By ANTONIO L. COLINA IV
Davao City – Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) founding chair Nur Misuari warned all those involved in the drug trade in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) he is more than willing to hang them in public.
Misuari issued the warning addressing his followers at the 50th anniversary celebration of the MNLF at the Davao Crocodile Park on Sunday.
“We will support the government’s policy to get rid of all drugs. We will hang all those who are violating this, hang them in public if they are caught doing the violation flagrantly,” he said.
He also warned to destroy “foreign infiltrators” who are trying to sow disunity among Moros.
“Those foreign infiltrators to our homeland – to create dissension among us, to disunite us – we must guard against this even if they come from Indonesia, they come from Malaysia, they come from Saudi Arabia, from Morocco, from Iran and from places in the world, we will have to destroy them, before they can destroy us,” he said.
Although seemingly in a fighting mood, Misuari, at 79, made clear he is ready to relinquish his post as leader of the MNLF.
“After 50 years, maybe it’s about time I take some rest and let the second liners among our leadership to take over,” he said.
The Moro leader, a close friend of Duterte, believes peace and freedom are already on hand for the Moros.
It has been a long journey for Misuari.
He gained huge support in Mindanao when he signed the 1976 Tripoli Agreement with the government of then Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
This was bolstered further when he signed a peace agreement with then President Fidel V. Ramos in 1996.
He went into hiding for three years following the Zamboanga siege in 2013, facing charges of rebellion and crimes against humanity. He has since been granted temporary liberty to be able to participate in the peace talks.