Muslim Leaders in Mindanao mourned for Qaddafi

Muslim leaders mourn Qaddafi

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Published : Monday, October 24, 2011 00:00

Article Views : 452

Written by : JULMUNIR I. JANNARAL CORRESPONDENT

REFERRING to him as a “champion of the Bangsamoro cause,” Muslim leaders over the weekend paid tribute to the late Libyan strongman Muammar Qaddafi who was killed in an assault last week on his hometown Sirte.

While Libyans considered Qaddafi as a ruthless dictator, Muslim leaders in the country, on the other hand, recall Qaddafi’s support for the struggle for Muslim self-determination.

“We pay tribute to him in helping bring into international level the Moro quest for self-determination. Hence, the Muslims in the Philippines particularly the Bangsamoro people are indebted to Brother Muammar Qaddafi for helping in their struggle for identity,” Nash Pangadapun, secretary general of Maradeka, an umbrella organization of Muslim civil society groups.

Meanwhile, Almarin Centi Tillah, president of Pahimpunan Sin Islam (Islamic Society of the Philippines) said, “We do not pretend to know what the final judgment of history will be on the man Muammar Qaddafi. But we can expect his role in supporting the cause of Muslim autonomy within the Philippine Republic and the enactment of the Tripoli Agreement to stand on the positive side of that ledger.”

According to Pangadapun, Maradeka has joined the Muslim ummah (community) in mourning the death of the Libyan leader.

“It saddened the Moro group that the death of Colonel Qaddafi comes out from a phenomenal Arab spring but yet backed up by United States of America,” Pangadapun emphasized.

He warned that the intervention of the United States in the revolt that led to the downfall of Qaddafi would only reinforce anti-American sentiments throughout the Muslim world.

Supporter of the struggle
Commander Hadji Kairan Suhaili, vice chairman for political affairs of the South Palawan Revolutionary Committee of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), said the organization owed a large debt of gratitude to Qaddafi.

“Sa palagay ko malaki ang utang na loob ng lahat ng liberation front sa buong mundo kay Colonel Qaddafi pati na ang MNLF [In my opinion, all the liberation fronts around the world have so much debt of gratitude to Colonel Qaddafi including the MNLF],” Suhaili said.

He claimed that the late strongman was generous in extending financial assistance as well as armaments to the MNLF when it was actively engaging the government as a secessionist movement.

Meanwhile, Dr. Hadji Mashur Bin-Jundam, a professor of the University of the Philippines Institute for Islamic Studies, said, “Colonel Muammar Qaddafi was the only Muslim world leader instrumental in the internationalization of the Bangsamoro issue.”

“We salute the great leader of the world revolutionaries,” Jun-dam declared.

Tripoli agreement
FORMER Gov. Zacaria Candao of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) said in an interview that Qaddafi would not be forgotten in the history of the Bangsamoro people.

Qaddafi persuaded the MNLF to move for the autonomy of 13 provinces in Mindanao that included Palawan instead of completely seceding from the country.

Candao was part of the MNLF Peace Panel which negotiated with the government in Tripoli, Libya. The series of negotiations resulted in the signing of the Tripoli agreement by Carmelo Barbero, then defense undersecretary for civil relations, and former MNLF chairman Nur Misuari.

“It is but proper for the people in the ARMM to offer a prayer or two for the repose soul of Colonel Muammar Qaddafi,” Candao also said.

Meanwhile, Qaddafi’s death also earned the sympathies of the Bangsamoro women sector.

Dr. Radzma Jannaral-Suhaili, executive director of the Institute of Peace and Development at the Mindanao State University in Jolo, Sulu said she cried after viewing the footage which showed angry Libyans bashing Qaddafi’s head.

“Why should we Muslims show to the whole world how ruthless we are and how we ridicule a fallen leader and not give him a due process under the Shari’ah law?” Suhaili asked.

She, however, conceded, “If that is Allah’s will that Khadafy should really meet his violent death to atone for the wrong doings he did for the Libyan people, then so be it.”

On September 1969, while King Idris of Libya was in Turkey for medical treatment, he was deposed in a coup by a group of army officers under the leadership of Qaddafi who was then a 27-year-old Libyan army captain.

Idris was deposed and Qaddafi was named chairman of Libya’s new governing body, the Revolutionary Command Council after the successful military coup.

King Idris was the first and only king of Libya, reigning from 1951 to 1969, and the Chief of the Senussi Muslim sect. The monarchy was abolished and a republic proclaimed. The coup pre-empted Idris’ abdication and the succession of his heir.

Bai Shalimar Amerkhan Candao, vice-president for Mindanao of Noorus Salam, a network of aleemat (Muslim women religious leaders), peace advocates, and women’s organizations, said, “It was some kind of a poetic justice for Khadafy on how he overthrew a monarchy and ruled on the Libyan people with iron fists, and died too in the hands of the Libyan people that he once ruled,”

“However, back here in the Philippines especially in Muslim Mindanao, still we believe that Qaddafi is the champion of the cause of the Bangsamoro people,” she said.

MINDANAO LEADERS SUPPORT THE PEACE RALLY IN DAVAO CITY

Leaders from different sector joins the MNLF PEACE RALLY 2011 and was very thankful for the support of Mayor Inday Sara Duterte and the father Vice Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte for calling the support of Mindanaoans to speed up the Peace Process. Atty. Elly Pamatong, head of the IMPPACT-USA, also the representative of the Bangsamoro People to bring the problem to the United Nations. Retired Captain Gil "SMF Lapu-lapu" Taojo, Naional Chairman, GBI Guardians Mainstream, strongly endorse the Federal Form of Government if the Government fail to implement the Peace Agreement between the MNLF and the GPH. General Rodrigo Fabillon of the Special Forces, covering the MinSuPala, denounced the intervention of the foreigners in the Natural Resources in the Bangsamoro Homeland. Datu "Zok" Representative of Maguindanao Area under MNLF Zone of Peace Five (5) lead by General Datu Kautin Usman including the State Chairmen in the area also share their views on the situation of the peace process and demands that it is the Regional Autonomous Government not the ARMM that is in the Peace Agreement. Bong Fernandez, Secretary General of Davao del Sur and Digos city added that if Malacañang appoints OIC for ARMM it should be belongs to the MNLF or Professor Nur Misuari will be solution.

        At the end, Hadji Winnie Hadjirul, Chief NESU-MNLF-BAF and Chief Political Coordinator of the Central Committee under the office of the Founding Chairman Prof. Nur P. Misuari, named the 15 Council as the traitor of the organization and recall the result of Solo City, Indonesia to be implemented.

        Davao City State Revolutionary Committee Chair Rolando "Monk" Olamit as the organizer of the occasion congratulates all the leaders for their support specially to the City Government of Davao.

MNLF PEACE RALLY IN DAVAO CITY

MNLF Davao City Leadership invites all the MNLF to join the PEACE RALLY this forthcoming September 27, 2011, 9AM, Tuesday    at Rizal Park, Davao City. MNLF Leaders will be given time to share their  view on the situation of the on going Peace Process.

MNLF Commanders endorsed Chairman Nur for ARMM OIC GOVERNOR

Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) based in Camp General Khalid Nur Ibn Misuari Al Ilidji, Patadon, North Cotabato initiates a consultative meeting to all commanders and leaders within Zone of Peace Five (5) to endorse MNLF Founding Chairman Professor Dr. Nur P. Misuari as the ARMM OIC Governor and ask the Davao City State Chairman Abdul Aziz "Monk" Olamit to file a petition to His Excellency Pres. Benigno Aquino III.

Multitudes of Bangsamoro People joins the MNLF's 15th GSG - Grand Summit Gathering

Multitudes of Bangsamoro People composed of Muslim, Christians and Highlanders joins the 15th GSG - Grand Summit Gathering dubbed as "RAMADAN PEACE SUMMIT 2011" as its Founding Leader and Central Committee Chairman Professor Dr. Nur P., Misuari  arrives in the airport, many Highlanders organized by Mindanao Indigenous Peoples Conference for Peace and Development (MIPCPD) with gongs fetched the chairman and declares their support to the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).

As the chairman reported the status of the Peace Agreement, the Bangsamoro Muslims, Christians and Highlanders bid  Independence. 

The 15th GSG was organized by MNLF Davao City State Revolutionary Committee under its City State Chairman Rolando T. Olamit.

Misuari doubts gov't-MILF peace talks | ABS-CBN News | Latest Philippine Headlines, Breaking News, Video, Analysis, Features

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WRONG SIGNAL

The President’s meeting with the MILF rebel chief drew reactions, both positive and negative, from both sides of the political divide.
Even one of the President’s closest allies, Senator Francis Escudero, found reason to question the propriety of the President secretly meeting with Murad.
“I think the President may have been ill-advised to meet personally as he (Murad) is not even his counterpart. And it might not be a good tactic in the negotiations,” he said.
He said Deles should “protect the President from such things.”
“She should just do her job and give her President deniability with respect to this early stage of the negotiations,” Escudero said.
House Minority Leader  Edcel Lagman on Friday said that Mr. Aquino broke his own promise of full transparency and took unnecessary risks without any tangible gains in meeting with the MILF leader.
“The country is not the personal fiefdom of President Aquino.  Any presidential move which has a bearing on national interest and national security must be transparent and discussed with the Cabinet and the National Security Council. The President’s secret trip to Japan to meet MILF leaders violates his avowed policy on transparency,” said Lagman in a phone interview.
Lagman questioned the urgency or necessity of having the President himself meet with Murad.
Unnecessary risks
“Can’t the President send an emissary instead of he himself going?  There is more than meets the eye in the President’s excursion. He has much explaining to do.  Such as what has he achieved, what are the commitments?” said Lagman.
Lagman said the President also took unnecessary risks in his meeting the MILF leaders. “If something happened to him there, what would happen to our country? He is the President, that should be foremost in his mind,” he said.
But House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II said: “If it will lead to real and lasting peace, I fully support P-Noy.”
Senator Francis Pangilinan welcomed the move as “an out-of-the-box solution” that showed the President was willing to step out of his comfort zone to ensure that peace is achieved.
Senator Loren Legarda, chair of the Senate foreign relations committee, said “pass muna” to mean no comment for now.
Act of treason
A diplomat who asked not to be named said what the President did was “an act of treason.”
“A President is not supposed to go on secret missions. A head of state can never be the equal of a rebel leader, but he probably does not know that. He should be meeting with someone on his level,” the diplomat said.
She said the Department of Foreign Affairs was left completely out of the loop.
“I hear that the peace panel was the one that recommended it. What was their agenda? Did they just shake hands? A goodwill [meeting]?” she said. With reports from Gil C. Cabacungan Jr., Christian Esguerra and Jerome Aning and AP, AFP, Reuters
First posted 12:25 am | Saturday, August 6th, 2011 

MNLF Founding Leader & Central Committee Chairman Professor Dr. Nur P. Misuari call it a "WRONG SIGNAL". "Pinoy-Murad Japan talk was a wrong signal. We (MNLF-OIC-GPH) talks are almost at the finish line.

King, crown prince greet Muslims on Ramadan

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah

By ARAB NEWS

Published: Jul 31, 2011 22:34 Updated: Aug 1, 2011 00:21

JEDDAH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and Crown Prince Sultan, deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, greeted Muslims in the Kingdom and the rest of the world Sunday on the beginning of the blessed month of Ramadan.

In a joint address read out by Minister of Culture and Information Abdul Aziz Khoja, the king and the crown prince said: “We pray to Almighty Allah to make the advent of this month an opportunity for the Muslim Ummah to learn more, to strive to reject disunity and to achieve the ideals of brotherhood. That is when the strong stands by the weak, the wealthy supports the needy and the oppressed forgives the oppressor. Thus, they will build a tolerant society where people coexist peacefully preserving the rights and respecting the rights of others.”
The first of Ramadan is on Aug. 1 according to a statement issued by the Supreme Court on Saturday. The schools are on vacation and offices will have special working hours. The holy month also attracts millions of Umrah pilgrims from all parts of world.

15th GSG - RAMADAN PEACE SUMMIT 2011

The Final Schedule of the RAMADAN PEACE SUMMIT dubbed as the 15th GSG - Grand Summit Gathering 2011 will be on August 19, 2011 at 7AM - 1PM. Organizers  is still working on the venue..

15th GSG - Grand Summit Gathering in Davao City

MNLF Davao City Info: In behalf of the Founding Leader & Central Committee Chairman H.E. Professor Dr. Nur P. Misuari, all MNLF in Mindanao, Sulu, Palawan and other Islands are enjoined to attend the 15th GSG-Grand Summit Gathering; Theme: Ramadan Peace Summit this forthcoming August 12, 2011 in Davao City at 7:00 AM, venue shall be determine later. Please bring your own prayer carpet and wear clean socks because we will perform our Juma'ah Prayer on the said occassion.

NORWAY TERROR

Norway killer is anti-multiculturism

This is an undated image obtained from the Twitter page of Anders Behring Breivik, 32, who was arrested in connection to the twin attacks on a youth camp and a government building in Oslo, Norway. (AP)

By AGENCIES

Published: Jul 23, 2011 23:14 Updated: Jul 24, 2011 03:05

OSLO: The Norwegian charged with killing at least 92 people in a gun and bomb massacre had belonged to an anti-immigration party and wrote blogs attacking multiculturalism and Islam.

Police said Anders Behring Breivik, detained by police after 85 people were gunned down at a youth camp and another 7 killed in a bomb attack on Friday, was unknown to them and his Internet activity traced so far included no calls to violence.
In comments from 2009-2010 to other people's articles on website www.document.no, which calls itself critical of Islam, Breivik criticized European policies of trying to accommodate the cultures of different ethnic groups.
"When did multiculturalism cease to be an ideology designed to deconstruct European culture, traditions, identity and nation-states?" said one of his entries, posted on Feb. 2, 2010.
Another entry dated Feb. 16 last year said: "According to two studies, 13 percent of young British Muslims aged between 15 and 25 support Al-Qaeda ideology."
Breivik wrote he was a backer of the "Vienna School of Thought", which was against multiculturalism and the spread of Islam.
He also wrote he admired Geert Wilders, the populist anti-Islam Dutch politician, for following that school.
Wilders said in a statement on Saturday: "I despise everything he stands for and everything he did."
Nina Hjerpset-Ostlie, a contributing journalist to the website, said she had met Breivik at a meeting in late 2009. He seemed keen to develop the website as a way to counter what he saw as prevailing trends of multiculturalism.
Oslo deputy police chief Roger Andresen would not speculate on the motives for what was believed to be the deadliest attack by a lone gunman anywhere in modern times.
Breivik bought six tons of fertilizer before the massacre, the supplier said Saturday as police investigated witness accounts of a second shooter.
Norway's royal family and prime minister led the nation in mourning, visiting grieving relatives of the scores of youth gunned down at an island retreat, as the shell-shocked Nordic nation was gripped by reports that the gunman may not have acted alone.
The queen and the prime minister hugged when they arrived at the hotel where families are waiting to identify the bodies. Both king and queen shook hands with mourners, while the prime minister, his voice trembling, told reporters of the harrowing stories survivors had recounted to him.
A man who said he was carrying a knife was detained by police officers outside the hotel. He told reporters as he was led away that he was carrying the weapon because he didn't feel safe.

MNLF has never link to coup attempts...

MNLF has never link to any coup attempts because of its focus to Peace Process and will never jump to another problem. While the OIC is still willing to help the Bangsamoro People, MNLF will remain on its position in dealing with the government for the implementation of the 1996 Final Peace Agreement until its success.

Professor Dr. Nur P. Misuari is always on his travel abroad for the lasting PEACE in the Bangsamoro Homeland and has no knowledge of all such allegations.

AFP and MNLF?

Anti-Arroyo group tagged in efforts to oust Aquino

by Florante S. Solmerin

A CIVIL-SOCIETY group that campaigned against the Arroyo administration is also behind efforts to oust President Benigno Aquino III, a former military rebel said Tuesday.

Retired Marine Col. Ariel Querubin said it was the Solidarity for Sovereignty group led by Linda Montayre that had invited retired Marine Col. Generoso Mariano to a forum where he was tricked into issuing a statement urging people to “replace the government.”

Video clips of the statement were later posted on the Internet and sent to media organizations.

“The group is identified as disgruntled, and now they’re at it again this early,” Querubin said.

“They were anti-GMA [Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo] and now they [want to oust] P-Noy [President Aquino].”

During the Arroyo presidency, Montayre served as the convenor of the Solidarity for Sovereignty, a civil society group that, according to military intelligence reports, had links with disgruntled members of the Armed Forces and even the Moro National Liberation Front.

The group questioned the legitimacy of Mrs. Arroyo’s presidency because of the allegations of election fraud in 2004.

On Monday, Querubin visited Mariano at the Marine Headquarters in Fort Bonifacio, where he is confined to quarters pending an investigation.

He said Mariano was outraged on learning that the current administration was linking him to Arroyo.

“I’m alone in this,” he said in a text message sent through Querubin. “God bless us as a people and as a nation.”

The Justice Department on Tuesday said Mariano might be charged with inciting sedition.

“Colonel Mariano’s speech constitutes an overt act, which definitely tends to create sedition,” said Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, who sent an opinion to the Judge Advocate General’s Office of the Armed Forces.

“It is a contemptuous condemnation and wholesale attack on the present government, calling as it does for its replacement... impliedly through illegal means and therefore patently seditious,” she said.

Last week, before he was confined to quarters, Mariano told the Manila Standard he had been speaking generally and had never referred to the Aquino administration in his speech. With Rey E. Requejo

Coup Syndrome by Amado Doronila_Philippine Daily Inquirer

Military coups have been the sleeping giant of Philippine politics since the restoration of democracy in the 1986 People Power Revolution. It is dangerous to write off as dead the virus of military adventurism after the adoption of the democratic 1987 Constitution. More than 10 coup attempts took place between 1986 and 2006 under three administrations: nine during the term of President Corazon Aquino, once during the administration of President Joseph Estrada (a successful though a soft military-backed coup), and once during the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The germ of military adventurism merely remained dormant, and the fact that it chronically flared up for more than two decades to reinfect the political blood stream of Philippine society underscores the fact that it is dangerous to wake up this sleeping giant of putschism in our political system.

This syndrome surfaced on July 3, when Marine Col. Generoso Mariano, a naval reserve deputy commander, appeared on YouTube to speak though a video tape calling on the people to replace President Benigno Aquino III, barely a year after he took office. Mariano said: “If the present administration has no intention or will do nothing to save lives of the majority, it is the duty, it is the right of every Filipino, including soldiers, to replace the government, I repeat, replace the government.”

Mariano did not appear on the Internet in military combat uniform, like his fellow soldiers who launched coup attempts of the past (for example, Lt. Col. Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan and his cohorts in RAM during the Cory regime, or Navy Lt. Antonio Trillanes IV in the Oakwood mutiny during the Arroyo administration), but his statements were no less demagogic. They reiterated the assertion of previous military conspiracies that the soldiers were the ultimate saviors of the nation from corruption, incompetence and weakness and the failure of elected civilian leaders to provide strong leadership during times of crises and political instability.

The appearance of Mariano on YouTube was no less conspiratorial than those that surrounded the TV proclamations of previous coups. It is not known who put Mariano on the Internet. In fact, the military and the administration were stunned by it and they did not know how to handle Mariano—whether or not he uttered seditious statements or whether or not to take him seriously—but Mariano was confined to barracks after his appearance and investigated by military authorities. It is not also clear whether he was sacked on the day that he was to retire from the service, which would meant that he left military service in disgrace.

The reaction of the government and of the military to Mariano’s appearance spoke volumes about their confusion and concern that what he did could not be ignored. Trillanes, who is now a senator, said Mariano’s videotaped statement could be taken as a “wake-up call” in the sense that “supporters of former President Arroyo are regrouping.” He noted that “those who lost power want to regain power.”

This is not much of an explanation. Trillanes has been favored by President Aquino’s dispensation by not opposing his assumption of his Senate seat. The only sensible thing he said was that there was nothing new in the grievances aired by Mariano compared with those expressed by the Trillanes coup group when they held hostage the Makati Central Business District by seizing the Oakwood apartments. Trillanes and his cabal had hoped that through the uprising they would spark a street insurrection and bring multitudes and civilians to their aid. These calculations proved wrong and the disheartened rebels lifted the siege after negotiations with military authorities loyal to the Arroyo government. Trillanes and his group did not learn the lesson of the 1989 coup by Honasan and his group who believed that civilians would side with them in overthrowing the Cory government in the manner that the civilian masses rallied behind the rebellion against the Marcos government centered on Camp Crame and on Edsa in 1986.

The wake-up call might have been more relevant in reference to the second Aquino administration, which Mariano implicitly took to task when he said, “Our problem is that the real causes of why we are poor are not being discussed. Why we are not talking about the causes of our country’s problems?” He said he merely suggested that there was a need to implement “real changes in government.” Replacing the government, he said, was not unconstitutional. But when he called on the people to replace government, without explicitly saying through force of arms, it was plain that Mariano engaged in double talk.

The military tried to reassure the public that the coup virus “is no longer in our blood.” AFP spokesperson Commodore Miguel Rodriguez said, “We had so many lessons learned about past coups and we know that this is not the way to do things.” Rodriguez said AFP investigation had not unearthed any link with supporters of Arroyo.

But why should some members of the military take part in an Arroyo-instigated conspiracy? What benefits can they gain from involvement with her? What rewards can she give them for their loyalty to her?

The thing that the Aquino administration should worry about is the political truism that a government falls from its own weight, not from the attacks of the opposition. What in effect was Mariano’s message to the administration is: show results in improving the lives of the poor, and not with slogans or by doing nothing.

What is this?

Marine colonel calls for Aquino’s ouster By Katherine Evangelista INQUIRER.net

Colonel Generoso Mariano, deputy commander of the Naval Reserve Command, reads from a prepared statement which calls for the ouster of the Aquino government. Mariano, who will retire this Sunday, is confined to his quarters at the marine headquarters pending a formal investigation. CONTRIBUTED VIDEO
MANILA, Philippines —A marine colonel was restricted to quarters after he called in a video for President Benigno Aquino’s ouster.
Colonel Generoso Mariano, deputy commander of the Naval Reserve Command, will be confined to his quarters at the marine headquarters pending formal investigation, Vice Admiral Alexander Pama said.
In a video sent to members of the media, Mariano said the Aquino government “has no capability to save us from hunger and death.”
“We soldiers also feel the impact of unrelenting rise in prices of commodities, medicines and food,” he said in the 95-second tape.
“If this government has no intention or is not doing anything to save the life of the majority it is the right of every Filipino including soldiers to replace the government. I repeat replace the government,” he said.
“Let us once and for all build a nation based on truth for without it there can be justice, and without justice we shall have no peace and without peace there will be no development,” said Mariano, who is set to retire Sunday when he reaches the military retirement age of 56.
The video dated July 3 shows Mariano reading a statement while seated at a table with a microphone. The clip was sent to journalists and reportedly distributed in military camps.
The shared videos on Facebook come from the account of a group calling itself the “Oust Noynoy Movement!”. Noynoy is Aquino’s nickname.
Pama downplayed the Mariano’s video statement as he put the marine colonel under investigation.
“We will investigate to find out what his motive is,” Pama said, noting that Mariano did not raise issues against the military establishment.
But whether the move “is being orchestrated by somebody else, we do not know,” Pama said.
Vice commandant of the Philippine Marines General Eugenio Clemen has been tasked to head the investigating body, Pama said.
The 120,000-strong Philippine military, which has been battling Muslim and communist insurgencies for decades, has been wracked by restiveness since late dictator Ferdinand Marcos was overthrown in 1986. More than a dozen coup attempts since then have undermined civilian rule.
Aquino, the son of late democracy icon and former president Corazon Aquino, has kept his approval ratings high — between 60 percent and 70 percent. His landslide election victory last year is credited to his clean image, family legacy and a program to uplift the poor through a vigorous anti-corruption drive in the bureaucracy and greater budget allocations for social services.

UN welcomes South Sudan as 193rd Member State

UN welcomes South Sudan as 193^rd Member State

UN welcomes South Sudan as 193rd Member State

UN welcomes South Sudan as 193^rd Member State

Arab League to sponsor Palestine for UN recognition

RAMALLAH, West Bank: The Arab League will ask the United Nations to upgrade the Palestinians to full member status, a draft statement from a league meeting in Qatar said Thursday.

"It was decided to go to the United Nations to request the recognition of the state of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital and to move ahead and request a full membership," said the communique, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters.
The statement did not provide a timeline but Palestinian officials have said they want application to be made in time for the UN General Assembly session in September. A Palestinian delegate said the Arab League had appointed a committee to determine dates.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a speech later on Thursday denounced such unilateral moves. "If they (the Palestinians) really wanted peace they would sit down for negotiations, without preconditions. There is no replacement for negotiations. Unilateral steps will not bring peace closer and will not bring any solution," Netanyahu said.
Full member status would require approval in the Security Council, where Israel's ally the United States has said it will veto any such resolution.
The Palestinians, who currently have UN "observer" status, had previously pledged to seek UN endorsement in September for their claim of sovereignty in the Gaza Strip, and the Israeli-occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The move has gained momentum with the lack of progress in Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations. The Arab League formally backed this plan in May.
But in the face of opposition from Israel and a number of world powers which say only negotiations can solve the conflict, the Palestinians had previously signaled they might opt for a more limited upgrade to "nonmember state" status, which requires only General Assembly approval.
Palestinian analyst Talal Okal said the Arab League and Palestinians were aware of the obstacles they faced, including a US veto, but had chosen to push forward because, with peace talks frozen, they saw no other diplomatic solution.
"The Arab consensus means that there is disappointment over the American position, that the negotiations have reached a dead end and that we have entered a stage of political battle," Okal said.
Meanwhile, Israeli jets bombed three sites in Gaza on Wednesday night in response to rocket fire from the coastal strip. Palestinian medical sources said five people were moderately wounded in the strikes and two were reported missing.
Israel said its aircraft targeted tunnels used for smuggling provisions into Gaza and an arms-manufacturing unit. Palestinians said it was a livestock shed that the Israelis bombed not an arms-manufacturing unit.

FEAR YOUR FRIENDS MORE THAN YOUR ENEMIES

About-face in Libya?

Despite Washington’s commitment to aerial strikes and call on Qaddafi to leave, the alliance may be on its way to adopt a new approach

FRANCE’S latest about-face on Libya proves that sometimes you need to fear your friends more than your enemies! At least this is how the Transitional National Council (TNC) in Benghazi should feel now that Paris, the first capital to recognize the TNC as the legitimate representative of Libyans few months ago, is saying that NATO bombing of Col. Qaddafi’s forces must end and that diplomacy was the only solution.
French Defense Minister Gerard Longuet’s statements on Monday signified a major turnaround in his country’s approach to the Libyan revolt which is now into its fifth month. President Nicolas Sarkozy and Britain’s David Cameron were the main catalysts behind a Western backed bombing campaign of Libya. They convinced a reluctant President Barack Obama to join them and the military mission was later handed over to NATO.
Longuet’s remarks came as a surprise because they appear to reflect a unilateral stand. Washington was quick to respond by reaffirming its commitment to NATO’s military mission in Libya and reiterating that Qaddafi cannot remain in power. Longuet had said that Qaddafi could remain in Libya “in another room in the palace, with another title.”
A day earlier French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said negotiations would involve the transitional council, but also “all Libyan players” including those in Tripoli. The Libyan opposition has always said that there can be no negotiations with Qaddafi or his sons. And few days ago Seif Al-Islam said that negotiations can never take place with the opposition, adding that talks with France are already under way.
Since April, when French bombers began attacking Libyan targets in a bid to help the opposition fighters who had control of Benghazi and a handful of towns in the east, the political objective of the international community was clear: to protect civilians, under a UN Security Council resolution, and give indirect assistance to the armed uprising as it strove to march on the capital and topple Qaddafi.
The United States and its allies may have miscalculated, believing that sustained aerial strikes and the armed uprising will dethrone a notorious regime within weeks. But Qaddafi has proved tenacious as well as ruthless in his response. His militias, better armed and organized, drove the opposition fighters from key oil installations in the east while heavily bombing Misrata not far from Tripoli. As tribes in the Western Mountain joined the opposition fighters, Qaddafi’s forces shifted their attention from the east. The opposition made slow progress, helped no doubt by NATO strikes, but they were still far from the capital. A military stalemate dominated and even when the West began targeting Qaddafi in Tripoli, the regime remained defiant.
It is not clear yet if Paris is indeed in contact with the Libyan regime. Seif Al-Islam, the trusted and outspoken son, has said that everything is open for discussion, including the drafting of a new constitution, forming of political parties and holding parliamentary elections. But he vowed that his father will never be forced into exile. African and Turkish attempts to mediate between the transitional council and Qaddafi never took off. Summons for the arrest of Qaddafi and his son for human rights violations by the International Criminal Court has complicated the matter even more.
NATO’s military operation is costing the alliance hundreds of millions of dollars each month. And after weeks of bombings no exit strategy is visible. Now Longuet admits that a military solution is not possible and that instead all players must engage in negotiations.
Despite Washington’s commitment to aerial strikes and call on Qaddafi to leave, the alliance may be on its way to adopt a new approach. The opposition leadership cannot but yield in the end. They are in desperate need of money and international support. If the West is fed up and is now pushing for a political settlement, the opposition will have to tag along.
Qaddafi may also find this latest change of heart pleasing. To be allowed to stay in Libya as others engage in negotiations over the future of the country could be the best offer he can expect to get under the circumstances. But a political deal may prove harder to achieve than a military knock out which has escaped NATO and the opposition.
First, a cease-fire must be put in place, ending hostilities and allowing humanitarian aid to flow into the devastated areas. Previous declarations by Qaddafi of truce never materialized. Second, the combatants will have to adopt what Juppe called a road map for a democratic process. And third there is the fate of Qaddafi, now a wanted man, and his close aides.
Engaging parties in a political process that could stretch for years will relieve NATO of its responsibilities and save millions of dollars. But it is not a guarantee that a suitable settlement will be reached. The alternative will be a de facto partition of Libya. Qaddafi and his sons will be spared but the Libyan quest for freedom and democracy will be deferred indefinitely.
Of course the revolution could go on, and it will, but without NATO’s aerial support the situation on the ground will remain deadlocked. It’s not what Libyans and subscribers to the spirit of the Arab Spring had in mind. Victory celebrations will have to be put off!
— Osama Al Sharif is a political commentator based in Amman.

OIC Secretary General Welcomes the Birth of the Republic of South Sudan

OIC Secretary General Welcomes the Birth of the Republic of South Sudan

Date: 09/07/2011 - View in: Arabic | French - Print

The Secretary General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (formerly Organisation of the Islamic Conference), Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, welcomed today, 9 July 2011, the birth of the Republic of South Sudan in implementation of the results of the referendum on self-determination of South Sudan which took place on 9 January 2011.

The Secretary General commended the Government of Sudan for recognising the new State of South Sudan, stressing the need to maintain peaceful relations between the two States and to consolidate the strong ties between Khartoum and Juba in order to establish peace and support socio-economic development in both countries. He called upon the two States to reach soonest a negotiated settlement of all pending issues within the framework of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.

Portion of the OIC Sec. General's address...

Address Of H.E. Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, OIC Secretary General, To The 38Th Session Of The Council Of Foreign Ministers

Date: 30/06/2011 - View in: Arabic | French - Print

Astana, Republic Of Kazakhstan

28-30 June 2011
(26-28 Rajab 1432H)

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Your Excellency
Honorable Ministers,
Excellencies
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am deeply honored to address the opening session of the 38th session of OIC Council of Foreign Ministers taking place in this beautiful and modern city of Astana. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the government and people of Kazakhstan on the occasion of the 20th Anniversary of the independence of Kazakhstan and thank them for the warm welcome and hospitality. With its peacefully active policy on international scene, Kazakhstan was able to maintain its Muslim identity yet remain on track forward modernization. This is yet another sign of Kazakhstan’s preparedness to lead the Ummah in this difficult time of our history. I wish to commend Kazakhstan under the able leadership of H.E President Nursultan Nazarbayev for hosting and successfully organizing this conference.



The OIC has deployed dedicated efforts to set the ground for an eventual and peaceful resolution to the political conflict between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), just as we have strived to build greater momentum to enhance coordination and unity of purpose between the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front MILF for the sake of peace and development of the Bangsamoro people.

MNLF as OIC Observer

Observers

	STATES	Date of Joining
1	Bosnia and Herzegovina	1994
2	Central African Republic	1996
3	Kingdom of Thailand	1998
4	The Russian Federation	2005
5	Turkish Cypriot State	1979
	Muslim Communities/Organization
1	Moro National Liberation Front	1977
	Islamic Institutions
1	Parliamentary Union of the OIC Member States (PUOICM)	2000
	International Organizations
1	United  Nations (UN)	1976
2	Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)	1977
3	League of Arab States (LAS)	1975
4	African Union  (AU)	1977
5	Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO)	1995

South Sudan is the newest nation...How about the Bangsamoro Nation?

South Sudan is the newest nation

Southern Sudanese celebrate their first independence day in the capital city of Juba on Saturday. (AP)

1 of 3

By ALEXANDER DZIADOSZ AND JEREMY CLARKE | REUTERS

Published: Jul 9, 2011 18:00 Updated: Jul 10, 2011 02:18

JUBA: Tens of thousands of South Sudanese danced and cheered as their new country formally declared its independence on Saturday, a hard-won separation from the north that also plunged the fractured region into a new period of uncertainty.

The president of South Sudan, Salva Kiir, stood next to his old civil war foe the president of Sudan, Omar Hassan Al-Bashir, who now leads just the north, at a ceremony to mark the birth of the new nation.
Under-developed, oil-producing South Sudan won its independence in a January referendum — the climax of a 2005 peace deal that ended decades of fighting with the north.
Security forces at first tried to control the streets in the south’s dusty capital Juba, but retreated as jubilant crowds moved in overnight and through the day, waving flags, dancing and chanting “South Sudan o-yei, freedom o-yei.”
Some revellers fainted in the blistering heat as South Sudan’s parliamentary speaker, James Wani Igga, read out the formal declaration of independence.
“We, the democratically elected representatives of the people ... hereby declare Southern Sudan to be an independent and sovereign state,” said Igga before Sudan’s flag was lowered, the South Sudan flag was raised and the new anthem sung. Kiir took the oath of office.
People threw their hands in the air, embraced and wept. “We got it. We got it,” one man said as he hugged a woman.
The presence of Bashir, who campaigned to keep Africa’s largest state united, was a key gesture of goodwill.
It will also be an embarrassment to some Western diplomats at the event. The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Bashir on charges of war crimes in Darfur.
Bashir gave a speech congratulating the new country. “The will of the people of the south has to be respected,” he said, ading that both states had to maintain peace.
North Sudan’s government was the first to recognize South Sudan on Friday, hours before the split took place, a move that smoothed the way to the division.
The United States, China and Britain signalled their recognition of the state on Saturday, according to official statements and government media reports.
“After so much struggle by the people of South Sudan, the United States of America welcomes the birth of a new nation,” said US President Barack Obama, stopping short of announcing any immediate changes in longstanding US sanctions on Sudan that Khartoum has been hoping will be lifted.
Dignitaries including UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the leaders of about 30 African nations attended.
In a possible sign of the South’s new allegiances, the crowd included about 200 supporters of Darfur rebel leader Abdel Wahed Al-Nur, fighting Khartoum in an eight-year insurgency just over South Sudan’s border in the north.
Earlier, the supporters of Nur’s rebel Sudan Liberation Army faction stood in a line chanting “Welcome, welcome new state,” wearing T-shirts bearing their leader’s image. One carried a banner reading “El Bashir is wanted dead or alive.”
Traditional dance groups drummed and waved shields and staffs in a carnival atmosphere.
The crowd cheered as Kiir unveiled a giant statue of civil war hero John Garang, who signed the peace deal with the north.
Kiir offered an amnesty to armed groups fighting his government and promised to bring peace to troubled border areas.
“I would like to take this opportunity to declare amnesty for all those who have taken up arms against Sudan,” he said.
“I want to assure the people of Abyei, Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan that we have not forgotten you. When you cry, we cry. When you bleed, we bleed. I pledge to you today that we will find a just peace for all,” he said, adding that he would work with Bashir to achieve those goals.
“Today we raise the flag of South Sudan to join the nations of the world. A day of victory and celebration,” Pagan Amum, the secretary general of the South’s ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), told Reuters.

Seeds of future tension
Khartoum’s recognition of the South did not dispel fears of future tensions.
Northern and southern leaders have still not agreed on a list of issues, most importantly the line of the border, the ownership of the disputed Abyei region and how they will handle oil revenues, the lifeblood of both economies.
At the stroke of midnight the Republic of Sudan lost almost a third of its territory and about three quarters of its oil reserves, which are sited in the south. It faced the future with insurgencies in its Darfur and Southern Kordofan regions.
Sudan now shrinks to being the third largest state in Africa, with about 1.86 million sq km of territory.
In Khartoum on Saturday, one sign of the new national order was the disappearance of some English-language and SPLM-linked newspapers. The north said it suspended them on Friday as they were published or owned by southerners — an ominous signal for more than 1 million southerners left in the north.
Many northerners see the separation as a loss of face.
Analysts have long feared a return to war if north/south disputes are not resolved.
The United Nations Security Council voted on Friday to establish a force of up to 7,000 peacekeepers for South Sudan.
Mostly Muslim Sudan fought rebels in the south, where most follow Christianity and traditional beliefs, for all but a few years from the 1950s in civil wars fueled by ethnicity, religion, oil and ideology.

RESULT OF THE 38TH SESSION OF ICFM IN KASAKHSTAN

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