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HM Sultanan Muhammad Fuad Abdulla Kiram I |
By Julmunir I. Jannaral Correspondent
THE 35th reigning Sultan of the Royal Hashemite Sultanate of Sulu and Sabah on Friday made a declaration that he will not support any move to dismember any part of the Republic of the Philippines, but instead he is seeking a new status for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and not like what the present governance operates.
Sultan Muhammad Fuad Abdulla Kiram 1st, in an exclusive interview with The Manila Times reiterated in what he had said during the presentation of the first “HM Sultan Fuad Peace Award” to the Center for Philippine Futuristics Studies and Management Inc. in 
Makati City Thursday. The royal award that was received by Guillermo Santos, (right photo) president and trustee of the Philippine Futuristics Center was in recognition for its exemplary dedication and notable contributions to the pursuance of peace and harmony, unification and unity between Muslims and Christians in the Philippines since 1981 to this day.
Sultan Fuad also recalled that the vision of peace was a leading tenet of his late father, Sultan Muhammad Esmail Kiram 1st, who reigned as Sultan of Sulu and Sabah from 1947 to 1973. The late Sultan Esmail was also the one who transferred Sabah sovereignty to the Philippines during the administration of the former late President Diosdado Macapagal on September 12, 1962.
“We and our Royal Cabinet do not want to dismember the Philippines. Happiness for us is to be independent by
peaceful means.” Although Sultan Fuad did not elaborate what he meant by “peaceful means,” but political observers have told The Times that the Sultanate of Sulu and Sabah might be one of these days will invoke the Kiram-Bates Treaty.
The political observer who was a former Muslim ambassador to a Middle East country begged off not to mention his name, but he said most likely Sultan Fuad and his host of legal advisers who are experts in international law might invoke the Kiram-Bates Treaty to restore the Sultanate dominion in Mindanao and Sulu.
A relatively unknown but significant detail in Philippine history is the Bates Treaty, signed between the U.S. and the Sultanate of Sulu on August 20, 1899. The signatories were American general, Brig. Gen. John Bates and the late Sultan Jamalul Kiram 2nd, according to Madge Kho, a Tausug historian now based in the United States.
The Bates Treaty had promised to uphold mutual respect between the US and the Sultanate of Sulu, to respect Moro autonomy and to not give or sell Sulu or any part of it to any other nation.
In seeking for a new status of the ARMM by achieving a genuine autonomy for the more than 10 million Muslim Filipinos, Sultan Fuad has proposed the adoption of the Aland Suomi genuine autonomy of Finland to be adopted in Muslim Mindanao.
“We support the installation of an Aland Suomi Genuine Autonomy of Finland in Muslim Mindanao that will give us parliament rights to collect taxes, administer services to our people, our own flag, passport, police force, accept foreign direct investments from overseas, veto on international agreement and membership in Association of Southeast Asian Nations,” Sultan Fuad explained.
“Aland Suomi Genuine Autonomy Status will be a genuine autonomous region, not like the current ARMM,” the Sultan emphasized.
Meanwhile, reliable sources from the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) chaired by Chairman Nur Misuari that the MNLF hierarchy has already made full recognition on Sultan Fuad’s de jure reign as the only legitimate reign over Sulu and Sabah with the signing of a declaration in January 2008.
original link credited to - http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/news/regions/22184-sultan-of-sulu-seeks-new-status-for-armm
