Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF)

The Moro National Liberation Front is a revolutionary organization that spearheaded the Muslim separatist movement in the Philippines in the 1970s.

This was the largest Islamic separatist group in the Philippines from 1971 to 1996. Having proposed negotiations with the Philippines government, the Moro National Liberation Front seeks an independence Islamic state.

Organized in 1969 by a group of ninety Moro youths it was made public only in the early 1970s, when martial law was declared by president Ferdinand Marcos. In 1972, Nur Misuari a political professor at the University of the Philippines in Manila assumed control of the group.

In 1973, the Moro National Liberation Front had a military force do 15,000 combatants and Nur Misuari launched military operations.

By 1975, the fighting between the Moro National Liberation Front and the armed forces had escalated into large scale, conventional warfare.

In December 1976, the Moro National Liberation Front and the Marcos government signed the Tripoli Agreement. Part of the agreement mandated a referendum that would allow for political autonomy in 13 provinces and 9 cities in the southern Philippines.

The Muslim, dissatisfied with way Marcos implemented the agreement and disagreement inside the Moro secessionist movement caused the Moro National Liberation Front to split into two factions: Moro National Liberation Front headed by Nur Misuari and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front headed by Hashim Salamat. Moro Islamic Liberation Front was formed by Hashim Salamat in 1984 to continue the struggle, for both regional independence and the formation of an Islamic state.

By 1979, a number of the Moro leaders stated that they no longer sought autonomy but that their goal was independence.

In 1996 Moro National Liberation Front made new peace with the Philippines government, and Nur Misuari became governor of the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front signed a cease-fire in 1997, but more radical splinter movements continue the armed struggle in the name of Islam.
Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF)

Pattani United Liberation Organization (PULO)

Pattani United Liberation Organization (PULO)
The Pattani United Liberation Organization (PULO) is synonymous with the Thai separatist movement and is the largest and most active. PULO was set up by Tuanku Biyo Kodoniyo on 22 March 1968.

The PULO is a popular organization formed to represent the Malay people of the southern predominantly Malay provinces formerly known as the Malay kingdom of Pattani, fighting against Thai colonialism. It considers Thai constitution illegitimate in the area and its members are not under Thai jurisdiction. Therefore, if Thai justice system practices such inhumane activity, then PULO reserves the right to react accordingly. The Islamic state proposed by PULO would cover the areas they say were historically ruled by the Sultanate of Pattani – consisting of Pattani, Yala, Songkhla and Satun provinces in present-day Thailand.

The conflict in Southern Thailand has roots in Thailand’s 1902 annexation of the Malay Kingdom of Pattani which comprised the current southern provinces of Pattani, Yala and Songkhla. The People of this territory have a long history of independence, and are ethnically and culturally distinct from the majority of Thais. The large majority of people in the three southern Thailand are ethnic Malay, who speak Jawi, and are predominantly Muslim (80%), making the region distinct from a majority Buddhist, Thai speaking country.

Their grievances stem from a number of related historical and contemporary developments. First, a majority of the population has never accepted the loss of independence. Second, repeated attempts by various Thai governments to assimilate the local population, by repressing the local culture, language and religion in favor of the majority Thai culture. Third, most of the local population believes the region has historically been neglected by successive Thai governments, causing its underdevelopment and levels of poverty higher than in the rest of Thailand.
Pattani United Liberation Organization (PULO)