OIC hails move to lift Misuari warrant

Nur Misuari

RIYADH: The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has welcomed the Philippine government’s decision to lift the warrant of arrest against Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) Chairman Nur Misuari and restore his freedom.
The OIC said it received the information with great satisfaction and considered it another manifestation of the positive approach of the current administration toward the longstanding problem of the Bangsamoro people.
Sayed El-Masry, OIC special envoy for peace in southern Philippines, reiterated the longstanding position of the organization that Misuari was an indispensable factor to the peace process, being the founder of the MNLF and historical leader of the Bangsamoro people.
The OIC reiterated its support for the MNLF and its chairman, Moro Islamic Liberation Front chief Haj Murad, as well as for the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), which should be embodied undiluted in the new enabling law.
The OIC believed that it was now time to proceed steadfastly to close ranks between the MNLF and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to coordinate efforts to merge the two peace tracks and maintain all the gains contained in all the peace treaties, namely, the 1976 Tripoli Agreement, the 1996 Jakarta Agreement and the CAB.
The OIC maintained its position that it did not favor one Moro faction over another, but that it was in full support of the inalienable rights of the Bangsamoro people to determine their future and seek peace and prosperity in their homeland.
The OIC welcomed the pledge of President Rodrigo R. Duterte to implement all previous international peace agreements, and reiterated its position that “for a peaceful settlement to be just durable in Mindanao, it must be based on the historical compromise contained in the 1976 Tripoli Agreement.”
The OIC special envoy for peace in southern Philippines will carry out consultations with the Peace Committee for the Southern Philippines, in particular the two facilitators, Malaysia and Indonesia, as part of the OIC’s efforts to prepare the ground for a meeting of the Bangsamoro Coordination Forum to harmonize the two peace talks, consolidate cooperation between the two Moro fronts and come up with a unified position.
The OIC was confident that it would receive the cooperation needed to reach a successful conclusion to this endeavor, and called on all parties to remain fully committed to the peace process and to strive together toward the advancement of a final resolution of the conflict in Mindanao.