Philippine Mayor: Mnlf Head Must Be Arrested For Siege

A week before the anniversary of a siege on a predominantly Christian city in the Philippines Muslim south that left some 300 people dead, Zamboanga City's mayor has expressed frustration that the leader of a rebel group held responsible is yet to be arrested.



"I feel frustrated because of what is happening to the city of Zamboanga and I hope you can also share your sentiments," Isabelle Climaco-Salazar told reporters at City Hall on Monday.



Climaco, the main complainant against Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) chairman Nur Misuari for violating international humanitarian law and committing crimes against humanity, vowed she would not back down as her desire for justice for the victims has remained strong since the siege.



"The City of Zamboanga wants justice and those responsible must be arrested," Mayor Climaco said, adding, "My main responsibility, as chief executive, is to ensure the welfare of our constituents."



The mayor's statements follow the posting on a MNLF website last month of photos showing Misuari – who has been in hiding for almost a year - in full battle gear with an automatic M16 rifle, delivering a message with his top commanders and armed followers behind him.



He Misuari calls "for the unity of all Bangsamoro freedom fighters in pursuit of the complete independence and national self-determination of the Muslim and Animist Lumad natives as well as conscious Christians of Mindanao from Philippine colonialism."



In September 2013, the MNLF - under Misuari's leadership - laid siege to Zamboanga to protest a peace deal between breakaway group the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the government, leaving some 300 people dead and over 100,000 displaced.



Misuari claimed the new deal - signed March 27, named the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro - is a betrayal of a 1996 agreement between the government and MNLF, has left his organization shortchanged, and granted Muslims in the region lesser autonomy.



Philippines authorities have ordered Misuari's arrest, accusing him of ordering the siege. He has since been charged with rebellion and human rights violations.



In August, members of the House of Representatives in the capital Manila proposed that Misuari be given a safe conduct pass to attend deliberations on the Bangsamoro Basic Law, a proposed law created under the latest peace process aimed at ending decades of fighting in the Philippines' south by creating a Muslim autonomous region.



The move, however, did not materialize due to the pending arrest warrant.



Rodolfo Biazon - a greater capital region representative, and attendee at the house meet - said input from the MNLF is important as the rebel group is recognized as a representative of the Bangsamoro people by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) - a bloc of 57 Muslim countries that helped broker the 1996 final peace pact between the government and the MNLF. 



Mayor Climaco, however, has said that she would prefer Misuari be served with the warrant.



While Zamboanga City will be commemorating the first anniversary of the siege, the situation has yet to improve the livelihoods of the victims, many still languishing in dismal living conditions.



In a column Monday in Zamboanga Today, Gingging Avellanosa-Valle expressed concern that "Many children are said to be getting sick by the hour, and sadder still is the situation of the young female refugees [displaced] who are said to be victims of sexual violence."



While noting reports that President Benigno Aquino III issued funds to the Department of Works and Highways months ago to build over 7,000 houses across the city and to rehabilitate damaged infrastructure for the displaced, she stressed, "Some of the refugees are becoming desperate as the [death toll] rose to 167 individuals, and rich nations have stopped in [sic] sending aid for devastated communities."



www.aa.com.tr/en - Zamboanga