If the MILF Wants Genuine Peace, It Should Disarm

Violence has spread in several towns in Mindanao, including the killing of 33 people, in the aftermath of a collapsed peace talk between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. The MILF leadership, however, distances itself from what has happened, saying that it has no control over its rampaging field commanders. A Filipino political scientist, in an op-ed piece, points out the importance of making this distinction between the leadership of the insurgency group and its uncontrollable fighters, arguing that if ever peace efforts are to advance in Mindanao, reasonable elements within the MILF are what the Philippine government must capitalize on.

I will argue, however, that if the MILF leadership wanted genuine peace from the very beginning, the first item that should have been discussed during those peace talks was on how to disarm the rebel organization, whether voluntarily or involuntarily. Any peace talk is premised on this issue. But the MILF has another agenda in mind: its intent all along is to secede from the Philippines, establish its own Islamic republic, implement its own laws, and create its own security force.

So, if war is taking place in Mindanao right now, it's because it never went away; the lull that took place during the peace talk was artificial, where the MILF, thanks to ignorant and unsuspecting forces, gained the upper hand.