SUMMARY
The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) was an Islamic and Moro ethnonationalist separatist rebel group that fought an intrastate armed conflict over territory against the Government of Philippines in the Mindanao region.
In May 1968, the Mindanao Independence Movement (MIM) was formed with the outspoken goal to create an independent Moro state in Mindanao; the Moros was a predominately Muslim minority population in the southern Philippines. The youth section of MIM was sent to train in Malaysia, and soon thereafter some of the trainees formed MNLF under the leadership of Nur Misuari. During its first three years of existence, MNLF functioned as a political underground movement. It took until the fall of 1972 before the group began its military activities. The MNLF, and its armed wing BMA (Bangsa Moro Army), became the primary symbol of the Moro struggle for independence. MNFL gradually modified its demands for an independent Moro state in Mindanao, to instead pursue autonomy for the region. As a result, it gradually lost influence of the Moro cause to another rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which continued to demand full independence. The MILF forwarded a significantly more religious agenda than the MNLF, which had focused on a more nationalist ideology. MNLF maintained most of its influence over the Sulu archipelago, located in southern Mindanao.
From the 1970s to 1996, the group was led by chairman Misuari. After 1996, the MNLF began to fractionalize, creating several influential factions. Prominent faction leaders included Misuari himself, the “Executive Council of 15” (EC-15) established in 2001 and led by Muslimin Sema and Hatimil Hassan, the anti-Misuari “Islamic Command Council”, and the pro-Misuari faction led by Alvarez Isnaji. Abul Khayr Alonto was generally recognized as MNLF’s official chairman from 2014 and onwards.
Misuari’s authoritarian control over the group, and his apparent disinterest in establishing an Islamic state, led to a disagreement with another prominent MNLF leader, Hashim Salamat. In 1978, Salamat opted to splinter from the MNLF and form the more Islamic-oriented MILF; many MNLF members dissatisfied with the 1996 Mindanao peace agreement later joined this group in protest. The MNLF has splintered several times more, for example, when dissidents displeased with Misuari created the Islamist extremist Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in 1991. Furthermore, the MNLF – Nur Misuari faction faction was created in 2001, and the MNLF – Habier Malik faction in 2007.
In 1975, it is estimated that the MNLF had access to 30 000 troops. In 1994, this number was down to 14 000, and in 1997 it was 17 700. However, it has been suggested that MNLF might have had as many as 45 000 troops in 1996. In accordance with the 1996 peace agreement, some 7500 MNLF troops were integrated into the Philippine police and armed forces.
Following a 1996 peace agreement, many MNFL members and leaders entered into Philippine politics. The group formally allied itself with Philippine President Fidel V. Ramos’ Lakas (Strenght) party. The then-leader of the MNLF, chairman Nur Misuari, became governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), a self-ruling political entity in the southern Philippines, in 1996.
In the early stages of its existence (1974-1975) the MNLF received considerable support from Libya, which supplied the group with weapons and harbored its central committee. MNLF fighters also received training by Syria, Pakistan, and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in the 1980s. The group received large amounts of funding from foreign actors such as Libya, Malaysia, and Saudi Arabia. Corrupt Philippine government officials provided weapons to the MNLF.
MNLF was granted special observer status by the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in 1977. The OIC regarded the MNLF as the legitimate representative of the Moro people, and has provided both economic and political support to the group.
It should be noted that the MNLF has had a strained relationship to the MILF, as the groups have competed for resources and support from the population in Mindanao. MNLF also publicly condemned the Islamist extremist ASG, even if local MNLF units have cooperated with this group.
