by Ram Maxey
THE leadership of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) met recently with President Benigno Aquino in Japan where it offered P-Noy what to my mind is a ‘bill of goods’ which the former said could be the final solution to the so-called Moro problem. The hush-hush meeting on a foreign soil raised quizzical eyebrows from Aparri to Jolo.
On it’s face alone, the MILF’s ploy for the national government to accept the separatist group’s offer to drop its independence stance in favor of a substate patterned after those of Scotland and Northern Ireland appears reasonable and doable. To his credit, P-Noy neither said “yes” nor “no” to the proposal, but left the door ajar until further notice.
What the President should now do is direct his foreign affairs people to produce documents of agreements between the British government and those of Scotland and Northern Ireland that resulted in the autonomy of those two substates that have pledged allegiance to the United Kingdom
The MILF has thousands of fighters armed with practically the same type of weapons that the Philippine military possesses. What will happen to these armed MILF fighters and their weapons in case the substate idea is accepted by the GRP and put in place? A Moro fighter and his gun are inseparable, only death can put them asunder. That would be the most contentious issue between the two sides. And that is not all.
What about the Maguindanao breakaway MILF group under kumander Ameril Ombra Kato calling itself the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF)? It’s spokesman boasts that they have recruited 8,000 new fighters, a number that appears exaggerated, but worrisome nonetheless for the government.
Moreover, the BIFF may only be the forerunner of more breakaway groups, presumably well armed, too, which can spell more headaches for the authorities.
The Japan meeting between the MILF and P-Noy could be a sign that the MILF leadership may have grown weary after forty years of struggle for an independent Bangsamoro state and would be ready to settle for less–this substate idea—which certainly looks doable if both sides of the conflict are sincere in their intentions. The rest of the country certainly has had enough of the long-running strife which has done nobody any good, except the gunrunners and the bandits. Decades of strife has been a drag on the country’s economy (how do we quantify that in terms of pesos lost and lives wasted?).
For the MILF to renounce complete independence and opt for a substate instead is another ballgame that needs further study under the circumstances. It could be the key to undo the gridlock that has greatly hampered this country’s socio-political and economic advancement.
Is the substate proposal for real? If so, let’s give it a try. The alternative could be grim. As if it were not already.
