Bu-lat-lat (boo-lat-lat) verb: to search, probe, investigate, inquire; to unearth facts Issue No. 41 November 25 - December 1, 2001 Quezon City, Philippines |
A Warrior Comes in From the Cold BY
Tim
Healy and Antonio Lopez December
27, 1996
The
old photos show an angry revolutionary quite unlike the man pictured today. A
patterned head scarf flows from Nur Misuari's head to his shoulders. He sports
the trademark goatee. In the background there is a hint of Mindanao jungle. And
the eyes -- always intense, piercing, alert for betrayal. A decade ago, Misuari
had reason to be suspicious. After all, the chief of the Moro National
Liberation Front (MNLF) had experienced more than his share of broken promises
and bloody deception. This
makes his transformation all the more remarkable. Rebel Misuari is now Governor
Misuari, co-architect of the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
Certainly his look has changed: instead of the scarf there is a patterned
necktie. The beard, now flecked with gray, frames not pursed lips but the
tentative smile of a man still learning about optimism. But, as before, the eyes
betray Misuari. They are alive and, for a change, full of hope. With
good reason: in 1996 Misuari helped end one of the longest-running insurgencies
in Southeast Asia, a triumph that brought the Philippines closer to its Muslim
neighbors and heralded the prospect of prosperity for Mindanao. Peace
was long overdue. The Muslim separatist struggle took 100,000 lives -- half on
the rebel side, 30% government troops and 20% civilians -- and drained
government coffers by $3 billion and an average 40% of the annual military
budget. More difficult to estimate is the cost to Mindanao in lost opportunity
and continuing poverty. On the Sulu archipelago just south of Mindanao, long a
rebel stronghold and one of the four provinces of the new region, per capita
income is $159. On nearby Tawi Tawi, people can expect to live only an average
53 years; nearly half of them cannot read. Misuari
signed a peace accord Sept. 2 with one-time battlefield opponent Fidel Ramos,
now president of the Philippines and a key mover behind the peace process. The
treaty gives Mindanao's Muslims less than the full independence they wanted but
substantial autonomy nonetheless. And it provides Misuari, who was elected
governor Sept. 9, the promise of critical government funds to grow the economy.
The law created a Special Zone of Peace and Development on Mindanao that
encompasses 14 provinces and eight cities. Misuari has less than three years to
show zone residents that he can materially improve their lives before they vote
on whether to form a fully autonomous region themselves which would include ARMM. "It
is much easier to manage war than peace," says Misuari, contemplating the
task ahead. He should know. In 1972, not long after strongman Ferdinand Marcos
declared martial law, Misuari quit his job teaching political science at the
University of the Philippines to lead the MNLF into a guerrilla war. The rebels
gained the upper hand in those first years of ferocious fighting. But it came at
great cost -- not least to Misuari personally. His fisherman father died in 1975
after being hounded for years by the army. Misuari's younger brother Abdolcarim
died in a firefight a year later. It
is Misuari's personal losses and famous fervor for the cause that make some
wonder if he can transform himself from a man seeking to topple the system to an
integral part of it. "How can you trust someone," asks Zamboanga City
Congresswoman Maria Clara Lobregat, "who fought the government for 24 years
and sought to subvert the Constitution?" For
his part, Ruben Torres, Ramos's chief of staff, says Misuari, now 57, should be
an excellent administrator. "He is an experienced organization man. He has
led his people for 24 years of struggle, worrying about food, arms, the battles
he had to fight and even diplomacy." As if to prove the point, Misuari is
keen to woo foreign investment. General Motors is contemplating a $4-billion
investment. And this month, PMMahathir Mohamad vowed that Malaysia would take
part in Mindanao's economic development. "One of the fastest ways to bring
people, investors and tourists here is to improve infrastructure," says
Misuari. "It's the key to our future. There is a dramatic transformation
taking place in Mindanao." Sometimes
he almost sounds like a politician -- not the scion of a family of fighters. His
grandfather Saleddin was a famous warrior. His mother's Bangingi tribe fought
the Spanish. Why did Misuari hang up his fatigues? Torres reckons he "got
tired of fighting." He adds: "I asked him: 'What have you achieved for
your people? The Muslim areas are 50 years behind the rest of the country in
development.'" And so, in 1997, Misuari sets out to provide answers. Bulatlat.com We want to know what you think of this article.
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