The Moro Islamic Liberation Front, Research Paper Example

Purpose

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front – M.I.L.F. – is a Filipino separatist movement. The purpose of M.I.L.F.’s existence is based on the fight for an Islamic state in the Southern Philippines region of Mindanao. There are two military groups – M.I.L.F. and Abu Sayyaf – that are claiming belligerency against the Government of the Philippines, the United States of America and its supporters for political corruption. Moro people is an ethnic group that makes up about 5.25% of the total Philippine population, which is the largest non-Christian group in the country. Moro people are native Muslims of the Philippines and they mostly live in the region of Mindanao, although Moro communities can be found throughout the whole country (Dolan, 1991). The motto of the M.I.L.F. is “continuing struggle for the right of self-determination and freedom of Bangsamoro people” (M.I.L.F. Central Committee on Information Official Website).

 Background

Since the times of the World War 2 there began the strengthening of the Muslim community in the Philippines. Moros became more united among themselves and they also have tightened their connections with the international Islamic community. As a result, many new religious schools and mosques were built, children were taught to read the Quran in Arabic, and they have also learned rituals and principles of Islam. All these became a background for the flourishing of an idea to establish an independent Islamic state in the Philippines. After the Second World War, when the Philippines became an independent state, a numerous Muslim population of the country has raised their voice for the creation of an independent Islamic state, but this proposal wasn’t taken into consideration. Thus Moro people started to fight for their independence. Firstly, this idea was promoted by the Moro National Liberation Front, but after a split in 1980s it was the M.I.L.F. that continued the fight for the independence of Moros. The basic region of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front operation is the Bangsamoro homeland in Mindanao, but the organization also conducts its activities in the Sulu Archipelago, Palawan, Basilan and in the neighboring islands. At the beginning of its existence M.I.L.F. was advocating a more conciliatory and moderate approach toward the Philippine government. Leaders of the organization state that they’re measuring success not by the number of killed opponents, but by how far they’ve come in reducing the conflict between the Philippine government and the M.I.L.F., that’s why the organization is always ready to negotiate political settlement of the Moro Problem and the armed conflict in Mindanao. The Mindanao-based Moro Islamic Liberation Front consists of around 2,900 troops. With more than 15,000 members it is today the largest Islamic separatists group in the Philippines (Reyko, 2002).

History

In 1960s in the Philippines there was established the Moro National Liberation Front (M.N.L.F.) which purpose was to achieve the formation of an independent Islamic state in the Southern Philippines. M.N.L.F. was achieving its goals through organization of terrorist attacks and assassinations. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front was established in 1981 when Salamat Hashim and his followers split from the M.N.L.F. because of M.N.L.F.’s hesitation to launch an insurgency against the Philippine government and its supporters (Wright-Neville, 2004). In 1987 M.N.L.F. accepted a proposition made by the government of the Philippines which offered semi-autonomy to the disputed regions. As the result of this proposition the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao was created. However, M.I.L.F. refused to accept this offer and continued their insurgency operations. In 1997 a general cessation of hostilities between the Philippine government and the M.I.L.F. was signed, but it was abolished in 2000 by the Philippine Army under the control of the former president of the country – Joseph Estrada.  As a respond to this abolishment of the cessation, the M.I.L.F. declared a holy was (jihad) on the Philippine government and its citizens. A cease-fire treaty was signed by the next president of the Philippines – Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. But despite all the peace agreements and cease-fire treaties the M.I.L.F. continues to organize terrorist attacks and armed conflicts against the government troops. From time to time M.I.L.F. is reported to combine its army and forces with other terrorist organizations such as Abu Sayyaf and Al Qaeda.

Current Operations

One of the most scandalous and wide-spread recent issues connected with the terrorist activity of the M.I.L.F. was the 2007 Basilan beheading incident. It was an incident between the M.I.L.F. rebels and the Philippine Army which resulted in the execution of 14 Philippine marines and death of several rebels. This incident occurred as a consequence of the kidnapping of an Italian priest Giancarlo Bossi as it was believed that the kidnapping was organized by the M.I.L.F. However, the official representatives of the M.I.L.F. denied involvement of their organization in the kidnapping.

In terms of political involvement there are still going negotiations between the Philippine government and the M.I.L.F. In 2008 the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) between the Government and the M.I.L.F. should have been signed, but the Supreme Court of the Philippines issued a temporary restraining order that prevented the signing of this agreement. The MOA-AD would have allowed the Moro people to gain control over the region under the concept of human rights with the right to establish the police force and to control natural resources (Parameswaran, 2008). In October 2008 the Supreme Court of the Philippines came to the final conclusion that the MOA-AD is contrary to the Constitution and to the laws of the country. So a guerrilla war in Mindanao between the government forces and the separatists continues to strive.

Among the most recent news is a participation of the two top brass of the M.I.L.F. in the two-day international conference that was conducted in June 2009 in Geneva, Switzerland. The conference was the Second Meeting of Signatories to Geneva Call’s Deed of Commitment for Adherence to a Total Ban on Anti-Personnel Mines and for Cooperation in Mines Action last. Participants represented the Non-State Actors (NSAs) from all over the world.

Cell Structure

The organization of M.I.L.F. has a pretty centralized structure. As an organization that conducts its activity for more than 25 years, M.I.L.F. has its own Central Committee and other institutions that are responsible for different branches of power. M.I.L.F. has its own legislative body which is called Maglis Al Shoorah. Currently the position of the Chairman of the Maglis Al Shoorah is occupied by Al Haj Murad Ebrahim and the position of the Vice-Chairman of the Central Committee is occupied by Atty. Lanang S. Ali. Basically, the Chairman of the Central Committee is the leader of the organization, his position is relevant to that of a president. M.I.L.F. has its own army which has an official title of the Bangsamoro Armed Forces (BIAF); Sammy Al Mansor is currently the Chief of Staff of the BIAF. The Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces are reported to consist of approximately 12, 5000 guerrillas. In its cell structure M.I.L.F. has Peace Negotiating Panel, headed by Mohagher Iqbal, which is responsible for the establishment of M.I.L.F.’s compliance and support system. Basically, the M.I.L.F. has an inner organization as that of an independent state, they have their own head – the Chairman, they have all three branches of power and centralized armed forces, and so on.

Critical Notes

For more than 25 years the Moro Islamic Liberation Front is fighting against the government of the Philippines for the establishment of an independent Islamic state. The thing that is absolutely critical to the M.I.L.F. is that they are fighting for a complete independence, they don’t agree for a partial independence or autonomy. In some way because of the Islamic faith Moro people somehow are kept outside the mainstream of the Philippine life, that’s why it’s absolutely essential for the M.I.L.F. to create their own country and preserve all the Islamic traditions and rituals. Another aspect of their activities that is quite crucial for the members of M.I.L.F. is that they don’t want to consider themselves to be terrorists. Although the organization continues its struggle, it remains a partner to the stumbling peace process in the south of the country. Members of the M.I.L.F. agree that they are simply fighting for their independence and right for a self-determination with the methods that they find to be appropriate and goal-achieving.

Assessment

A conclusion may be drawn that even though the Moro Islamic Liberation Front is very often put in one row with such terrorist organizations, that conduct their activities on the territory of the Southern Asia, as Al Qaeda and Abu Sayyaf, members of the M.I.L.F. and the native Moro people don’t consider this organization to be terroristic. The officials of the M.I.L.F. always declare not only by words, but also by their actions, their readiness to conduct peaceful negotiations and sessions with the government of the Philippines. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front has been fighting for the independence of the Islamic population of the Philippines for more than 25 years, and even though the final goal is not yet reached, a lot have been achieved.  For example, in March of 2007 for the first time in more than three decades the government of the Philippines has proposed to recognize the right of self-determination for the Muslims who are living in the south of the country.

Reference

Doaln, R. E. (Ed.). (1991). Philippines: A Country Study. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress.

M.I.L.F. Central Committee on Information Official Website. (2009). MILF: We don’t measure battle victory by body counts. Retrieved July 6, 2009, from http://www.luwaran.com/

Parameswaran, P. (2008). Preserving the Southern Philippines’ Threatened Peace Deal. Retrieved July 6, 2009, from http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/article.aspx?id=2579

Reyko, H. (2002). In the Spotlight: Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Retrieved 6 August, 2009, from http://www.cdi.org/terrorism/moro.cfm

Wright – Neville, D. (2004). Dangerous dynamics: activists, militants, and terrorists in Southeast Asia. The Pacific Review, 17 (1), 27-46