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Philippines
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Burnt offering

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PALACE spin doctors and administration apologists insult our intelligence when they suggest that the death of terrorist Basit Usman—presumably at the hands of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front—is proof that the rebel group is sincere about seeking peace after all, and that Congress should now pass the Bangsamoro Basic Law.

“We are entering a time when legislators will soon be discussing the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law, and we will understand that the legislators and the citizenry are looking for a concrete manifestation that would prove [the MILF’s commitment to peace],” a Palace spokesman said, even before the details of Usman’s death had been officially verified.

The suggestion was unmistakable—Usman’s cadaver was proof enough of the MILF’s commitment and lawmakers should rush the passage of the BBL, the draft law hammered out by government negotiators and the rebels to create a new region in Muslim Mindanao with unprecedented autonomy.

There are so many holes in this argument that one would be at a loss where to begin.

A general, who spoke on condition of anonymity, argues convincingly that Usman’s death is proof that the MILF actually coddled the terrorist all these years, and offered him up only after they put their own peace accord at risk by slaughtering 44 police commandos who were trying to serve an arrest warrant on Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan and Usman in January.

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This practice of the MILF to harbor terrorists in areas it controls was confirmed some time ago by the group’s own former spokesman, Eid Kabalu, who said it was ludicrous to believe that the group was unaware of Marwan or Usman’s whereabouts in their own backyard.

The belated offering of Usman is a poor sign of sincerity because his death costs the MILF very little, and pales in comparison to the death of 44 police officers who were merely enforcing the law in Mamasapano. A true and more meaningful sign of sincerity would be the surrender of all MILF fighters who took part in the Mamasapano massacre, but this is a demand that the rebel group has consistently rejected.

Finally, even if we were to accept that the MILF were sincere in seeking peace, this sincerity alone is not sufficient basis for passing the BBL, which was drafted by a small group of like-minded individuals—so like-minded, in fact, that the government negotiators are often mistaken as MILF spokesmen because of their pronouncements. The wisdom—or folly—of the BBL is not predicated on anybody’s sincerity. It is a draft law with serious implications on the entire country and must be vigorously debated, not approved by rubber stamp simply because the rebels offered up a dead terrorist, much as a cat might offer its unsuspecting master a dead mouse.

If the MILF truly did kill the terrorist Usman after harboring him for so many years, this is not a show of sincerity but a meager burnt offering, and one that is not commensurate to the price being asked in exchange.

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