KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA — Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim on Saturday said the MILF has no problem with Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) Chairman Nur Misuari being part of the peace talks with the Philippine government. Murad made the statement during the start of the two-day meeting between the MILF and the Philippine government in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to discuss the implementation of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB). Murad noted that the inclusion of Misuari in the peace talks is part of the process of converging two peace agreements, especially as the MILF and the MNLF have a similar goal. “That is self-governance for the Bangsamoro,” Murad said. The Duterte administration’s roadmap to peace emphasizes the convergence of the MILF’s CAB and the MNLF’s Final Peace Agreement signed in 1996 during the Ramos administration. The administration committed to implement all signed agreements, including the CAB, signed in March 2014 during the Aquino administration. However, the CAB’s implementation through the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) was stalled due to the 2015 Mamasapano encounter which led Congress not to pass the BBL. Forty-four police officers from the elite Special Action Force (SAF) of the Philippine National Police died after an 11-hour firefight with members of the MILF and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in Mamasapano, Maguindanao in January 2015. Both the MNLF and the MILF trace their roots to the Mindanao Independence Movement founded in 1968. The MILF broke away from the MNLF in the Read More …
