The gruesome video of an MILF fighter finishing off a wounded Special Action Force soldier has been presented as proof of Moro cruelty.
But that’s an incomplete picture. It’s even unfair given the MILF leadership’s statements on wanting to continue the peace process. In fact, the widely-circulated video is a stunning reminder of what would likely happen if the peace process is abandoned.
If those calling for all-out war prevail, brace yourself for more smartphone videos on Facebook showing people — soldiers, rebels and civilians — being tortured, maimed or killed.
The video shows what some MILF fighters are capable of.
But while the focus has been on the heroism of the 44 SAF troopers who died in the encounter, let’s face it: the viciousness in yet another all-out war in the south would likely also be inflicted by government forces — by a military and police still known for routinely trampling on the human rights of civilians.
The Mamapasano tragedy also makes one thing clear: ending the conflict in Mindanao means forging a peace agreement between two camps riven by divisions.
The divisions within government and Philippine security forces have been highlighted in media reports and the Senate hearing. They’re evident in confusing, even disingenuous answers from military and police officers, in a president blurting out one fumbled message after another, in trapos, including PNoy’s critics, pouncing on the tragedy for political gain. Then there’s even talk of a coup.
But what has also come into sharper focus is the picture of a divided MILF.
As my friend, academic Jojo Abinales wrote recently, “We really know very little about the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.”
My own brief encounter with the MILF, including a two-day stay as a reporter in Camp Abubakar 15 years ago, paints a portrait of a formidable, but divided political force.
In its ranks are Moros who are proud of their culture and history, but who do not totally reject Philippine society.
I spent two days with young MILF fighters armed to the teeth, ready to die for their cause. One 18-year-old fighter named Greg Talimbo recalled a recent battle with government troops, telling me with a smile, “They started shelling us with mortar so we hit back — we had to fight back.”
But Greg and his friends, young guerrillas who cradled their M-16 rifles while escorting us around the camp, also enjoyed talking about their other passion: basketball. They told me excitedly about the time Bobby Jaworski visited Camp Abubakar.
It’s a passion some of their leaders shared. When he introduced himself, Benjie Midtimbang, then director of the MILF’s version of the Philippine Military Academy, quipped, “That’s Benjie as in ‘Benjie Paras.’”
But there were also those at the MILF camp who believe that for political or religious reasons, Moros simply must strike out on their own, and they are prepared to fight to the death to achieve that goal.
That was the attitude of a young Moro who viewed me and my colleague, photographer David Paul Morris, with suspicion. “What is your purpose here?” he asked, arrogantly.
Later, he told me that the solution to the Mindanao conflict was clear: the Moros should break away and form their own country. That’s clearly the answer, he argued.
Then there was John Abubakar who did not try to hide his displeasure over being assigned to serve as our guide. He stated plainly that the MILF’s dream is to build an Islamic society, free from the influences of Manila and the West.
“There are no cabarets here. No alcohol, no shabu,” he told me.
One scene pointed to a more ultra-conservative culture that the MILF appeared to embrace. A classroom where Muslim students were studying Arabic was divided by a plastic sheet — one side for boys, the other for girls.
But at Camp Abubakar, I also encountered the pragmatic side of the MILF leadership. This was best exemplified by the movement’s leader, MILF Chairman Al Haj Murad.
I first met him in 1986 when the MILF held a press conference in one of their mountain hideouts in Maguindanao. By the late 1990s, the MILF had grown, and was in control of a 37-square-mile area with a population of roughly 20,000. By then, it even had Internet access. To request permission to visit Camp Abubakar, I sent Murad an email.
In his office, Murad kept books with such titles as “The Islamic Fatwa Regarding Women” and “The Internet for Busy People.” He was in his 50s then, and had been fighting for the Moro cause since his early 20s. He told me how he and his comrades hid in jungle marshes fighting government forces with homemade guns.
But never in my few encounters with Murad did he come across as a hardened, embittered, dogmatic rebel leader. He was soft-spoken, gracious, and carried himself more like a university professor than a guerrilla warrior.
Still, the Mamasapano tragedy, and reports that the MILF had protected Marwan, the Malaysian extremist who was killed in the encounter, point to a weakness in Murad’s leadership.
Murad himself has never denied that the MILF has links to extremist groups, and has even spoken publicly of Al Qaeda’s relationship with his movement.
He has even admitted to meeting Osama bin Laden whom he described to me as”a very religious man who kept a low profile and was not interested in making his name known.”
Despite pronouncements that the MILF now rejects terrorism and extremism, the Mamasapano encounter raises a serious question: How cohesive is the MILF? Is Murad strong enough to deliver on any promise that MILF-controlled areas will not turn into a haven for international terrorism?
It should also be stressed that these troubling ties to extremism were forged at a time the MILF needed allies to survive and fight on. One could compare those links to the the support that Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress’ accepted from Libya’s Moammar Ghadaffi during its campaign against the apartheid regime.
One point is also clear: if the peace process collapses and war breaks out, it would be a victory for extremists who share the values of Marwan and Bin Laden. What could be a more ideal haven for terrorism than an unstable, war-torn Mindanao?
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