COTABATO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 2, 2012) – The Philippines said it is ready to sign a peace agreement with Muslim rebels fighting for self-determination in the restive South. The statement came ahead of peace talks set to begin this month in Kuala Lumpur.
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front said peace negotiations are going nowhere after Manila rejected the rebel demand for a Muslim sub-state in Mindanao similar to Malaysia, which is brokering the talks.
“Government maintains that it is ready to sign a peace pact with the MILF in the soonest possible time. We have laid a very pragmatic proposal that will ensure real and genuine autonomy for the Bangsamoro on the table,” Marvic Leonen, chief government peace negotiators, said on Monday.
He said the last round of talks with the MILF in Marc have been very difficult, with both parties engaged in hard bargaining on the substantive aspects of the negotiations.
“Given the dynamic nature of the negotiations, it has to be understood that there are issues that may be hard to resolve. However, government is committed to work hard with its counterparts in the MILF to find mutually acceptable solutions and bring peace in Mindanao. Instead of trying to fuel people’s apprehensions, we urge the MILF to work with government and meet our timetable for a peace agreement this year,” Leonen said.
The MILF said it will not sign any peace deal unless the Aquino government agreed on the creation of Muslim sub-state. “We cannot backtrack on our demand because it the will of the Bangsamoro people,” said Mohagher Iqbal, the chief MILF peace negotiator.
He said the MILF is unlikely to sign any peace accord anytime soon, saying, the government is not committed to forging a genuine and long and lasting solution in Mindanao.
The MILF said Manila has offered the five-province Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao which is composed of Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Maguindanao and Lanao provinces.
“We will stick with our demand for a Muslim sub-state in Mindanao and nothing more,” Iqbal said.
The Aquino government has proposed the so-called “3-for-1” formula to achieve political settlement of conflict in Mindanao.
Among in the proposal is a roadmap for development and socio-economic rehabilitation in the Mindanao through the creation of the Joint Coordinating Committee on Development in which the Philippines offered partnership with the MILF in identifying and implementing socio-economic projects.
And peace accord through the creation of the Bangsamoro Commission that will be composed of representatives from the government, the MILF, and stakeholders in the Mindanao peace process and to re-craft an Organic Act for “genuine autonomy” and supervise the implementation of the peace pact.
And lastly is for the government to acknowledge the historical injustice of conflict and reconciliation wherein it is willing to officially retell the real history of Mindanao.
Ghazali Jaafar, the MILF vice chairman for political affairs, also expressed pessimism about the peace talks with the Aquino government, saying negotiations have been going on for a long time now, but nothing concrete has been achieved, except for the cease-fire agreement.
“We are very doubtful now whether we can sign a peace deal with government under this present administration,” he said following a recent caucus with senior MILF leaders in the South.
“The assessment of the political officers was the recently concluded peace talks between the Government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in Malaysia was very disappointing. What the government peace panel headed by Marvic Leonen did in the last talks was never our immediate expectation which is the reason why we are very much disappointed,” Jaafar said. (Mindanao Examiner)
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