Jeddah tripartite meet postponed anew; Nur disappointed

Detained former Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) chairman Nur Misuari expressed disappointment over the repeated postponement of the tripartite meeting among the front, the government and the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC).

In a statement signed by MNLF panel members and read by their spokesman, Gov. Almarim Tillah, the MNLF leadership said the delay in the tripartite meeting – deferred anew from July 17-19 to the first or second week of August – has caused the rapid deterioration of the political situation in Mindanao.

In a press conference in Quezon City, members of the MNLF peace panel lamented being “always at the receiving end” and decried the “non-consultation” of their group on the postponement.

They said the new change in schedule, the sixth since July 2006, is apparently affecting efforts to finally resolve the decade-long conflict in Mindanao.

Tillah said the repeated deferment of the tripartite meeting results in the restlessness of the Bangsamoro people who are hoping that the meeting will resolve ambiguities in the existing peace agreements – the Tripoli Agreement of 1976 and the Jeddah Accord of 1996.

“The Bangsamoro people are slowly being radicalized, and if they become radicalized, then that would be the end of the talks,” he said.

Tillah said the recent elections, which were marked by protests and the recent clashes in Basilan, showed that the peace talks “are imperative.”

The MNLF said the signing of a final agreement with the government will usher assistance and investment from the OIC, European Union, and the United States that will address the peace and order and improve the economic development of Mindanao.

“The radicalization of moderates in Bangsamoro is due to frustration. So, unless the agreements are concluded and implemented, there is no national Muslim policy in this country,” Tillah said.

The tripartite meeting was first set in Jeddah in July 2006, but was reset to October 2006, and then to December 2006.

The December 2006 meeting was again postponed to March 2007, then to July 10-15 and later to July 17-19 this year – and eventually to the new schedule in August.

The meeting was deferred again because Indonesian Foreign Minister Nurhassan Winayuda, who presides over the OIC’s Committee of Eight that supervises the peace talks, is not available on July 17-19.

Tillah said they only learned about the change in schedule when Secretary Jesus Dureza, of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAP), visited Misuari, who is under house arrest for rebellion charges, a few nights ago.

Dr. Max Jundam, chairman of the MNLF peace panel secretariat, said the negotiators were informed about the change in schedule only after the decision had been made.

Lawyer Ombra Jainal, deputy legal counsel of the MNLF, said the rebels will continue the peace talks with the government.

“Moros are always at the receiving end time and time and time again, but for the sake of peace, we will not give up,” Jainal said.