PRESS RELEASE
November 29, 2000
OIC wants time frame to implement the GRP-MNLF peace accord
IN the wake of the
failure of the Philippine government to implement the September
2, 1996 Peace Agreement it signed with the Moro National
Liberation Front within the time frame specified therein, the
Organization on Islamic Conference wants the involved parties to
define time-table for the full implementation of the agreement.
During the recently concluded 9th Islamic Summit
Conference held in Doha, Qatar, the OIC, which handles the
GRP-MNLF peace process, has commissioned the Chairman of the
Ministerial Committee of the Seven (Brunei Darussalam as new
member of the Committee) to make necessary contact with the
Philippine government and the MNLF not later than the first
quarter of the year 2001 to discuss such time-table.
Also, the OIC requested the Committee of the Seven and
the Secretary General to continue extending appropriate
assistance for the full implementation of the peace agreement
during the transitional period pending the establishment of the
regular autonomous region.
To ensue the success of the agreement, the OIC also urged
all its Member States to contribute to mobilizing broad
international support to both parties (GRP and MNLF) to enable
them to achieve peace, development and prosperity in Southern
Philippines.
The
1996 Final Peace Agreement stipulates that within the
transitional period (phase 1) of two years (1996-1997) the
government shall initiate the amendment or repeal of RA 6734 (ARMM
Organic Law) to include the pertinent provisions of the peace
accord. After the law shall have been passed by Congress and
approved by the President, it shall be submitted to the people
in a plebiscite in the 14 provinces and 10 cities in Mindanao to
determine which among the provinces and cities will opt to join
the new autonomous region.
However, the government has failed to implement such
provision of the agreement, prompting MNLF Chairman Nur Misuari,
in his speech, to urge the OIC during the 27th
Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers (ICFM) in Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia last June to make necessary action in order for the
government to set a deadline “when to deliver such elusive and
intractable autonomy to the MNLF and to the Bangsamoro people.”
That speech of Chairman
Misuari, entitled “A
Quarter of a Century of Illusory and Fruitless Pursuit of
Autonomy: The MNLF’s Urgent Call for a Realistic and Pragmatic
Tactical and Strategic Approach”, has got the ire of the
government.
Aside from time frame, Misuari also accused the
government of its failure to support the economic component of
the agreement by providing necessary funding for massive
reconstruction and rehabilitation of Mindanao and the Islands.
In their approved resolution, the 56 member-countries of
the OIC welcomed the GRP-MNLF peace agreement and urged both
parties to preserve the gains achieved as a result of the
signing of the accord.
Meanwhile, the powerful international pan-Islamic body,
whose members control at least 90 per cent of the world oil
supply, also decided to maintain the observer status and the
participation of the MNLF in the activities of the OIC in its
capacity as the sole legitimate representative of the Bangsamoro
people in Southern Philippines. # # #
