Misuari warns Arroyo : Don’t support ‘Council of 15’

ZAMBOANGA CITY — Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Gov. Nur Misuari warned President Arroyo yesterday against giving support to the so-called "Council of 15" which ousted him as chairman of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).

Such a move on Mrs. Arroyo’s part, Misuari said, would be tantamount to a "blunder" which "could lead to the disintegration of the country."

Misuari talked to reporters after emerging from a closed-door meeting with Lt. Gen. Gregorio Camiling, chief of the Armed Forces’ Southern Command here.

Misuari, accompanied by his remaining close allies in the MNLF, called the council’s 15 members "traitors," saying they "have tried to betray me so many times only to strengthen my position before my people."

The council ousted Misuari as MNLF chairman last April 29 due to what they claimed was loss of trust and confidence in his leadership.

"From the viewpoint of the MNLF system and of Islam, they have committed the greatest blunder in their lives. They will be written in the blackest of pages in our history," Misuari said.

He added: "They are all traitors to the last man. They bowed to the greed of power."

Meanwhile, Misuari cleared former President Fidel Ramos in the campaign against his leadership of the MNLF and the ARMM.

"I don’t see the hand of former President Ramos in it. There are other people behind it," he said earlier in Davao City.

Instead, Misuari accused Norberto Gonzalez, head of the Partido ng Demokratikong Sosyalista ng Pilipinas, of being behind the move against him.

But he admitted that he has no inkling of Gonzalez’s possible motive in attempting to break up the MNLF.

In another development, government peace panelists will meet here today to further discuss issues to be taken up with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in the next round of talks in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia next month.