OIC Welcomes Cooperative and Accommodating Position Declared by the MNLF
House of Representatives Vice Chairman Fahri Hamzah shook hands with Moro Nur Misuari in Bamoko, Mali, at a parliamentary meeting of Islamic nations earlier this year.
Jeddah, MINA – OIC Secretary General Dr. Youssef bin Ahmed Al-Othaimeen has welcomed the cooperative and accommodating position declared by the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) on 19 July 2017 that it will no longer submit a draft new autonomy law to avoid complications and it will contribute directly to the fast tracking of federalism.
On the other hand, in support of the peace process, the OIC Secretary General convened the 4th Session of the Bangsamoro Coordination Forum (BCF) on the 11th July 2017 in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire on the margins of the 44th Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM), SPA reported.
Ambassador Sayed El-Masry, OIC Secretary General Peace Envoy on the southern Philippines, presided over the meeting, and both the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) were represented. The OIC continues to deal with the MNLF through the Jeddah formula under the chairmanship of Professor Nur Misuari, the founding father of the MNLF.
The agenda of the meeting discussed the prospects of the peace process after one year of the Duterte administration and its new approach towards the Bangsamoro question; the convergence of the two peace tracks without sacrificing any of the commitments and obligations contained in all peace agreements; the principles guiding enlargement of the BCF and the current situation in Marawi.
The meeting was acquainted with the contents of the new Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), in particular, its approach regarding the remaining three contentious issues, ie, territories, referendum and strategic minerals.
The meeting noted in particular that the opt-in clause at the new proposal included the territories as stipulated in the 1976 Tripoli Agreement and the 1996 Final Peace Agreement, and it further welcomed the adoption of the Co-management clause as agreed upon during the Tripartite talks.
The holding of the meeting of the BCF is part of the efforts of the OIC to close ranks between the Moro liberation fronts and to help in the process of merging the two peace tracks and to consolidate realization of the inalienable rights of the Muslim minority in southern Philippines for a peaceful, just and durable settlement of their problem.
The OIC Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM), reaffirmed the importance of unity within the MNLF and the Jeddah formula which was reflected in the resolutions adopted during the Ministerial Session. (T/RS5/RS!)
Mi’rajIslamicNews Agency OMINA)
