Nur Ends Seclusion, Calls GMA Gov’t the ‘Worst Betrayer’

By CARLOS H. CONDE

ZAMBOANGA CITY – A bitter and indignant Nur Misuari finally ended three weeks of silence and a self-imposed seclusion in his hometown in Jolo by accusing the government of betraying the 1996 Final Peace Agreement signed exactly five years ago yesterday.

He also accused a Cabinet member, Presidential Adviser on Special Concerns Norberto Gonzales, of manipulating President Arroyo who, according to Misuari, was not “properly informed” of the situation in Muslim Mindanao.

In his first media interview since Arroyo fired him as chairman of the Southern Philippines Council for Peace and Development and since a faction of anti-Misuari MNLF officials signed a “unity” agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) less than a month ago, Misuari also revealed that he and House Speaker Jose de Venecia will meet in the next few days in Thailand to discuss how to salvage the damaged relationship between him and the Arroyo administration.

Misuari said the meeting in Bangkok is a “last-ditch attempt” by the government “to save the situation.” The meeting, in fact, is the only bright spot so far in the soured relationship between Malacanang and Misuari. De Venecia was a key participant in the 1996 Peace Agreement signed by the MNLF and the government five years ago in Jakarta.

“We are standing on square one, except for this last-ditch attempt perhaps to save the situation. I’m sure the invitation was not meant to discuss the weather in Bangkok. I’m sure he (de Venecia) will have something up his sleeve,” Misuari told this writer in an interview in his ARMM office in this city Friday evening.

Misuari said the agenda is not yet clear “but because he is a good friend, I intend to see him in Bangkok.” When asked whether de Venecia was sent to mollify him, Misuari tartly replied: “I am not a kid in order to be treated that way.”

It is not clear whether the Bangkok meeting was initiated by Malacanang or even has Arroyo’s approval. Misuari said he was told that after the meeting, de Venecia would visit President Arroyo to brief her about it. For his part, Misuari said he would bring to the MNLF Central Committee whatever will come out of the meeting. De Venecia could not be reached for comment.

The Bangkok meeting came in the wake of the government’s sidelining of Misuari by initiating a plot against him that subsequently resulted in the decision by the so-called Council of 15 to “retire” the Moro leader as chairman of the MNLF and make him “chairman emeritus.” The council is composed of members of the MNLF central committee who said they have grown disillusioned with Misuari.

Parouk Hussin, one of the council members, has said that Misuari had to be sidelined because he was a hindrance to the development of Muslim Mindanao. “It was a choice between the well-being of our people as against one man. We want to move forward. With Misuari, we are not moving an inch. He’s given enough time. Five years is more than enough time. But what has Misuari done?” he told this writer last month.

Hussin and company also accused Misuari of being “dictatorial.” “He doesn’t like this endeavor because he is greedy. He knows that this would dissipate his authority,” he said.

Sources said, however, that the prime mover of this plot is Gonzales, who, ironically, had been close to Misuari, having spent considerable time in exile in Sabah with the MNLF during the Marcos dictatatorship. Gonzales, for instance, paid for the airfare of council members during a meeting in Manila in April, shortly before they announced that Misuari was no longer their chairman.

Gonzales heads the Partido Demokratiko-Sosyalita ng Pilipinas (PDSP), a Jesuit-led political party that financed the candidacy of a number of MNLF as well as MILF officials in the last elections. Misuari has called this as part of the PDSP’s and the administration’s divide-and-rule tactic.

In fact, according to Misuari, Gonzales’s PDSP has expanded its wings in Muslim Mindanao. “Gonzales is promoting the vested interest of his party, which is the unofficial party of the Jesuits. And they have succeeded in mesmerizing some of our leaders by offering them money and power. Cong Saharin is now the chairman of this Jesuit-led party in Tawi-tawi. Yusuf Jikiri is now the chairman of this Jesuit-led party in Sulu. Hatimil Hassan is now the chairman of this Jesuit-led party in Basilan. Uttoh Salem is now the chairman of this Jesuit-led party in South Cotabato. Muslim Sema is now the chairman of this Jesuit-led party in Maguindanao-Cotabato city. They have succeeded in turning these people into agents of the Catholic Church!” Misuari bewailed. Saharin, Jikiri, Hassan, Salem, and Sema are members of the Council of 15.

Aside from plotting his ouster as chairman of the MNLF, part of Gonzales’ scheme, Misuari said, was to remove him as chairman of the SPCPD and for the Council of 15 to sign a “unity” pact with the MILF. The latter was meant supposedly to make representation in the Organization of Islamic Conference less cumbersome. As of press time, however, the OIC has not issued any declaration that it now recognizes the Council of 15 instead of Misuari. In the OIC’s resolutions, the MNLF “under the leadership of Misuari” is the sole representative of the Bangsa Moro people in the 56-member pan-Islamic body.