MNLF officials blast framework agreement at Davao gathering

DAVAO CITY – Arriving in hauler trucks and cars, some 7,000 members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in neatly pressed fatigue uniforms and supporters gathered at the Crocodile Park here Sunday for a summit called for by their leader, Nur Misuari.

Misuari had earlier said the summit would become a venue for the MNLF as an organization to discuss the Framework Agreement the government has recently signed with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which he criticized as illegal and could actually trigger a bigger war in Mindanao.

While waiting for Misuari’s arrivals, MNLF officials and members took turns in lambasting the peace deal.

One speaker said what dismayed him more was the fact the framework agreement diluted the gains of the 1996 peace pact the MNLF by dissolving the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).