Camp Darapanan, Philippines - After a protracted 30-year insurgency which has seen up to 150,000 people killed, Muslim rebels are facing an uncertain future as peace finally looks near in the southern Philippines.
With talks due to resume this month between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) many young Muslims in this sprawling rebel camp in Mindanao are trying to come to terms with the prospect of peace.
Government negotiators and the MILF leadership are optimistic the final hurdles to peace can be overcome by granting limited autonomy to the Muslim minority in this predominant Roman Catholic Southeast Asian nation.
For many of the 12,000 MILF rebels, especially the young, peace is likely to bring an uncertain future.
MILF chief Murad Ibrahim, in a rare interview with AFP, said he was worried for their future, especially for those born into war and the many whose parents and older relatives have died as "martyrs".
At 58, Ibrahim is seen by many as more pragmatic and moderate than his predecessor Salamat Hashim, the Egypt-trained MILF founder who espoused continued jihad for a Muslim homeland. Salamat died of a heart attack in 2003.
"We cannot fail in this struggle for peace," said Murad, who long ago traded his military fatigues and combat boots for grey safari suits and loafers.
"If we fail, we will be in a far worse situation."
Murad said it was too early to talk about disarming his men as "we still have to reach a political settlement that will be beneficial to everyone".
With a ceasefire and peace talks now entering their fifth year Murad says the longer the talks drag on "we run the risk of spoilers entering the picture".
The spoilers he refers to are the Indonesian-based Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) and Abu Sayyaf -- both of which have links with Al-Qaeda.
Moro fighter Abdullah, who uses one name, says he is concerned about the future.
A young man in his early 20s clutching a rusty M-60 machine gun, he is a veteran of many jungle battles and is ready, he says, to die for the cause.
"I have not been to a battle since last year," Abdullah says, perspiration trickling down his brow. He is wearing mismatched fatigues that bears a striking resemblance to those used by Sri Lakan Tamil insurgents.
"I have had many adventures with this gun, I sleep with it and never go anywhere without it," he says. "I cannot part with my weapon."
-- "it‘s not in my blood to be a farmer" --
Abdullah says he is not prepared to lay down his weapon even if a final peace deal is signed.
"It‘s not in my blood to be a farmer," he said.
Abdullah‘s sentiments are shared by many MILF guerrillas, notably the second and third generation fighters whose elders formed the core of the first mujaheeds who fought the insurgency in the 1970s.
Security analysts say the biggest problem faced by the government is disarming the rebels, with younger MILF fighters opposed to the peace deal seen as highly susceptible to more radicalization by groups such as the JI and the Abu Sayyaf.
"With the history of the Mindanao conflict, these groups are always there to exploit the situation," says Julkipli Wadi, an Islamic studies professor at the University of the Philippines who has closely followed the insurgency.
"The JI and the Abu Sayyaf could form strategic alliances with these young fighters who may not want to part with their firearms," Wadi said.
Yusuph Abisakir, the mild-mannered administrator at the sprawling Camp Darapanan that spans several towns in central Mindanao, says he hopes that the rigid command structure of the MILF‘s Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) would keep cadres in line once a peace deal is signed.
"I have not seen any open resentment" to the talks, Abisakir said, adding that many of the fighters want to see peace achieved in their lifetimes.
"But of course no one will agree to give up their firearms," said Abisakir, whose job is to give spiritual and military guidance to the more than 1,000 regular MILF fighters in the camp.
Government and the MILF are mulling the possibility of transforming the rebels into a "territorial force" to guard areas to be covered under a final peace deal. They would not be disarmed, rather than slowly integrated into government forces.
Another idea is for government to buy the guns outright and offer jobs to the rebels.
For MILF field commander Toks Guiwan, whose two young sons are are also fighters, such talk of disarmament only upsets his men.
"It‘s dangerous talk, my men have known no other job than to fight," he says.
Nearby, Abdullah polishes his old M-60 and with a smile boasts that he can live without his wife for a long time, but not without his firearm.
"This has saved me many times," he says. "My wife, she gets mad when I caress my machine gun, but she understands."
Source: news.yahoo.com (5 Maret 2008)
