Government slammed in pro-MILF ‘peace rally’ in Cotabato City

COTABATO CITY – Verbal attacks against the government shrouded yesterday’s “peace rally” of supporters and members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front which organizers earlier said was only aimed at dramatizing public support for the ongoing peace talks.

Some 4,000 people took part in the seven-hour rally at the city plaza, held under tight security with policemen and members of volunteer organizations such as the Karancho, a local group of motorcycle enthusiasts, keeping watch.

One of the speakers even branded as tulisan (bandits) the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and the Army’s anti-crime Task Force Tugis for allegedly stealing the money and other valuables of Egyptian missionary Mohammed Al-Sayyid Ahmed Musa, who was arrested at Campo Muslim here last December for possession of an improvised explosive device and bomb-making paraphernalia.

Another fiery speaker, William Dangali, a Muslim convert, branded the Senate and the House of Representatives as “havens of liars,” as he assailed the government for allegedly reneging on previous agreements with the MILF on the setting up of a Muslim homeland without any constitutional restraints.

The MILF panel refused to proceed with the supposed 15th exploratory talks in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last month when it found out that the government had imposed a “constitutional process,” meaning a plebiscite, to determine what areas could be grouped together to comprise the Moro ancestral domain, which is to be covered by the front’s proposed governing set-up, the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE).

The rally was organized by the Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Societies composed of different organizations, mostly identified with the MILF.

In an earlier press statement, Bobby Benito, speaking on the consortium’s behalf, estimated that 50,000 Moro residents would join the rally.

“Madam President, please preserve the gains of the peace process,” stated a huge streamer hanging near the city plaza’s stage, an apparent appeal to President Arroyo to resume the peace talks.

Peace negotiations between the government and the MILF started on Jan. 7, 1997, but gained headway only in 2003 with the help of Malaysia as mediator.

Malaysia, however, is involved in the peace talks on its own, not on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Conference, a pan-Islamic bloc of more than 50 countries that helped broker the Sept. 2, 1996 peace pact between the government and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).

The OIC, the Philippine government and the MNLF have an ongoing tripartite review of the 10-year-old peace pact amid misunderstandings on its implementation and perceived weaknesses of some of its provisions.

The peace rally at the city plaza was aired by Catholic radio station dxMS here.

Preceding the rally was an appeal by Abhoud Syed Lingga, executive director of the Institute of Bangsamoro Studies, for the government and the MILF panels to pursue all previous bilateral “consensus points” on ancestral domain and the setting up of a Muslim homeland to hasten the resumption of the peace talks.

“The consensus points are good starting points for the government and MILF to talk on any power-sharing arrangement,” Lingga said in a statement released prior to the rally.