Abdullah Makapaar
| |
---|---|
Member of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority Parliament | |
Assumed office 29 March 2019 | |
Nominated by | Moro Islamic Liberation Front |
Appointed by | Rodrigo Duterte |
Chief Minister | Murad Ebrahim |
Personal details | |
Born | Abdullah Goldiano Makapaar bin Sabbar Delabayan, Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte, Philippines |
Relations | Tagoranao (brother) |
Nickname | Commander Bravo |
Military service | |
Allegiance | Moro National Liberation Front (formerly) Moro Islamic Liberation Front |
Rank | Brigadier General (MILF) |
Commands | MILF Northwest Mindanao Command |
Battles/wars | Soviet-Afghan War Moro conflict |
|
Abdullah Goldiano Makapaar bin Sabbar[1], commonly known by his nom de guerre Commander Bravo, was a former Moro rebel who most notably fought under the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) as a commander and is a politician who is a member of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority Parliament.[2]
Abdullah Makapaar is of Maranao heritage[2] and is the youngest of six children of Sultan Makapaar and Habiba Goldiano.[3] He grew up in the village of Delabayan in KauswaganinLanao del Norte. In 1971, he was forced to dropped out of elementary school after clashes in between the Moro group Barracuda and the government-aligned Christian group Ilaga broke out in Lanao del Norte. This also led to his family to flee to the forest after their home was destroyed and some of their relatives killed due to the conflict.[3]
He went to Saudi Arabia to pursue studies in religion while working as a taxi driver. Makapaar also went to Pakistan where he studied at the Islamic Academy in Pakistan where he had Hashim Salamat, the founder of the Moro secessionist group Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), as his mentor.[2]
After the Barracuda–Ilaga clashes, Makapaar along one of his brothers joined the Moro conflict and became a member of the Moro National Liberation Front. In 1973, as part of his rebel training, he adoped the nom de guerre "Bravo", in reference to a radio drama called Diego Salvador since the name meant "victory" to him.[3]
Makapaar was deployed in Afghanistan in 1983[3], and fought in the Soviet–Afghan War joining the mujahideen which fought against the Soviet Union and the Soviet-backed Afghan government in the early 1980s. Upon his return to the Philippines, he assumed command of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front's northwestern command from his brother who goes by the nom de guerre, Commander James Bond. As commander he launched a "war on drugs" within the organization and imposed Islamic discipline on its members.[2] He held the rank of Brigadier General within the MILF.[4]
He was implicated to have been behind attacks in Lanao del Norte in 2008, after a negotiations for a deal that would create a Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE) was dropped.[2][5] Makapaar has denied to have a direct role on the attacks saying that non-MILF affiliated mujahideen were responsible and maintained that his forces would have retaliated have Philippine government forces attack MILF positions.[6][7]
Abdullah Makapaar was nominated by the MILF in February 2019 to be part of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority Parliament which serves as an interim legislature for the then-newly formed Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.[8][9] In January 2020, he publicly said that he wants to abandon conflict and has urged to push for peace moving forward.[4]