An offer to help secure the release of a kidnap victim is generally appreciated. It would be even more appreciated, however, if the leadership of the secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front could get a firmer grip on its members. The MILF has offered to help work for the release of Irish Catholic priest Michael Sinnott, who is being held reportedly for ransom. But military and police authorities have said MILF members themselves are holding Sinnott, who was snatched in Pagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur on Oct. 11.
As in the past, the MILF kidnappers are being referred to as rogue elements of the secessionist group. The rogues are distinguished from the regular members, it seems, only when they are found to be involved in kidnapping and other forms of banditry. It’s not the first time that MILF leaders are being less than forthright about the activities of their members.
MILF leaders admitted hosting terrorist training centers operated by the Southeast Asian terror cell Jemaah Islamiyah only when the secessionist group’s main enclave, Camp Abubakar, was overrun by government forces in 2000. Since then security officers have pointed to MILF members as protectors of the Abu Sayyaf and JI. MILF members have been linked to continued Abu Sayyaf operations in Basilan and Sulu.
Sinnott is not the first victim whose kidnappers have been identified as MILF members. Any offer by the group to negotiate for the release of such victims is either a farce, or an admission that the group’s leadership has no control over its members. Either way, this raises questions about the wisdom of negotiating with individuals who may be representing only themselves and cannot speak for a bigger group.
Both sides in the peace negotiations cannot look like they are abandoning the process. MILF leaders, who are themselves elderly and ailing, probably have a genuine longing for peace. But Sinnott’s kidnapping shows the importance of complementing the peace process with many other measures to address the root causes of social unrest. Alongside peace initiatives with a secessionist group whose sincerity is suspect, the government must pursue other ways of bringing security and development to the conflict areas of Mindanao. Even better than forging a formal peace agreement with secessionist commanders who have no control over their members is to make the secessionist movement irrelevant.