Moro Islamic Liberation Front

Moro Islamic Liberation Front
Participant in South Philippines insurgency
Flag of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front
Active	1978 – 2014 (As a fighting force)
Ideology	Islamic democracy
Allegiance	Malaysia
Leaders	Al-Hadj Murad Ibrahim
Headquarters	Darapanan, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao
Area of operations	Mindanao, Philippines
Allies	Government of Malaysia Government of the Philippines
Opponents	Government of the Philippines (formerly) Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters
Website	www.luwaran.com

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF; Arabic: جبهة تحرير مورو الإسلامية‎‎ Jabhat Tahrīr Moro al-ʿIslāmiyyah) is a Filipino secessionist group based in Mindanao, Philippines seeking autonomy of the Moro people from the central government. The group has a presence in the Bangsamoro region of Mindanao, the Sulu Archipelago, Palawan, Basilan, and other neighbouring islands.

History

A Bangsamoro fighter trains with an M60 machine gun.

The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) is a Moro and Lumad group formed in the 1960s following the alleged Jabidah massacre to achieve greater Bangsamoro autonomy in the southern Philippines. The MNLF took part in terrorist attacks and assassinations to achieve their goals. The government in Manila sent troops into the southern Philippines to control the insurgency. In 1976, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi brokered a negotiation between the Philippine government and MNLF Leader Nur Misuari which led to the signing of the MNLF-GRPH Tripoli Agreement of 1976 wherein the MNLF accepted the Philippine government's offer of semi-autonomy of the regions in dispute.

The signing of this agreement brought about a serious rift in MNLF leadership, leading to the formation of a breakaway group in 1977 by Hashim Salamat and 57 MNLF officers. The group was initially known as "The New Leadership". Misuari expelled Salamat in December 1977, after which Salamat moved his new organization first to Cairo, Egypt and then, in 1980, to Lahore, Pakistan, where it engaged in diplomatic activities. This organization was formally established in 1984 as the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Muammar Gaddafi became a longstanding supporter of the MILF after its emergence.

In January 1987, the MNLF accepted the Philippine government's offer of semi-autonomy of the regions in dispute, subsequently leading to the establishment of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao. The MILF, however, refused to accept this offer and continued their insurgency operations. A general cessation of hostilities between the government in Manila and the MILF was signed in July 1997 but this agreement was abolished in 2000 by the Philippine Army under the administration of Philippine President Joseph Estrada. In response, the MILF declared a jihad (strived and struggled) against the government, its citizens and supporters. Under President Gloria Arroyo, the government entered into a cease-fire agreement with the MILF and resumed peace talks.

Despite peace negotiations and the cease-fire agreement, the MILF attacked government troops in Maguindanao resulting in at least twenty-three deaths in January 2005. The combined armies of the MILF and Abu Sayyaf were involved in days of fighting which necessitated government troops using heavy artillery to engage rebel forces.

The bombing incident in Davao Airport in 2003 which the Philippine government blamed on MILF members, raised speculation that the peace negotiations might be ineffectual in bringing peace to Mindanao if the MILF is unable to control its operatives. The MILF denies ties with terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah, although Jemaah Islamiyah is considered to have provided them with training facilities in areas they control. The MILF also continues to deny connections with Al-Qaeda, though it has admitted to sending around 600 volunteers to Al-Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan and that Osama Bin Laden sent money to the Philippines, though the group denies directly receiving any payment.

From June 28 to July 6, 2006, conflict between the MILF and armed civilian volunteers under Maguindanao Province governor Andal Ampatuan who were supported by the Philippine Army had been reported. The fighting began after governor Ampatuan blamed the MILF for a June 23 bomb attack on his motorcade, which killed five in his entourage. The MILF denied responsibility, but Ampatuan sent police and civilian volunteers to arrest MILF members connected to the attack. Four thousand families were reported displaced by the fighting that followed, which was ended by a cease-fire agreement signed on July 10 and 11.

Talks between the MILF and the government collapsed in 2008 after a Supreme Court decision in Sema vs. COMELEC which rejected a preliminary accord that would have expanded the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. In 2011, the MILF withdrew their demands for independence, instead saying that they would pursue substate status, likened to a U.S. state instead of independence from the Philippines.

Separate faction

Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters

Main article: Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters

Struggles

Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain

On August 4, 2008, the Supreme Court of the Philippines issued a temporary restraining order, preventing the Government and the MILF from officially signing the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain, which would conclude all dispute and begin formal talks that would lead to the drafting and eventual signing of a Final Comprehensive Compact between the two groups. The Court accepted motions by the southern provincial governments that object to the extended boundaries for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao envisioned in the peace deal. The MOA-AD would have allowed the Moro people gained control of the region under the concept of human rights with the right to establish a police force and to control natural resources.

The MOA-AD was initialed by former governor and peace panel chair Rodolfo García and Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Hermogenes Esperon and MILF peace panel chair Mohagher Iqbal on July 27 in Malaysia. It was scheduled for formal signing on August 5, but the Supreme Court issued no negotiation preventing the executive department from signing the agreement. The MOA-AD is the last of several agenda items under the 2001 agreement of the GRP-MILF. after security and relief and rehabilitation, prior to the discussion on the political settlement.

The Young Moro Professionals Network (YMPN) appealed to the public not to be afraid of the MOA-AD and to "open your hearts to the Moro grievance". The YMPN said in a statement dated August 21:

"In these times of hardship, we hold hands as one, with our Christian and Islamic neighbours, in the name of peace, acceptance and justice. We are committed to democratic and peaceful resolution of the conflict. Do not be afraid of the MOA-AD. To the national public, open your hearts to the Moro grievance. "

Over the next month, several MILF commanders were tagged by government officials as having initiated an offensive campaign. This was responded by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, which immediately deployed ten battalions composed of a total of 6,000 soldiers into Mindanao under the command of Lt. Gen. Cardozo Luna. The violence displaced over 600,000 people and left about 300 dead.

On October 14, 2008, the Court conducted a series of divided votes declared "contrary to law and the Constitution" the MOA-AD of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and Moro Islamic Liberation Front Tripoli Agreement of Peace on 2001. The document of Conchita Carpio-Morales ruled: "In sum, the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process committed grave abuse of discretion when he failed to carry out the pertinent consultation process. The furtive process by which the MOA-AD was designed and crafted runs contrary to and in excess of the legal authority and amounts to a whimsical, capricious, oppressive, arbitrary and despotic exercise thereof. It illustrates a gross evasion of positive duty and a virtual refusal to perform the duty enjoined."

Civil society organizations such as Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society had submitted a Motion for Reconsideration. However, the Supreme Court affirmed its October 14 ruling that declared unconstitutional the initialed MOA-AD between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front on November 21, 2008.

MILF soldiers offered to help free the Irish priest father Michael Sinott, who was kidnapped in the Philippines on October 14, 2009 and sought permission to deploy about 100 of its soldiers in the area where Sinnott is believed to be held. However it was turned down by the Philippine government.

Modification of demands

On September 23, 2010, Mohagher Iqbal said that the MILF will pursue a substate, likened to a U.S. state, instead of independence from the Philippines. The Muslim substate would not exercise power over national defense, foreign affairs, currency and coinage, and postal services, which the central government exercises. Igbal further added that the substate would not have its own armed forces but instead would have troops for internal security.

Peace talks

Main article: Peace process with the Bangsamoro in the Philippines

On October 7, 2012, President Benigno Aquino announced a peace deal with the MILF and that "This framework agreement paves the way for a final and enduring peace in Mindanao". MILF Vice Chairman Ghazali Jaafar is quoted as saying "We are very happy. We thank the president for this." The deal was signed on October 15, 2012. Its aim is to pave the way to enduring peace between the two parties by officially envisaging an autonomous region in Mindanao. According to the framework, this semi-independent Muslim area would have a more just share of revenues from the extraction of its own plentiful resources, budgetary autonomy, its own police, and sharia law only for Muslims. In exchange for this, the MILF will stop armed movements against the government for autonomy and will allow the national government to retain its control of national security and foreign policy. The autonomy agreement to be gradually implemented will also rename the region Bangsamoro after the Moro people.

Chief peace negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer said that the government was cautiously optimistic for a final agreement soon following six days of talks on July 13, 2013. He said: "This signing indicates that both sides are really committed to finish the peace negotiations. Nobody wants this not to reach its fruition." The agreement would see government allowances for the MILF to have a 75 percent share of earnings from natural resources and metallic minerals in a proposed autonomous region. For other energy resources, earnings would be split equally in accordance with Malaysia-brokered talks.

Peace agreement

On January 24, 2014, Philippine government chief negotiator Miriam Coronel Ferer and MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal signed a peace agreement in Kuala Lumpur. The agreement would pave the way for the creation of the new Muslim autonomous entity called "Bangsamoro" under a law to be approved by the Philippine Congress. The government aims to set up the region by 2016. The agreement calls for Muslim self-rule in parts of the southern Philippines in exchange for a deactivation of rebel forces by the MILF. MILF forces would turn over their firearms to a third party selected by the MILF and the Philippine government. A regional police force would be established, and the Philippine military would reduce the presence of troops and help disband private armies in the area.

Controversy

Basilan beheading incident

Main article: 2007 Basilan beheading incident

In March 2007, the Philippine government offered to recognize the right of self-determination for the Moro people which it had never done in three decades of conflict. However, on July 12, 2007, Islamic militants in Basilan in the southern Philippines killed 14 marines, beheading 11 of them, while nine other marines were wounded and about four fighters were killed. The fighting took place as the marines were searching for a kidnapped Italian priest, Giancarlo Bossi, on June 10, 2007. A MILF soldier confirmed that some of its members had been involved in gun battles, despite the MILF peace treaty with the Philippine government. Mohagher Iqbal, the chief negotiator for the MILF, denied that it was responsible for the beheadings and the priest's abduction. On July 19, 2007, despite no ransom being paid, Giancarlo Bossi, who was kidnapped on June 10 in Zamboanga Sibugay province, was freed. Philippine authorities described his kidnappers as members of the Abu Sayyaf. Government authorities blamed a renegade commander of the MILF for Bossi's kidnapping, but it denied any involvement.

According to the provincial administrator of Basilan in 2007, more than 900 families had been displaced as a result of the deployment of soldiers in Basilan in response to the beheading of 11 soldiers of the Philippine Marines who were killed in an encounter with MILF in Al-Barkah town. While the MILF acknowledged their responsibility for the death of the 14 soldiers of the Philippine Marines, they described this as a consequence of the trespassing in their territory in Basilan. In previous agreements, the two groups have negotiated about respecting MILF camps and presence to avoid conflicts in these areas, an agreement that is prone to violation.

Mamasapano clash

Main article: 2015 Mamasapano clash

Forty-four members of Philippines National Police Elite Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) were killed in a clash with members of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), a breakaway group from MILF, on Sunday, January 25, 2015.

Eighteen members of the MILF and five civilians—including an eight-year-old girl—also died in this encounter.

The PNP-SAF contingent that figured in the encounter were in Mamasapano to search for Malaysian bomb expert Zulkifli bin Hir, also known as Marwan, who is reportedly being protected by the BIFF, and has a bounty of $5,000,000 from the US FBI.

Al-Haq, a spokesman for the MILF’s Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces, said the PNP-SAF men were also searching for Basit Usman, who underwent training in bomb making in Peshawar, Pakistan and Kandahar, Afghanistan in the late 1980s.

According to the MILF spokesman, PNP-SAF members didn't coordinate with them as the PNP-SAF know that the area is a known territory of MILF and BIFF's.

"It was a police operation. There was no coordination with our troops on the ground"

The policemen were trapped and ran out of ammunition during the firefight, another police officer said. More than half of the 44 PNP-SAF troopers killed in Mamasapano, Maguindanao in the January 25 clash were shot in the head — according to the autopsy report of the PNP's Board of Inquiry. The autopsies found 27 of the policemen sustained gunshot wounds to the head, face, neck, and chest, and some of them were allegedly shot at close range.

It is also believed at least three PNP-SAF troopers had their bulletproof vests removed before they were shot in the body.

See also

• Bangsamoro Basic Law
• Insurgency in the Philippines
• Moro National Liberation Front
• Moro people
• New Peoples Army
• Peace process with the Bangsamoro in the Philippines

External links

• Official website
• FAS.org: Moro Islamic Liberation Front
• The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Security in Southeast Asia
• Moro Muslims engage US-Army: battles of Bud Dajo and Bud Bagsak
• GR Nos. 183591, 183572, 183893, and 183951, The Province of North Cotabato v. Republic, October 14, 2008
• The Long Struggle to Silence the Guns of Rebellion: A Review of the Long and Winding Trail to the Elusive Peace Agreements by The CenSEI Report