JORGE “Ka Oris” MADLOS
Spokesperson, NDFP – Mindanao
The breaking of diplomatic protocol by the respective principals of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), for the sake of achieving a final peace settlement is admirable if only the outcome of their talks truly serve the best interest of the Moro and non-Moro peoples alike.
Such an agreement must be based on the Moro people’s genuine right to self-determination, sovereignty, patrimony, and basic economic and political reforms that shall mainly benefit the long-suffering Bangsamoro.
But, judging from the very nature of the Noynoy Aquino regime, as it is beholden to the economic and political interests of the local ruling classes and its US imperialist master, it is not likely that the genuine right to self-determination envisioned by the late Chairman Salamat Hashim will be granted. Worse, nor will genuine land reform and basic industrialization ever be forthcoming.
It is also not likely that the question of US intervention will be squarely addressed given that US economic interests are more pronounced in Mindanao, especially in Moro areas, which have mostly been grabbed for vast agri-business plantations, mineral and natural gas extraction, and even the establishment of US military facilities.
We are also aware that the US imperialist and the Aquino government will do its utmost to try to soften the MILF on the question of genuine self-determination, if not pressure the MILF to capitulate, with the aim of isolating and crushing the revolutionary movement led by the Communist Party of the Philippines, New People’s Army, and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (CPP-NPA-NDFP).
We are not privy to the agreement between Aquino and Chairman Murad Ebrahim, but as a revolutionary ally of the MILF, the NDFP expects the MILF leadership to place above all else the Moro people’s interest with whatever is arrived at with the GPH.
The defense of the Moro people’s right to self-determination is key in the NDFP’s alliance with the MILF. The waging of both armed and non-armed struggle against a common enemy, the oppressive and exploitative reactionary ruling classes, which is inseparably linked to the fight against foreign intervention, is paramount among the bases of alliance between the NDFP and the MILF.
It is in this context that the NDFP in Mindanao reaffirms its commitment to the agreement it signed with the MILF on the 24th of July 1999. As an ally, we expect the MILF leadership to brief us on the result of their talks with Aquino government.
(Sgd) Ka Oris
Spokesperson, NDFP – Mindanao