By Burcu Arik
ISTANBUL
Daesh-linked terror groups want to sabotage the peace process between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in southern Philippines, according to a Turkish nongovernmental official.
Huseyin Oruc is one of three international nongovernmental members on the independent Third-Party Monitoring Team, also known as the TPMT, that is engaged in the peace process.
Oruc, who is also the vice-president of Turkey's IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation, told Anadolu Agency in an exclusive interview that one needs to look into the dynamics of the region and the groups involved there to gain a better understanding of the Daesh-linked conflict in the predominantly Muslim city of Marawi.
Conflict's star characters
In late May, hundreds of Daesh-inspired Maute group backed by Isnilon Hapilon of the Abu Sayyaf group had laid siege to Mindanao Island’s Marawi that paved the way for a new conflict to emerge between the group’s heavily-armed fighters and soldiers.
The fighting, which entered the 46th day on Friday, has claimed the lives of dozens of civilians and soldiers while hundreds of suspected militants have also been killed; an estimated 246,000 plus residents have also been displaced.
The Turkish NGO official called for making distinctions between the Daesh-affiliated groups in the region and the country’s largest rebel group, MILF.
"Since the beginning, MILF sought to protect rights of Muslims and establish an independent Muslim state.
“They have not been involved in any lawlessness and have continued their struggle within the frame of Islamic law. Most importantly, they have not been involved in any operation to hurt civilians," Oruc said.
According to him, "The star characters of the unrest in Philippines are the groups of Maute and Abu Sayyaf.
“Founded by siblings Omar and Abdulla Maute in 2012, the group declared loyalty to Daesh in 2015 and turned to be a key actor in the recent conflict."
Abu Sayyaf worsened crisis
Official figures show at least 350 Maute group fighters, nearly 100 security forces and over 50 civilians died during ongoing clashes in Marawi; however, Oruc said the casualties were much higher than.
"Maute is still maintaining control over parts of the city. The number of civilians killed is likely to be over 500 and many people are still being held hostage there," he said.
He also pointed out that thousands of people displaced due to the conflict need urgent humanitarian aid and urged the international community to pay more attention to the ongoing tragedy in Marawi.
He also said the Abu Sayyaf group had worsened the Maute-led crisis in Marawi.
"Like Maute, Abu Sayyaf group has deviated from its aim to establish an independent Islamic state in time and has now become a criminal organization that is notorious for kidnapping for ransom and attacks on civilians."
He said that until recently, little was known about the Maute and Abu Sayyaf groups outside of Philippines and, in fact, they were largely ignored by the Philippines government and the MILF.
Mindanao created perfect platform
About the reasons for the alleged growth of Daesh and its sympathizers in Philippines, Oruc said the terror group was shrinking in its known strongholds of Iraq’s Mosul and Syria’s Raqqa.
He said Mindanao, which has been war-torn for decades by local insurgencies and separatist movements, provided a perfect platform to Daesh and little-known groups to raise their profiles and establish an Asian hub.
He said the presence of Maute on social media had also played a key role in attracting the youth of the region.
However, the MILF militant group, which is said to have wide support from the public, is the biggest obstacle to Daesh’s expansion in the region, he said.
"MILF has more than 50,000 trained soldiers and is widely accepted by the masses," he said.
"The biggest target [of the Daesh-linked groups] in the region is to undermine the peace process between the MILF and the government, and weaken the influence of the MILF group in the region."
Duterte's popularity
Oruc also said President Rodrigo Duterte remains popular in the country, with majority of the population voicing confidence in his leadership despite his hardline “Iron Fist Policy”.
"Duterte's politics can be argued, but today he is still a leader that draws sizeable support from the public," he said.
Duterte had won the election on the back of promises to combat the spread of drugs and corruption in the country.
However, the Philippine leader’s aggressive measures during his anti-drugs campaign, which resulted in thousands of extra-judicial killings, has earned him condemnation from various human rights advocates in the country and abroad.
The former mayor, who ruled the coastal city of Davao on the island of Mindanao, has also made an international headline for his volatile behaviour and a wide range of reforms for the country's predictable foreign policy.
He declared expulsion of the United States and implicated closer relations with Russia and China.
High hopes from talks
About whether clashes in Marawi could threaten the peace deal signed between the Philippines government and MILF in 2014, Oruc said hopes for permanent peace between the two sides remains high.
"The peace treaty is crucial to preventing Daesh from settling in Mindanao," he said, urging both sides to take the next steps.
The MILF has been pushing for the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), which would seal the 2014 peace deal -- the Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro -- in the country’s Muslim south.
According to the government’s roadmap, the Senate and House of Representatives would vote on the BBL to make it a legal document by January 2018. Later, a referendum in the region would be held to ratify the law.
After the ratification, there would be a Bangsamoro transitional government between 2019 and 2022. In 2022, there would be an election and the Bangsamoro parliament would be elected by the people of Bangsamoro.
