A Brief History of the Bangsamoro Struggle II

 The trigger of the contemporary armed conflict between the Christian government in Manila and the Moros was the Jabidah massacre in 1968, which led to the establishment of the first, Moro separatist  groups initially with the founding of the Moro Independence Movement (MIM), and eventually the Moro National Liberation (MNLF).

The declaration of Martial law by President Marcos in 1972 transformed the conflict from passive rebellion into a full blown conflagration. With the realization that he could not achieve total victory against the Moro mujahideen, Marcos initiated the signing of the 1976 Tripoli Agreement with the MNLF. Under this agreement, the MNLF agreed to drop its separatist goal in favor of creating an autonomous government for the Moros. In the years that followed, the conflict returned to low intensity rebellion with the central government in Manila implementing its own definition of autonomy for the Moros.

Dissatisfied with the outcome of the Tripoli Agreement, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), led by Chairman Salamat Hashim, formally broke away from the MNLF in 1984. Chairman Salamat distinguished the MILF from the MNLF by stressing not only a nationalist but also an Islamic agenda.

Following the fall of the Marcos dictatorship in 1986, under the leadership of the government of Corazon Aquino, a new Philippine constitution was drafted in 1987 the includes provisions for autonomy in Muslim Mindanao and the Cordillera Region. Negotiations between the GPH and the MNLF continued, leading to the creation of the Southern Philippines Zone of Peace and Development (SZOPAD) in 1996 and a Final Peace Agreement later that year that provided for an expanded autonomous region embodied in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

The MILF distanced itself from the agreement, but committed to not stand in the way of peace. However, allegations of corruption and the inability of the MNLF-led ARMM Regional Government (ARG) to deliver the peace economic growth promised to its constituents, resulted in increased support across the region for the MILF. MNLF credibility was further eroded in 1998 by the lack of full support for the peace agreement by the new Estrada government.

Concerned about the growing strength of the MILF, the Estrada regime declared an all-out war against the MILF in 2000 resulting in the displacement of almost a million people, with high human and physical costs to the region. Following the impeachment of Estrada in 2001, President Arroyo reversed the aggressive policy of her predecessor and declared an all-out-peace stance towards the MILF. Initial negotiations between two opposing parties began but broke down when the government unilaterally attacked MILF positions in 2003, resulting in the displacement of around half a million people.

The signing of ceasefire agreement with the MILF later that year paved the way for resmed negotiations, culminating in the 2008 Memorandum of Agreement of Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD), the MOA-AD provided for greater autonomy for the Bangsamoro to govern their affairs and an expanded ARMM territory. The agreement was, however, challenged in Philippines Supreme  Court and ruled unconstitutional, leading to another major outbreak of armed violence between selected MILF forces an the government, displacing some 700,000 people.

It was not until mid-2010, under the newly elected Aquino Government, that negotiations resumed. President Aquino personally met chairman Al-Haj Murad Ebrahim in Tokyo in early 2011 to assure him of the sincerity of his government to forge a lasting peace agreement with the MILF. In October 2012, the Philippine and MILF peace negotiating panels, through the meditation of the Malaysian government , reached a breakthrough with the signing of the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB).

Courtesy: Bangsamoro Development Plan