OIC condemns attack on Cotabato's Sema

Manila: The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation has condemned the January 10, 2012 attempt on the life of Muslimin Sema, Vice-Mayor of Cotabato City.

In a statement posted on its  website, the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) said it "strongly condemned the armed attack on the life of Mr. Muslimin Sema which took place on January 10, 2012, and described it as wanton terrorist act."

Sema's is a familiar face to the OIC as he represented the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in talks between government representatives and the OIC.

According to the OIC, Sema is: "…a prominent member of the Moro National Liberation Front and leading member of its panel engaged in the ongoing Tripartite Talks between the Government of the Philippines, the Moro National Liberation Front and the OIC.

Ambassador Sayed Al Masry, Adviser and Special Peace Envoy of the OIC Secretary General, sent a message wishing Mr. Sema a full and speedy recovery.

The tripartite talks, started some four years ago during the administration of then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, seeks the full implementation of a 1996 peace accord signed between the then government of President Fidel Ramos.

The agreement is supposed to grant full autonomy to Bangsamoro (native Muslim inhabitants of parts of Mindanao and the integration of qualified MNLF combatants into the Philippine armed forces among others.

Fears

The attack carried out on Sema is feared to bring a rash of fresh hostilities in the volatile Central Mindanao area, which as it is, is already besieged by violence with bombing attacks taking place with unnerving regularity.

The Philippines is due to hold its midterm elections sometime in May 2013 and this early, authorities said the attacks could be political in nature.

Sema claims the title, chair of the MNLF, a distinction he shares with Nur Misuari, the once separatist group's founder and "chairman emeritus."

Sema was on his way home after work when he was ambushed and injured by armed men riding in tandem in a motorcycle in Cotabato City.

One of the ambushers, Zermin Abdulla,was identified to be an employee of the Office of Southern Cultural Communities in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), was killed by Sema's security escorts in the firefight.

Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo had ordered national police Director General Nicanor Bartolome to investigate the incident and identify the brains behind the attack.

Bartolome has created Task Force Sema to speed-up the investigation.

Sema had assured that the MNLF will not take the law into its hands and allow the wheels of justice take its course.