Thursday, October 3, 2013

MILF: Third Party Monitoring Team visits Manila and Cotabato

From the MILF Website (Oct 3): Third Party Monitoring Team visits Manila and Cotabato



The Independent Third Party Monitoring Team (TPMT) established by the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in the context of their peace process, made its first visit to the Philippines from September 23 to 28, 2013.
  
In a press release issued dated September 30, 2013 in Manila, Alistair MacDonald, the TPMT Chair, said at the close of their visit that “My colleagues and I were encouraged by the strongest commitment to peace underlined by all of our contacts, whether in the government or the MILF, or among civil society and other key actors. Much has been done already, and much remains to be done, both in completing the remaining annexes to the Framework Agreement and in implementing these mutually-agreed commitments. But it was clear that both Parties are absolutely determined to make this work.”

All five members of theTPMT were present  for  their first  visit, as a team, to the Philippines   –Zainuddin Malang of MinRHac and Karen Tañada of Gaston Z. Ortigas Peace Institute, Huseyin Oruç of the IHH Humanitarian Relief  Foundation and Dr. Steven Rood of The Asia Foundation, together  with the Chair. Mr. MacDonald noted that during this visit they had been able to meet   both with OPAPP Secretary  Teresita Quintos -Deles and GPH Peace Panel Chair Miriam Coronel-Ferrer and with the MILF Peace Panel Chair Mohagher Iqbal, with members of the Transition Commission, of the International Contact Group and the International Monitoring Team, and with representatives of civil society both in Manila and in Cotabato.

He added that the real work of the TPMT could only fully commence once the two remaining annexes on Power-sharing and on Normalization had been completed and added to the already-agreed Framework Agreement and its annexes on Transitional Arrangement and Modalities and Wealth-sharing.

Nevertheless it had been essential for the TPMT to commence its   preparatory work already now, reaching out to the key stakeholders, outlining the mandate of the TPMT, and most of all listening to these key actors and hearing their thoughts and expectations for the way ahead and for how the TPMT could best fulfill its mandate. All members of the TPMT joined Mr. MacDonald in expressing their condolences to the families of the victims of the recent violence in Zamboanga.
http://www.luwaran.com/index.php/welcome/item/590-third-party-monitoring-team-visits-manila-and-cotabato

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