Misuari now in Middle East

MANILA, Philippines - Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) founding chairman Nur Misuari has reunited with his family in a Middle East country and is now preparing to attend the 40th session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) next month in Conakry, Republic of Guinea in Western Africa.

A source told The STAR yesterday that as a permanent observer in the OIC, Misuari is expected to report to the 57 members of Islamic countries on the recent outbreak of hostilities in Zamboanga City and the status of the tripartite review of the 1996 peace agreement with the government.

It was not revealed which country in the Middle East Misuari and his family are now staying in.

Misuari reportedly used an ancient maritime route to get out of Mindanao and landed on Bolongan coast in Southern Sulawesi, Indonesia before the regional trial court of Zamboanga City could issue an arrest warrant for him.

The usual backdoor sea route was from Sulu to Sandakan or Lahad Datu in Sabah, Malaysia, but Misuari’s group reportedly used the Bolongan route to avoid the Malaysian navy.

MNLF spokesman Emmanuel Fontanilla neither confirmed nor denied the report that Misuari would attend the OIC meeting, but said the organization had already invited him to the three-day session of the Council of Foreign Ministers from Dec. 9 to 11.

Fontanilla said Misuari, being an OIC observer, is obliged to attend the yearly meeting.

He, however, said before the event, a preliminary meeting of senior ministers would be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to draft the agenda of the Conakry session.

He said if Misuari could not attend the meeting, he would send a representative to read his message during the OIC plenary session.