ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 21, 2012) – Peace talks between the Philippines and the Muslim rebel group Moro Islamic Liberation Front ended on Wednesday in Malaysia without any major agreement that would end bloody fighting in the southern region of Mindanao.
Manila has previously offered the MILF an expanded Muslim autonomy in Mindanao.
The talks, which began on Monday, centered on the discussion on substantive issues, among them the concept of governance and the listing of reserved powers of the national government as contained in their respective draft.
The MILF said the issues that prominently preoccupied the negotiators were on power-sharing, wealth-sharing, and interim mechanism. The rebel group has previously rejected the government’s offer, saying it would stick to its demand for a Muslim sub-state.
A joint statement signed by chiefs peace negotiators Marvic Leonen, for the Filipino government, and Mohagher Iqbal, for the MILF, and released late Wednesday said both sides agreed to resume the talks next month.
They also approved the request of the Office of the Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to sit as observer in the peace talks which the Malaysian government is brokering.
Iqbal has said that they are unlikely to sign any peace deal this month and not even in April, despite Manila’s earlier statement both sides may be able to ink an agreement that would settle decades-old insurgency in Mindanao.
“The greater fear is that we might not even sign it at all if we are not firm on our resolve to push hard in our negotiation. Sad to note, however, that within the first two years of the Aquino administration, we have not signed anything of great consequence that we can show to our people and the world that indeed there is big happening in the current peace negotiation,” he said during the peace talks.
He said the current peace talks were not as fruitful as it was during the previous administration.
“I am afraid that we might not be as productive as compared to the times of Secretary Silvestre Afable III, Secretary Rodolfo Garcia, and Ambassador Rafael Seguis, notwithstanding the fact that we have a counterpart in the GPH which is led by a brilliant lawyer and a dean of law at that,” Iqbal said.
Presidential peace adviser Teresita Deles said the peace process needs deep understanding, faith, and faithful accompaniment from all sectors, including the religious, business or private, and civil society.
She said the Aquino government is committed to a genuine autonomy for Muslims in Mindanao where the MILF is fighting for self-determination for the past three decades now.
“While recognizing the many challenges that still lie ahead, government is committed to a genuine autonomy for the Bangsamoro to finally end the armed conflict in Mindanao. We call on the MILF to work with us, expedite and redouble efforts to bring permanent peace founded on justice for our people and communities in Mindanao,” Deles said. (Mindanao Examiner)
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