By Tuncay Kayaoglu
ISTANBUL
The leader of the Philippines' largest Muslim rebel group says a peace agreement signed with the government earlier this year will lead the way to other groups joining a process which aims to spell the end of a decades-old armed conflict in the southern area of Mindanao.
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Chairman Hadji Murad Ibrahim told the Anadolu Agency that despite President Benigno Aquino still not signing up, it would help all Bangsamoro - an indigenous Muslim people who form the largest non-Catholic group in the Philippines.
“Past agreements stayed only on the paper, unimplemented. They [other groups] are watching what will happen to that comprehensive agreement that we have," he told AA during a visit to Istanbul on Tuesday.
"I think if that agreement is implemented, there will be benefits. Other groups gradually will [show their] support.”
Since March 27 - when MILF signed the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro to end armed rebellion to create an independent Muslim state in the south - other armed Muslim groups - including the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), the Moro National Liberation Front, and the al-Qaeda linked Abu Sayaff - have fought on, in an attempt to forge what they see as being a better deal for the country's Muslims.
Ibrahim, however, denied that the government had specifically engineered the split in support, adding that he expected the remaining groups to come to the table as the process is good for all of them.
“We are very open and inviting other groups to join the peace process,” said the MILF leader, adding that since people support peace, groups who fail to do so will gradually be isolated and marginalized.
According to the agreement, after a year of transition, there will be a democratic process. Asked if his group would be rewarded with positions of authority in the new regional government, Ibrahim admitted that it might not even be led by the MILF.
"It will be a choice of people. We establish parliamentary system. Whoever wins the majority in the parliament will form the government," he said.
"The MILF will form its political party. But there is no certainty that we will win the elections.”
Among those groups who have not signed up to the process is the Abu Sayyaf, notorious for bombings, extortion, kidnappings and beheadings. It is on a U.S. list of terrorist organizations for its links to al-Qaida.
In a recent Philippines' government raid on an Abu Sayyaf camp on the southern island province of Basilan, several MILF members were killed.
Ibrahim played down the MILF role in the ensuing firefight, saying that all groups have supporters on the island, and blamed the government for failing to properly implement the ceasefire agreement.
“When the government implements the agreement, our members will stop fighting,” he said.
Ibrahim said that the signs that the agreement was working were in the many businesspeople who had started to arrive in the region, adding that he expected an even bigger economic impact when the transition is over and people have a say in their future.
However, some Muslims have expressed frustration with the process, saying it has not led to the expected return of lands they say have been stolen by companies and the government for business purposes.
“We are aware of the problem and injustice against our people," said Ibrahim. "We cannot do everything at one time. We have to do it step-by-step.”
Nevertheless, the delay over the passage of the agreement to the president has raised concerns among the rebel group.
Muslims held simultaneous peace rallies across the Mindanao region last month to demand the immediate approval of the peace agreement in the House of Representatives and the Senate.
www.aa.com.tr/en
