Neglected

What happened in Zamboanga was not due to a failure in intelligence. It is the result of a failure in strategy. It is one outcome of the exclusionary politics of the present administration.

Whatever our assessment of Nur Misuari’s state of mind, it could not have been his intent to forcibly occupy Zamboanga City. It would have been apparent, even to the leader of the MNLF, that this would be an utterly insane act.

When armed units of the MNLF slipped into Zamboanga City, the plan was to stage a show of force and make a political statement. According to one commander interviewed, the armed units were in town as an advance party of MNLF Chair Misuari. The plan was to raise the MNLF flag at the city’s administrative center, complete with an honor guard.

This is not a novel plan. Such assemblies were held in the recent past, including a flag-raising event in Davao City that was allowed by Rodrigo Duterte.

Over the past weeks, Misuari has been raising his decibel levels, hoping to catch the attention of the rulers of imperial Manila. He even went so far as declare independence for all of Mindanao — an act the Manila government did not even bother to dismiss. Misuari was simply ignored.

Granted, Nur is given to eccentric words and deeds. His declaration of independence for Mindanao, however, ought not to have been treated merely as a fool’s rant. It is a measure of the exasperation not only of one man but of the entire movement he represents.

For better or for worse, Misuari and the MNLF hold the Bangsamoro franchise. He is signatory to the 1996 Final Peace Agreement (FPA), brokered through the good offices of Indonesia and recognized by the powerful OIC. This was the outcome of hard negotiations driven by good faith on all sides. Former Indonesian president Suharto no less oversaw the signing of the accord.

The first consequence of the FPA was the passage of the Organic Act creating the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).  This was supposed to be the final outcome of the Final Peace Agreement.

The administration, however, has other ideas. They want a new “framework agreement” with the MILF and a Bangsamoro “substate” to replace the ARMM. Anything less will displease the MILF.

In order for this new “framework agreement” to proceed, the FPA will have to be set aside and OIC support won for any new arrangement that might be forged. Necessarily, Misuari and the MNLF will have to be displaced. If possible, the man and his movement will have to be consigned to oblivion.

Ging Deles insists the MNLF was consulted during the negotiations with the MILF. That claim falls by the very action undertaken by MNLF militia in Zamboanga City, obviously intended as an emphatic political statement.

Clearly, there was no meeting of the minds here. The MNLF, being the original signatory to the 1996 FPA, expected to be a full partner in the process of expanding the scope of the original autonomy arrangement.

Instead of being drawn in as a partner, however, the MNLF was marginalized and eventually neglected. Government wrote the OIC, saying the components of the FPA have all been completed. That letter ought to have been a joint communique with the GPH and the MNLF signing as equals. Instead, government took unilateral action.

In various statements over the past few months, Misuari insisted that the concessions GPH agreed to in the FPA have not been fulfilled. Obviously, serious discussions with the MNLF that might produce a consensus have not been done. The GPH letter to the OIC was a unilateral action excluding the other signatory to the peace pact.

There is reason for the MNLF to feel betrayed. GPH has been systematically diminishing their role, marginalizing them and then ignoring their clamor.

Once before, Misuari threatened a resumption of the rebellion. Government responded to one rebellious act by jailing the MNLF chairman. There is reason for the MNLF members to feel they are being shortchanged by government.

All roads, therefore, lead to this tragic situation in Zamboanga City.

Mar Roxas and Volatire Gazmin flew to Zamboanga City after last Monday’s initial skirmishes — but they have not taken control of the situation nor accepted responsibility for whatever fiasco happens. Everything was left in the hands of Mayor Beng Climaco and the local crisis committee.

The two Cabinet members insist they were in the besieged city simply to observe firsthand the unfolding situation. It seems they have simply opened a new genre of “crisis tourism” or a new category of management by rubbernecking.

This crisis, however, cannot be resolved at the level of the city government. It is, first and foremost, a political situation that can only be resolved by policy statements from the very top of government.

No less than President Aquino should have immediately issued a policy statement addressing the political underpinnings of this situation. Such a statement might have reiterated partnership with the MNLF in the constantly evolving peace process.

Nur Misuari, consistently marginalized and always ignored, needs to be assured he plays an important role — considering the stature he enjoys in the eyes of the OIC and the historical fact it was he who signed on behalf of the Bangsamoro people in the 1996 accord.

Much as they may deny it, this government treated Misuari as an irrelevant voice and the MNLF as a spent force. The situation in Zamboanga is an assertion of relevance by Misuari and a show of force by the MNLF.