, burning and destroying houses, and exploiting natural resources, so justice is our motive. To live free in our homeland is our motive; to take care of our resources is our motive to fight against the injustice.
Mizell: Where does the MILF get its weapons?
Iqbal: We get weapons from the Philippine military.
Mizell: How can we differentiate between the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front?
Iqbal: If you carefully look at the ideology and way of life adopted by the MILF and the MNLF, you will clearly see the great differences. The MILF adopts the Islamic ideology and Islamic teaching way of life. The MILF broke away from the MNLF, stressing the importance of Islamic teaching as part of the struggle for self-determination.
The MILF has the Council of the Ulema, reclusive Islamic scholars who make decisions strictly according to Islamic rules and who mediate on the Quran daily. This council sets policy for the MILF, and political and military leaders, among them, then implement decisions made by myself as well. So the MILF believes in the Islamic concept of state and government.
By contrast, the MNLF is more inclined to secularism. The main difference is that the MNLF recognizes the Philippine Constitution and works under the Philippine government, while the MILF does not recognize the Constitution of the Philippines and fights against the government.
The MILF reiterates our right to self-determination. We believe that Islam is our way of life; we should be governed according to the teaching of Islam and self-governance, and we do not want to be governed by outsiders. Under the MNLF peace agreement, Misuari gave so much emphasis to foreign participation, for example, the OIC.
In our case we welcome the OIC and other Muslim countries; we can make peace in our own because this is our eternal problem. The MNFL had a different political approach, especially on the question of territory. The MNLF asked for some provinces; the MILF does not put so much emphasis on autonomy.
It seeks to establish the independent Islamic government in areas where Muslims are predominant; however, in the current negotiation we are not asking for total independence. The peace agreement between the MNLF and the Philippine government was significant because it was formalized and signed by the two parties. But it is not enough because the Bangsamoro people still suffer and are not free.
Mizell: What is the role of the United States' involvement in the peace process?
Iqbal: The United States and the Philippines have a long historical relationship. Before the United States did not have much interest in the Mindanao conflict. America saw it as a domestic problem. However, the September/11 developments made the United States realize the danger that Mindanao might become a sanctuary of terrorists. So the main strategy of America's war on terror is to prevent terrorist infrastructures from developing in the dense jungle of Mindanao.
Also, the rise of China's hegemonic power in Asia made the Philippines geopolitically important for America to balance China in the South China Sea. America wants the problem to be solved, and the MILF is welcoming the American involvement in the peace process.
Former U.S ambassador Kristie Kenney visited the MILF stronghold in an attempt to support the peace process between the government and the MILF. The reason for America not to get involved in the peace process is because it was hard for America to play a neutral role between a government which it has diplomatic relation with-- the Philippine government-- and, on the other hand, the MILF, a revolutionary organization that does not fit American interests, I guess, but things are changing.
It is in American interest because the balance of power has shifted to Asia, and America would like to be involved in the peace process. So far America has let the Peace Institute be involved.
Mizell: How do you see the situation of the Kurdish minority in Turkey? What is your advice for Kurdish parties in Turkey and the Turkish government to solve the Kurdish problem?
Iqbal: One of the major problems facing mankind today is racism, hate, injustice, and oppression. Our religion rejects certain individuals or nations being favored because of their wealth, power or race.
Allah created human beings as equals who are to be distinguished from each other only on the basis of their faith. Turkey should listen and respect the rights of our Kurdish brother and ask what they want and ensure justice, full freedom, and respect of human rights, to ensure the establishment of equal rights for our Kurdish brother. Islam provides many humans rights for the individuals.
Turkey should provide human rights for the Kurdish. That's why our struggle to make sure that all its policies and activities are in conformity with the teachings of the Quran and Sunnah, and that its members and followers adopt a system of life in accordance with the teaching of Islam.
Kurds, like Bangsamoro people, should have decided their own destiny, and outsiders should not ask them how to live. Every step brings us closer to our destination. Turks and Kurds should negotiate in their journey of peace toward a just political settlement of the Kurdish question on the basis of the Kurdish people's right to self-determination and freedom. Think Kurdish parties and the Turkish government should have a dialogue to solve the problems, and if the Kurds want to have their autonomy, they should have it.
About the interviewee: Mohagher Iqbal, Chairman of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front Peace Panel, currently is negotiating with the Philippine government. The Chair of the Committee on Information of the MILF Central Committee, Mohagher Iqbal, joined the Jabidah protests in 1968 as a student, has written books on the Mindanao conflict, and is considered a leading ideologue of the MILF.
