Manila: Leaders of the two main Moro groups in southern Philippines met recently in Tajikistan in what could be the start of regular formal contacts aimed at bringing peace and development to the Bangsamoro people.

The Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) said OIC secretary-general Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu helped initiate formal contact on May 18 between Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) chairman, Prof. Nur Misuari, and his counterpart in the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), Al Haj Murad Ebrahim.

OIC mediation

According to the OIC statement, the objective of the meeting in Tajikistan's capital Dushanbe was to enhance "coordination between the two fronts and unite their ranks for the peace and development of the Bangsamoro people".

"He [Ihsanoglu] succeeded in bringing them together for a meeting ... on the sidelines of the 37th Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers on 18 May, 2010 with the participation of senior officials of the OIC in charge of Muslim minorities issues," the statement said.

The meeting held under the auspices of the OIC was the first between the two leaders since 2003. Murad had assumed leadership of the MILF with the death of founding chairman Hashim Salamat that year.

Asked by Gulf News if the meeting between the two leaders could lead to a merger between the MILF and MNLF, Mohagher Iqbal, chair of the MILF committee on information, said the meeting "was not about unification but rather the beginning point of coordination."

The MILF had split from the MNLF during the 1990s amid differences over how the armed conflict and other issues were to be handled.

Website report

A separate report by the MILF's Luwaran website said that, during the May 18 meeting, ambassador Hassan Al Masri and ambassador Talal Douz, chairperson of the OIC Minority Affairs, invited Murad and Misuari for a conference to discuss the formation of a panel which would coordinate the affairs of the MILF and MNLF and the Bangsamoro people.

The panel is envisioned to serve as a body where every "genuine and legitimate Moro organisation, whether armed or not, will become member and participate in the deliberation of major issues affecting the Bangsamoro people."

An earlier OIC solution concerning Muslims in southern Philippines urged MNLF and MILF to join hands for the peace and development of the Bangsamoro people. The resolution also welcomed an agreement forged by the two sides for the establishment of a mechanism for consultation and coordination.

Prior to the meeting in Dushanbe, it was the MNLF which was recognised by the OIC as the sole representative of the Bangsamoro. However, following the meeting, the MILF is expected to gain greater legitimacy before the world pan-Islamic body.