Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Philippines, MILF rebels end peace talks with no accord

A Moro Islamic Liberation Front fighter guards his post in the southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Aug. 24, 2011) – Peace talks between Manila and the country’s largest Muslim rebel group ended in Malaysia without any agreement that would put an end to decades of bloody fighting in Mindanao.

The MILF on Tuesday flatly rejected a government offer for an expanded Muslim autonomy in Mindanao. The rebel group demanded the creation of a Muslim sub-state in the troubled, but mineral-rich southern region.

Mohagher Iqbal, chief MILF peace negotiator, said the government proposal would not solve the problems in Mindanao.

“The government draft is not solving the Moro Question and the armed conflict in Mindanao, but it is a formula to prolong it,” Iqbal said in a statement, adding the proposal for a wider autonomy was way below their expectation.

“The government peace panel draft is way below the MILF expectation. The MILF peace panel thought that the Aquino administration had a better formula than the previous administrations in addressing the Moro Question and armed conflict in Mindanao.”

“The unbridled domination of the Philippine government over the Moros through the unitary setup of government is not only maintained but reenergized and practically, the draft derogated all signed agreements or documents including the historic Tripoli Agreement of Peace of 2001,” Iqbal said, adding the government proposal has “no meeting point” with the MILF peace draft.

He said the MILF central committee would have to decide on the government’s offer of an expanded autonomy. “The draft has no meeting point with the MILF peace panel draft; hence, will not fast track the negotiation as agreed by President Aquino and Chairman Murad in Japan last August 4. The MILF Central Committee has the final say whether it will sustain or reverse the panel’s recommendation,” Iqbal added.

Iqbal said many of the provisions of the MILF draft were earlier agreed upon by the government peace panel, including “consensus points.” He said both sides have earlier agreed to “reframe” the draft in order to bring them over to the proposed comprehensive compact.

Marvic Leonen, the chief government peace negotiator, said Manila’s proposal which he called “3 for 1” approach was different from the MILF’s comprehensive compact.

He said “3 for 1” stands for three components for one single solution to the problem of Bangsamoro.

He said the “3 for 1” proposal was the result of the government peace panel’s extensive consultations with the different stakeholders in the Mindanao peace process.

“It seeks not only to provide a just and lasting peace to the troubled south but more so to improve and uplift the lives of the people who have long suffered from the brutality of decades-long armed conflict. It is a principled, realistic and practical proposal that follows a comprehensive “3 for 1” approach or 3 components for 1 solution to the Bangsamoro problem,” Leonen said in a statement at the closing ceremony of the peace talks in Kuala Lumpur.

He said these components are made up of 1) massive economic development; 2) political settlement with the MILF, and; 3) cultural-historical acknowledgment.

“Be that as it may, the situation that we have now is that the parties have their various positions on the table. It is not unusual in negotiations that one of the parties take a hard-line position on the contents of the initial documents of another party.”

“We are going to report to the President, await his instructions and his mandate. In the meantime, we will go around the country to explain the contents of our proposal and get further feedback on this particular approach,” Leonen said. (Mindanao Examiner)

No comments: