Malaysia remains as facilitator in PHL-MILF peace negotiation -- Palace

From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 13): Malaysia remains as facilitator in PHL-MILF peace negotiation -- Palace

Despite the incident in Sabah between the Malaysian forces and armed followers of the Sultanate of Sulu, Malacanang Wednesday said Malaysia will remain as facilitator in the peace negotiation between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

"Malaysia is a facilitator. They provide us the place; they provide us the atmosphere for discussions," Presidential Adviser Edwin Lacierda told a press briefing.

Lacierda said the Sabah incident will not affect the ongoing peace negotiation with the MILF.

"Right now, inaayos po natin itong standoff sa Sabah. Pero pagdating po sa peace talks, tapos na ‘yung Framework Agreement. This incident in Sabah involves the Royal Sultanate (of Sulu). Hindi po ang buong Muslim Mindanao ang apektado rito," he stressed.

Lacierda said the Framework Agreement "affects all of Muslim Mindanao."

"Ang nagkaroon po ng kapayapaan dito, ‘yung agreement is between fellow Filipinos and MILF, at saka ang Pilipinas," he noted.

"But the nitty-gritty of coming to an agreement, the nitty-gritty of going through the details are both discussed by the Philippine panel and the MILF panel. So huwag nating ialis sa kapwa Pilipino na itong Framework Agreement ay resulta po ng pag-uusap ng mga Pilipino; na tinulungan lang tayo ng Malaysia. It’s not as if dahil sa gulo ng Sabah standoff, hindi na natin mare-resolba ang dalawang natitirang issues," he said.

Earlier reports said that Malaysia has sent a new batch of peace monitors to oversee a ceasefire between the Philippine government and the MILF.

It said the 8th International Monitoring Team (IMT) contingent headed by Maj. Gen. Dato Fadzil Bin Mokhtar will take over from the IMT Batch 7 led by Maj. Gen. Dato Abdul Rahim Bin Mohd Yusuff.

"We are clear on our mission here to continue monitoring the ceasefire," an article posted on the MILF website quoted Fadzil as saying, referring to the ongoing operations by Malaysian forces against armed followers of Sulu Dultan Jamalul Kiram III in Sabah.

The MILF article added Fadzil does not think their mission to monitor the ceasefire agreement will be affected by the situation in Sabah.

"I think that should be made clear -- the Framework Agreement is bigger than the Sabah standoff," said Lacierda.

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