Posted to the MILF Website (Mar 18): Ex-gov’t peace negotiator tags MILF peace negotiation ‘casualty’ in Sabah stand-off
Former government peace negotiator, Jesus Dureza, described the government-MILF peace negotiation as a casualty as a consequence of the Sabah fighting between Malaysian security forces and the so-called Royal Army of the Sulu sultanate.
Dureza was government peace panel chair in the negotiations with the MILF under the Arroyo administration from 2001 to 2003 and was later named Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (2005 to 2008). He heads Advocacy MindaNOW Foundation, Inc.
This claim was contained in his syndicated column, Advocacy MindaNOW, published last March 10.
Entitled “Sabah fallout on MILF peace talks, here are his words: “Here are a few items or thoughts I have picked up along the way. Aside from the deaths and the violence suffered by Filipinos there, one of major casualties of the Sabah incident is the MILF peace negotiations. Evidently, events have overtaken the MILF peace talks. Even MILF’s claim for a Bangsamoro ancestral domain and right to self-determination, without factoring in the Sabah claim, will not fly anymore. Malaysian participation as a neutral “facilitator” is now blown to pieces due to their violent operations against the Filipino Muslims in Lahad Datu. With the arrival of hundreds of Filipinos fleeing Sabah, more alleged atrocities committed against Filipinos are starting to surface.”
Commenting on this, Jun Mantawil, head of the MILF peace panel secretariat, told Luwaran that he was disgusted over the unexpected odd comments of former government peace negotiator, saying it is uncharacteristic of a man like his stature to say so negatively and so easily in what it is to be considered a very sensitive issue.
“I see in his comments as like someone who has not been through hard politics that he can easily see an instant magic formula of unity of MILF, MNLF, the sultanates, the tribes, and the traditional political sector,” Mantawil said in almost disbelief.
“What is the basis of the instant unity by invading Sabah?” he asked.
Mantawil added that there is no need for the call to unity, saying we are not fighting each other.
However, Mantawil paid tribute to Dureza’s other statement strongly urging the government to take into account the peace process in crafting its policies on the Sabah crisis.
http://www.luwaran.com/home/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3154:ex-govt-peace-negotiator-tags-milf-peace-negotiation-casualty-in-sabah-stand-off&catid=31:general&Itemid=41
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