MAGUINDANAO (Mindanao Examiner / July 9, 2012) – The secluded leader of the country’s largest Muslim rebel group, Moro Islamic Liberation Front, said peace negotiations with Manila has been going on for many years now, but both sides have not signed any accord that would end decades of hostilities in Mindanao.
The MILF ended its plenum on Monday in Maguindanao’s Sultan Kudarat town where hundreds of thousands of rebels and supporters gathered since Friday to hear their leaders speak about progress in the talks.
The rebel group has been fighting for decades for self-rule on Mindanao Island.
“They wanted to solve the (Bangsamoro) problems according to their own interpretation of the solutions and that is why they have been offering palliative solutions. The real obstacle here is the Philippine government does not really want to address the Bangsamoro problem. They don’t want to empower the Bangsamoro people,” rebel leader Murad Ebrahim told Al-Jazeera TV during an earlier break in the plenum.
He said if the government peace panel fails to sign any peace accord with the MILF during his leadership, the next rebel chieftain may not be willing to negotiate anymore with Philippine leaders.
“The next (MILF) leadership would be more militant, more aggressive because most of the young generation now are born during the war and they had been exposed to violence,” Ebrahim said.
The three-day assembly inside Camp Darapanan – where rebel forces have virtually shown their fire power and loyalty to their leaders – ended with an aspiration for a long lasting and just peace in the southern region. (Mindanao Examiner)
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