Cracks show in MILF, gov’t peace process

From the Daily Tribune (Jun 13): Cracks show in MILF, gov’t peace process

The peace process with the Muslim rebels hangs in the balance after the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) indicated yesterday displeasure over the flip-flopping of the government panel on the terms in the negotiating table and the recent arrests of four MILF fighters.

The MILF warned the arrests of four guerrillas could affect talks aimed at ending the decades-long insurgency.

The arrests came amid diminishing confidence within the MILF over the government’s sincerity in trying quickly to seal a deal to end the rebellion which has left an estimated 150,000 people dead since the 1970s.

MILF vice-chairman for political affairs, Ghadzali Jaafar, said some rebel leaders believed the arrests were a deliberate attempt to target the group despite a ceasefire.

“We filed this protest to send a message to the government that we are not happy with what is going on and we are very much concerned about the situation,” he said.

The MILF also said that the government changes positions frequently in the negotiations, as it cited an “initialed annex on wealth sharing” that the government peace panel backtracked on, apparently on higher orders.

Meanwhile, Khaled Musa, deputy chairman of the MILF committee on information, said frustration on the ground is gaining momentum, as a consequence of too much unnecessary delay from government.

He also disclosed radical elements within the MILF is beginning to be restive and had started to criticize the MILF and its peace panel.

He said more than three months have transpired since the annex on wealth-sharing was initialed without clear direction for the talks.

He said the government is sitting on it unnecessarily in the guise of due diligent study.

The MILF said in its official website luwaran.com, the annex was already initialed by two regular members of the government and MILF negotiating panels.

The MILF said it has no plan to abandon the document, adding that backtracking by any of the two parties is a serious drawback to the peace process.

“The peace negotiation is an exercise in futility if there is no stop to this changing of positions by the government negotiating team,” according to the MILF website.

The website was quoting a member of the MILF peace panel, who requested anonymity, in direct reaction to reported notes sent by the government to the MILF peace panel, which he described as an attempt to throw the blame on the MILF for making it appear “that the ball is in our court.”

“We are not renegotiating the initialed document,” he said.

He said the talks will only prosper if the two parties follow sincerely the “matuwid na daan” (straight path) policy, which is also the cornerstone of President Aquino administration.

The document was initialed by former Agriculture Secretary Senen Bacani and Prof. Abhoud Syed Lingga of the government and MILF peace panels, respectively. Three more initials appeared on the document.

During the final stage of the discussion of wealth-sharing, no less than Prof. Miriam Coronel-Ferrer and Chairman Mohagher Iqbal, chairmen of the government and MILF peace panels, respectively, took the lead in the discussion, which culminated in the initialing of the document last February 27.

The two chairpersons were alternately joined by their respective colleagues, Bacani and lawyer Armi Bayot, on the government side, and by Professor Abhoud and Atty. Raissa Jajurie, on the MILF side.

The MILF said the government had their first change of position through the initialed document especially on natural resources and block grant to Bangsamoro government during the 38th GPH-MILF Exploratory Talks last April 9 to 11.

“The MILF negotiating team vehemently objected to the changes,” the MILF said.

It added Mohagher Iqbal, chairman of the MILF peace panel, issued a clear message that “Except for those that are in harmony with the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB), we don’t accept the changes introduced by government on wealth-sharing,” and added that the MILF is sticking to the initialed document.

The second backtracking is contained in the so-called “notes” recently sent to the MILF through the Malaysian facilitator, Dato Tengku Ab’ Ghafar Bin Tengku Mohamed, who visited the MILF leadership at Darapanan, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindano last June 7.

Asked to divulge the content of the “notes”, the source refused to be categorical, saying it is a violation of protocol to divulge the content.

“We are bound by the principle of confidentiality of document,” he stressed, adding, however, that the initialed document is diluted severely by the notes coming from government.

“Two change of positions in a row within the span of two months is alarming,” the source said without elaborating.

Jaafar said four MILF fighters were arrested recently for alleged illegal possession of ammunition in separate incidents in the southern island of Mindanao, home of the country’s Muslim minority.

Jaafar said under the ceasefire, MILF fighters are allowed to keep their firearms and ammunition.

He also complained that the resumption of formal talks had been put off for too long, adding that the government might be deliberately delaying the negotiations.

The head of the government peace panel, Miriam Coronel, said in a statement she had asked the police to issue a complete report on the cases.

The peace talks are aimed at creating an autonomous region for the Muslim minority in Mindanao, the southern third of the mainly Catholic nation of 100 million.

However the group, which has about 12,000 armed followers, has recently complained about the slow progress of the talks which have fallen behind schedule.

http://www.tribune.net.ph/index.php/headlines/item/15334-cracks-show-in-milf-gov-t-peace-process