Requisites for Bangsamoro State-hood

There's a heated exchange going on between Jester-in-Exile and one FV followed Dan U Ignacio. It's all about the Bangsamoro Question. In the next few days, I'll be writing about this, especially on the concept of nation-building. What are the internationally-recognized conventions that allow people, even indigenous ones, to form their own governments or craft their own independent states. I'm pretty particular about this because of what's happening right now in Kosovo which could be used by the Arroyo regime as a justification for the grant of a similar BJE setup. Kosovo, as you may well know, what's to secede from Albania because of ethnic clashes. The international community has stepped up its efforts to recognize the independence of the Kosovo people.

Now, if really the Bangsamoro people want their own independent state, they would have to prove five (5) things:

1. The Bangsamoro people are not Filipinos.

2. The Bangsamoro people are being enslaved and oppressed by the Philippine government.

3. The representative of the Bangsamoro may have to exercise dominion over the territories covering the BJE through force, if necessary.

4. They have to exercise governmental functions in that territory and must exercise or show that they can keep the power at all times against external threats.

5. They have to step up efforts at getting international recognition of the Bangsamoro as a people.

These requisites should be satisfied by  the Bangsamoro. However, I fear the worst for the Bangsamoro people because they are still not united. They have a disparate voice which harms the entire struggle. They need one unifying force that would make people toe the line and I think that it is only for the love of Allah SWT and the pious exercise of Islam will this be achieved.