DAVAO, Philippines – Moro Islamic Liberation Entrance (MILF) vice chairman Mohagher Iqbal on Tuesday, August 19, hurled brickbats on the Workplace of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity (OPAPRU), accusing it of engineering a “regime change” within the Bangsamoro Autonomous Area in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Iqbal stated the change – the elimination of MILF chairman Ahod “Al Haj Murad” Ebrahim as BARMM’ interim chief minister – was what triggered the “fiasco” within the decommissioning of former MILF combatants.
“The present drawback confronting the BARMM is attributable to the imposed regime change within the BARMM by the nationwide authorities,” Iqbal, BARMM’s training minister, instructed a peace discussion board in Davao Metropolis.
Iqbal, the MILF’s chief peace negotiator, stated OPAPRU triggered the elimination of Ebrahim in March and the appointment of Abdulraof “Sammy Gambar” Macacua, head of the group’s armed wing, as his substitute with out consulting the MILF central committee.
He stated the federal government additionally did not appoint all 41 MILF nominees to the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA), with solely 35 picked by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., supposedly in violation of the Bangsamoro Natural Legislation (BOL) and the Complete Settlement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), which require the BTA to be MILF-led.
“It is a traditional divide-and-rule tactic, a counter-insurgency transfer designed to destroy the MILF,” Iqbal stated, including he doubted whether or not Marcos was “totally briefed and nicely knowledgeable concerning the gravity of the scenario within the BARMM.”
‘Lack of respect’
Iqbal and Ebrahim are nominees of the MILF’s United Bangsamoro Justice Celebration (UBJP) for seats within the BARMM parliament, whereas Macacua is operating for a parliamentary district seat in Maguindanao del Norte beneath the identical social gathering. If elected in October, all three can be eligible for the publish of BARMM chief minister.
With the parliamentary elections in BARMM lower than two months away, Iqbal stated the MILF’s social gathering was “lifeless set to win this election,” framing it as a battle to protect reforms.
The MILF has suspended the fourth and ultimate section of decommissioning beneath a July 19 decision by its central committee, which burdened that progress on amnesty, camp transformation and socio-economic support should be “parallel and commensurate” with weapons decommissioning. The transfer merely implies that the MILF has briefly stopped delivering its weapons and formally disbanding its fight items as supplied for in its peace settlement with the federal government.
Iqbal additionally criticized OPAPRU for bypassing MILF management by straight inviting area commanders to conferences.
“Whereas your intentions could also be good, it smacks of divide and rule, and lack of respect to the management,” he stated.
Open to talks
Carlito Galvez Jr., presidential adviser on peace, reconciliation, and unity, stated his workplace was “very open” to talks with the MILF.
Galvez, in an announcement, performed down a directive by the MILF ordering commanders to not be part of authorities normalization actions with out written approval.
“We view the current memorandum order… as an inner matter for his or her group,” he stated.
Even with out the MILF order, Galvez stated the Fee on Elections’ gun ban forward of the October 13 BARMM elections would power a brief suspension of combatant and firearms decommissioning.
However he added OPAPRU was prepared to debate packages that might proceed throughout the election interval “with out violating the election ban.”
He reiterated the federal government’s dedication to the 2014 CAB, stressing that the “Bangsamoro peace course of stays strong and dynamic owing to the steadfast dedication of each the federal government and the MILF.”
“We consider an open and honest dialogue between each side is one of the simplest ways ahead. We belief that each the federal government and the MILF are honest in upholding the CAB and preserving the peace positive aspects achieved up to now,” he stated.
David Diciano, head of OPAPRU’s Workplace for Bangsamoro Transformation, stated the federal government had spent P4 billion since 2019 on socio-economic support for 26,145 decommissioned fighters and 6 MILF camps.
Menace to peace
In the meantime, the Council for Local weather and Battle Motion Asia (CCAA) and the Institute for Autonomy and Governance (IAG) stated the MILF’s suspension of decommissioning threatens the peace course of within the area.
In a joint assertion, the watchdogs stated residents within the BARMM supported the 2014 CAB on the promise that the MILF would transition right into a social motion and political social gathering forward of elections.
They warned that “the transition of the MILF as an armed group to a social motion and the holding of the primary BARMM elections are unfulfilled to this point,” with the decommissioning of fighters “painstakingly sluggish, tentative, and fraught with pink flags.”
“This flip of occasions sinks any hope of a peaceable parliamentary election in October, because the MILF and its political social gathering the UBJP heads to the polls with out having completed full decommissioning,” the assertion learn partly.
The displays stated the deadlock threatens growth initiatives, financial stability, and safety, including: “This fortuitous occasion bolsters a obtrusive reality that now stares everybody within the face – that peace within the South stays extraordinarily fragile.”
They stated each the MILF and the federal government share duty: “All events are equally accountable and accountable for the failure to resolve the urgent points. The one most essential step that must be undertaken now could be to conduct an inclusive examination of the whole peace infrastructure with different sectors and stakeholders having a seat on the desk.” – with studies from Teofilo P. Garcia Jr./Rappler.com
