Moro National Liberation Front / Dissent Among Philippines Separatists (Video)

OVERVIEW

The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) is an organization that originally sought the secession of Muslim Mindanao from the Philippines and the creation of an independent Islamic state. It subsequently opted for regional autonomy. It was created during a period of heightened civil unrest among Muslims in the Philippines in the late 1960s.

For centuries, tension had been brewing between Christians and Muslims in the Philippines, particularly in the southern islands of Mindanao. The conflict escalated when a group of Muslim youth was brought by the Philippine Army to Corregidor Island in 1968 for training on guerrilla tactics in preparation for an invasion on the Malaysian island of Sabah. The young recruits were supposed to join a commando group, known as “Jabidah,” that would carry out the planned invasion. When the trainees began protesting against the unbearable training conditions and demanding their return to Mindanao, they were summarily executed by their Army officers on March 18, 1968. The incident, which came to be known as the Jabidah Massacre, led to the formation of Muslim groups clamoring for a separate Islamic state.

In 1968, Cotabato Governor Datu Udtog Matalam founded the Muslim Independent Movement (MIM), an above-ground organization that advocated the creation of an ideal Islamic state. When Matalam stepped aside, more radical elements of the Muslim cause began to organize. From 1968 to 1969, at the height of the Philippine-Malaysian dispute over Sabah and the turmoil created by the Jabidah Massacre, some members of the MIM underwent guerilla training in Sabah. These men eventually formed the nucleus of the MNLF. A total of three batches of MNLF guerillas went to Sabah from 1969 to 1974. The first batch comprised 90 recruits; the second batch, 300; and the last batch, 87. The training included guerilla warfare and tactics and mortar warfare and all the trainers were British-trained.

Shortly after the imposition of martial law in the Philippines on September 23, 1972, Abul Khayr Alonto and Jallaludin Santos formed the MNLF, espousing an armed revolutionary approach to the struggle of Filipino Muslims in Mindanao. Nurallaji “Nur” Misuari, a professor at the University of Philippines who was active in a well-known Marxist movement called Kabataang Makabayan (KM), was asked to head the organization. KM was responsible for the creation of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). The CPP and its military wing, the New People’s Army (NPA), are responsible for the second, more secular struggle against the Philippine government. Most of the secular ideology of the MNLF was inherited from Misuari. The left-leaning ideology of the MNLF relates to the organization’s adherence to Moro nationalism, not Islamic fundamentalism. The MNLF is regarded as a national liberation movement comprised of mostly secular Muslims in the Philippines. In 1976, the group finally reached a peace agreement with the Manila-based government. Unfortunately, this was quickly broken by violent militant attacks on security forces, and throughout the next two decades, conflict remained steady between government and militant fighters. Finally in 1996, another agreement was reached which established the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), a predominately Muslim region in which the people, led by Nur Misuari, could live by their own rule of law. Those individuals who did not agree with this truce fell to support other terrorist groups in the region, chiefly Abu Sayyaf and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Misuari’s rule ended when he was imprisoned in late 2001 after unsuccessfully leading a coup to remove the current Filipino government from power which resulted in over 100 deaths. His predecessor, Parouk Hussin, was also an MNLF member.

Within the last decade, support for the main MNLF organization has waned. Splinter groups became common, and Misuari continues to hold a dedicated band of followers. Some MNLF members and affiliates continue to launch attacks against security forces and government officials. One such attack in August 2007 led to the deaths of 60 troops and militants. Since 2007, other attacks have taken place between troops and suspected rebels, although the MNLF denies their members have been involved.

STRUCTURE

The MNLF is organized into three factions: Misuari, Alvarez Isnaji, and Islamic Command Council. There is also a 15-member Executive Committee which is run by Muslimin Semma, the mayor of Cotabato City. A branch of the MNLF, the Bangsamoro Army (BMA), is the armed wing of the organization. Another branch, the Misuari Renegade Group (MRG) also engages in armed conflict for the group, and is known to be closely affiliated with Abu Sayyaf.

The MNLF is reported to have limited access to arms during their ceasefire agreement with the Filipino government, although during the height of their activity they utilized AK-47s, M-16 Armalites, grenade launchers, mortar launchers, landmines, and improvised explosive devices.

FUNDING

Much of the organization’s funding comes from foreign sources; this includes donations from supporters from Malaysia, Libya, and Iran. Other forms of support derive from local sources, exortion activities, and ransom from hostage takings.

TACTICS

The majority of group activity involves attacks on Armed Forces of the Philippines members. These clashes usually involve light arms, although MNLF militants also use grenade and mortar launchers against government outposts and installations. MNLF members rarely target civilians in these attacks, although they are well known for engaging in kidnap-for-ransom activities. In 2009, two U.S. soldiers and one AFP soldier were killed by an improvised explosive device which was supposedly planted by MNLF and Bangsamoro National Liberation Army (BNLA) members.