Secretary Teresita Deles INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA—The government has opened all avenues of communication with Nur Misuari to end the standoff in Zamboanga City without further bloodshed, but left no doubt he could be prosecuted if he has had a role in it.
Secretary Teresita Deles, the President’s adviser on the peace process, said officials were exhausting all means to reach leaders of the Moro National Liberation Front identified with Misuari “to get some idea how to end this.’’
Deles said the government was also engaging Indonesia, which is facilitating the review of the implementation of the 1996 peace agreement with the MNLF, to find out “if there is something that they can do.’’
“We know that our people on the ground—there are several—have been trying to reach different leaders that are known to be associated with Misuari to find something that shows that they have some idea of how this would end,’’ she said at a Malacañang news briefing.
Only Misuari could solve this, she said. So far there has been no direct contact with Misuari, who is believed to be still in the Philippines.
Deles said the government was open to anybody, even former President Fidel V. Ramos, to talk Misuari out of the standoff.
“I was just listening on television and one of the spokespersons said that, in fact, there is no acceptable mediator and facilitator. But, certainly, we welcome anyone who can help to find out exactly… [how] to end this stalemate in Zamboanga,’’ she said.
In the middle of the standoff, the Department of Justice has been tasked to look into the liability of Misuari for the possible filing of charges, Deles said.
Misuari’s actions, including the initial attempt to march on Zamboanga, as well as the statements of his spokespersons have been “closely monitored,’’ Deles said.
“So I know that there is already a group in DOJ that is looking” into the possible filing of charges, she said.
Individuals claiming to be spokespersons of the MNLF, including Ustadz Habier Malik, were known Misuari loyalists who represented him in various meetings with the government, she added.
Deles assured Misuari that government troops now encircling his men in villages in Zamboanga City were deployed there to contain any spillover, and not to mount offensives.
But Deles admitted that officials were stumped how to appease Misuari.
“What will make Misuari happy? It appears that all our work with all the different factions and all our work with the MNLF communities does not seem to make Misuari happy. Therefore, what does he want? It is not my role to present what is his plan and what is his vision,’’ she said.
The government is now forging a deal with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which split from the MNLF after the 1996 agreement, to set up a new Bangsamoro entity that would replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Deles said Misuari’s declaration of independence, as well as his original demands for the establishment of a provisional authority for MNLF, and the expansion of Bangsamoro territory do not fall within the purview of the review of the implementation of the 1996 deal.
“Again, we assert, there is not any word in the 1996 Final Peace Agreement that talks about independence. The political settlement was about autonomy. So when you jump from this, to independence, then there is a lot—there are a lot of conflicting statements,’’ she said.
By independence, Misuari was referring to the independence of the entire Mindanao, and such an assertion would need the support of all people covered, she pointed out.
Deles strongly disputed observations that the government has largely ignored Misuari since it entered into talks with the MILF.
She said that the government has actively engaged Misuari and other MNLF leaders in the review of the implementation of the 1996 pact, and in the talks with the MILF.
She recalled that MNLF leaders even agreed to attend the Sept. 16 meeting on the review in Jogjakarta, and then the attack on villages happened.
“When you look at the pattern of what we have done, when you look at the meetings that we have held—and I will talk about the Bandung meeting, where we waited for six hours after the technical working group had completed the language for their issue on plebiscite—waited for six hours for Mr. Misuari to come out and he turned down that very proposal that had been approved by his representatives and the technical working group,’’ she said
“No. I will deny that we have not given full recognition to Mr. Misuari and the MNLF,’’ she added.
When the Aquino administration came on board in June 2010, a tripartite implementation review of the 1996 agreement was already in place. It merely carried on the review, Deles said.
Since then, tripartite meetings were held in Jeddah and Solo, Indonesia in 2011, and Bandung in 2012. This year, a meeting is set for Sept. 16 in Jogjakarta, she said.
Last Thursday and Friday, Indonesian facilitator Ambassador Hassan Kleib flew in and met with government and MNLF officials in Davao to set the meeting for next week, and all parties agreed to attend it, Deles said.
Deles also said Misuari and another MNLF leader, Muslimin Sema, were invited to appoint members to the Transitional Commission that would craft the basic Bangsamoro law that will be submitted to Congress for approval and ratified in a plebiscite, but they declined.
She said the MNLF still has a chance to air its concerns during the plebiscite.
Deles also clarified that the government has not abrogated the 1996 agreement, but proposed to the OIC the completion of the review process.