The power-sharing deal that Philippine President Benigno Aquino has cut with Muslim insurgents on the island of Mindanao is a signal moment, not only for Aquino's administration but also for the Malaysian authorities, who have plugged away patiently, sometimes in the face of seemingly insuperable obstacles, to broker the deal. Credit should also go to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) whose leadership recognized that the complete independence they had originally sought was unrealistic and that the creation of an autonomous region in the south of the island constituted a just and fair compromise for their ambitions. In an ideal world, this ought to be the end of a conflict that has lasted for four bloody decades with the loss of more than 100,000 lives with many tens of thousands more maimed and wounded. But sadly it is not. There are three other rebel groups that have refused to be part of the negotiations and whose commitment to continued violence threatens everything that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front has achieved. Most importantly there is the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), a rival to the MILF, which demonstrated its unhappiness with the advanced stage of its rival's talks with the government in Manila by attacking the city of Zamboanga in September. In the three weeks of fighting that followed, dozens of MNLF and government troops died along with civilians who were caught in the crossfire. As the peace deal currently stands, the MILF is likely to assume the dominant political position in the new autonomous south of the island. This of itself is unhealthy. It needs to be challenged on the political stage by a genuine opposition. The MNLF is the obvious provider of that peaceful balance. The question is whether it can be persuaded to take part in the democratic political process. If it can, then the major impediment to an enduring peace will be removed. That still leaves, however, the communist New People's Army which has been pursuing a Maoist-style insurgency for approaching 50 years, partly in Mindanao, and the Abu Sayyaf rebels, a small but extremely violent Al-Qaeda-linked terror group. It is one of the conditions of the autonomy deal that the MILF disarms. Clearly the existence of three deadly rivals is not going to encourage an early giving up of weapons, which in turn could delay or even endanger the deal with Manila. This must not be allowed to happen. It is absolutely essential that the MNLF becomes involved in the political process. This might come at a high political cost, since the group had refused to be part of the original discussions. However, it is known that the Malaysians have channels to the MNLF leadership. The proposition has to be quite simple. Enough blood has flowed. The long years of fighting must end. The MILF has achieved in large measure the ambition of both rebel groups. Now is the time to give peace a chance and join in the peace and ultimate prosperity of an autonomous Moro region. There has to be a place for the MNLF within a peaceful political process. Combined and with the support of the Aquino administration, they can surely break the back of the Abu Sayyaf terror group, while at the same time turning to the building of their own Moro community. There is now, no other realistic option.
