It’s now or never.
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)
wants the peace deal with the
government sealed before the term of President Benigno Aquino III ends in 2016,
saying that beyond that would jeopardize the chances of having lasting peace in
Mindanao.
The MILF also warned that any delay in the
peace talks could lead to a resumption of fighting in Mindanao.
“The urgency of concluding the peace talks
is in the minds of the MILF leadership. We know
that the momentum is there but any dilly-dallying is bringing us closer to the
other path,” the MILF said on its official website, luwaran.com.
“The truth is that if we cannot close this
negotiation successfully during the administration of President Benigno Aquino
III, we do not know what lies ahead in 2016. And more seriously, it can be a
menu for more violence and fighting in Mindanao,” it added.
The MILF statement came in the form of an
editorial, as luwaran.com is also the group’s official news site.
It was uploaded on March 24, after the
postponement of the 37th exploratory talks in Kuala Lumpur was announced.
President Aquino called for the
postponement of the talks to give him more time to review the annexes of the
Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB).
The MILF said the “devastation” wrought by
the war in Mindanao was the reason the MILF peace panel “refused to agree to
postpone the peace negotiation in Kuala Lumpur, as set by the parties, or much
more to change the venue.”
Sense
of justice
“Without a doubt, President Aquino
possesses this feeling of urgency too. Perhaps he, more than anyone else, we
believe, because of many reasons: First, his sense of justice—as with his father
and mother—that the Moros are a “wronged people” which requires not only
cosmetic rectification but also an honest, fair, humane deal; second, solving
the problem in Mindanao is certainly the best legacy that any Philippine
president can impart and dedicate to the whole nation; third, he knows that
without putting to rest the bloody mess in Mindanao, the Philippines can never
take off as a developing states; and fourth, the war in Mindanao… is unwinnable
by both sides of the equation. The MILF cannot win the war by conventional means
nor can the government crush the MILF, which can always resort to full guerrilla
warfare,” the group said.
The MILF said this rendered the conclusion
of the GPH-MILF peace negotiation as urgent business.
“Any reason to delay it, even if it is
predicated by a seemingly honest reason, cannot be given much weight. Like a
professional boxer, once inside the ring, he cannot make any pretext; either he
boxes or calls it quits—and loses,” it added.
So
much more to do
The MILF also stressed that the talks were
urgent because the Bangsamoro Transition Committee (BTC) only has a year and
nine months “remaining in its 2-year life span, within which it has to write the
basic law, among other functions, and to secure its undiluted passage by
Congress, as well as its ratification by majority of the voters in the proposed
Bangsamoro territory.”
The MILF called on “everyone including the
international community” to help in accelerating the talks, but in a “deliberate
and sure manner.”
Journey to conclusion
“Time is ticking away; once it has passed,
we cannot go back anymore. We also call upon them to journey with us
until the conclusion of these negotiations,” the MILF said.
Nonetheless, the MILF on Monday issued a
joint statement with the government peace panel where they both said they
remained committed “to continue the talks in an expeditious manner.”
The government and the MILF agreed to reset
the 37th Round of Formal Peace Talks to the second week of April.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/381087/its-now-or-never-for-milf
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