Ramadan with the rebels of Mindanao

From Aljazeera (Aug 5): Ramadan with the rebels of Mindanao

MILF prays for a peace deal by 2014, with talks set to resume after holy month.

In response, the rebel group, headed by MILF Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim, also made major concessions, renouncing its fight for independence, accepting asmaller territory than that spelled out in the 1976 Tripoli Agreement, and promising to eventually give up their arms. Philippine President Benigno Aquino III is also betting his political capital and popularity on the deal, despite some doubts in the predominantly Catholic country. "We are ready to lend the strength of the entire nation to lift up the provinces of Muslim Mindanao, who are among our poorest," Aquino said in his annual address to the nation on July 22. "We will not allow any of our countrymen to be left behind, while others surpass them." According to the latest government statistics, several provinces in Muslim Mindanao have poverty rates above 40 percent, as of April 2013. But Haq said it was not poverty driving the unrest in Mindanao, but rather the absence of a political solution to their struggle for a homeland. "If there is a political solution, I can assure you that everything will go with it," Haq said. "Farmers can till their field without fear of bombing, and businessmen can attend to their activities. There's no fear of having untimely loss of lives." Yet some Christian settlers in Mindanao, who have seen their share of violence, remain sceptical.  At Cotabato's 141-year-old Tamontaka Catholic Church, touted as a symbol of inter-faith unity because of its location within a Muslim neighbourhood, one devotee said he favoured the policy of President Joseph Estrada. During his term, Estrada launched an "all-out war" against the MILF in 2000. He was later ousted, but he remained popular among the Christian community here. Haq has fought in many wars - including in 2000, 2003 and 2008. "Talking with the enemy is very important and very effective," he said. "Sometimes, I think the burst of a gun is okay. But in the end, the voice of talking is more effective than the burst of a gun." http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/08/20138412430164345.html