All MILF detainees get amnesty

The Daily Tribune (Jan 27): All MILF detainees get amnesty

Part of the normalization annex in the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) provides for a general amnesty to Muslim insurgents but only if they are members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in exchange for the decommissioning of the armed units of the rebel group, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles said.

The amnesty provision was aimed at facilitating “the healing of the wounds of conflict and the return to normal life,” Deles said.

Under the normalization annex, a joint task force will also be formed to develop six major MILF camps as “peaceful and productive communities” but did not provide any details on the timeframe of the plan.

“There will be no more camps, they will become peaceful, unarmed communities,” Deles said. “(MILF stronghold) Camp Abubakar will no longer be known as such,” she said.

Deles claimed that another provision seeks the forming of an independent Decommissioning Body to be led by foreign experts to oversee the deactivation of rebel forces and collection of their weapons and, in exchange, military presence in the autonomous region would be scaled down and a joint assessment would be made for an orderly redeployment of troops and “avoid a security vacuum.”

“They need to be assured that they will be secure even if they are decommissioned and their weapons put beyond use,” Deles said.

The government and the MILF projected a final peace deal to be called the comprehensive agreement on Bangsamoro (CAB) would be signed within weeks. A “comprehensive agreement” with the MILF should be signed in February or March, Manila’s chief negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer said.

“We have just been discussing the next steps and our goal is to be able to get a good schedule for that,” she said from the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur where the last round of talks was held.

“We have set a time frame of between February and March,” she added.

The talks that began in 1996 with the 12,000-strong MILF are aimed at ending an insurgency in the country’s south that has left an estimated 150,000 people dead since the 1970s.

On Saturday, both sides agreed on a “normalization” deal detailing how the rebels will hand over their weapons and the creation of a security force to police what will be a self-ruled Muslim region.

Both sides had previously signed deals on power-sharing, taxation and governance, but the last agreement was more sensitive because the MILF had repeatedly warned it would not lay down its arms unless other threat groups in the south were disarmed.
After the final deal is signed, President Benigno Aquino is expected to sign a “basic law” for the creation of a new autonomous region for the Muslims.

This would then be passed to Congress, and subjected to a referendum, with Aquino hoping to have it completed by the time he ends his six-year term in 2016.

Long years of insurgency have left much of the southern region of Mindanao volatile, with a proliferation of unlicensed firearms in the hands of other armed groups, including Al Qaeda-linked militants and offshoots that are opposed to the talks.

But Ferrer said that to thwart any possible armed challenges, a joint security group composed of MILF fighters and government forces would be tasked to patrol the areas to be covered during the transition phase.

“There will always be contrarians, but as far as the partnership between the MILF and the government is concerned, we have mechanisms that will allow us to address peace and order concerns more effectively,” Ferrer said.

She did not specify any group, but the toughest challenge to the peace deal came in September, when hundreds of supporters of rebel leader Nur Misuari laid siege to a key southern port city, leaving more than 240 dead in three weeks of fighting.

Misuari, who remains at large, founded the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), from which the MILF splintered in the late 1970s.

MILF vice chairman for political affairs, Ghazali Jaafar, told AFP Sunday that the rebels were “ecstatic” over the new development but said much work remained to be done.

“The next step is that we will have to talk about the final wording of the comprehensive compact agreement,” he said. “Meantime, a transitional commission will have to start drafting the basic law to be sent to Congress.”

He said he believed a final deal would be in place “soon” but that some members of Congress in the mainly Catholic country may oppose the agreement.

Ferrer however said the peace process was “on track” to meet Aquino’s deadline.
“We believe the majority of our people and our decision- and opinion-makers are on our side,” she said.

The United States, Japan and the Europan Union were also upbeat about the breakthrough, calling it a historic moment that could finally bring peace to the region.

“This agreement offers the promise of peace, security, and economic prosperity now and for future generations in Mindanao,” US Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement.

The MILF said the whole country should rejoice with the signing of the normalization annex, the last contentious item under the FAB that paved the way for the final agreement.

MILF Vice Chairman Ghadzali Jaafar said that the breakthrough in the peace negotiations between government of the Philippines (GPH) and MILF reached last Thursday evening will usher the end of Mindanao conflict.

“The MILF is not the only one happy but the entire Bangsamoro people, all the people of Mindanao and in the entire Philippines because the signing of the annex on normalization will mean the start of the discussion of the comprehensive compact agreement,” said Jaafar.

“And when the comprehensive compact agreement is signed, it will user in the end of Mindanao conflict, the war in Mindanao because the root-cause of the conflict in Mindanao is the Bangsamoro issue…the desire of the Bangsamoro people to have their own government, a government run by them but it is still under the Republic of the Philippines and it is not separate,” he added.

Jaafar stressed that the agreement being pursued by the MILF will be inclusive of all the Bangsamoro people and not only for the MILF, including the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) from where the MILF broke away before the MNLF signed a Final Peace Agreement in 1996 with the government.

“This agreement is for everybody, for every Bangsamoro including the MNLF,” said Jaafar.

The MILF vice chairman, however, emphasized that the MILF is not asking unification of the two fronts. “What is important is for each Bangsamoro to support this agreement,” he said.

Earlier, the MNLF group of Nur Misuari rejected the invitation of the MILF to participate in the crafting of the Bangsamoro Basic Law.

The MNLF, through spokesman Absalom Cerveza, also warned that the signing of the normalization annex, which calls for disarmament of MILF forces, may lead to disintegration as most Moro fighters would not agree to surrender their firearms to the government.

Cerveza said that disgruntled MILF members would join the MNLF and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters of Ustazd Ameril Umbra Kato, who broke away from the MILF due to difference in handling the peace negotiations.

Jaafar dismissed Cerveza’s warning as speculation.

“That is an speculation. How would Rev Cerveza, with due respect to him, know the feelings of the Moro combatants. He does not know,” said Jaafar.

The signing of the normalization annex was announced Saturday by Malacanang.
According to Jaafar, the crafting of the comprehensive compact agreement can start anytime upon mutual agreement by both parties. He said the drafting will be a “consolidation” and will not come from one group.

Jaafar stressed that all issues tackled in the negotiating table between the MILF and GPH peace panels were approved by the MILF Central Committee.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), meanwhile, expressed readiness to thwart any attempt by the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) to conduct atrocities in response to the signing of the normalization annex of the Framework Agreement on Bangsamoro (FAB) between the government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

The BIFF, founded by Ustadz Ameril Umbra Kato, broke away from the MILF in 2011 due to differences in handling of the peace negotiations. Kato is known to be among the hardliners who want an independent Islamic state in Mindanao instead of an autonomous territory.

Prior to the signing of the FAB in 2012, the BIFF launched widespread attacks in Central Mindanao.

Col. Dickson Hermoso, spokesman of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division (ID) said the military, in coordination with the police, is ready in case the BIFF launches atrocities.
Hermoso, however, stressed that the BIFF forces are contained in certain areas.

“Most likely, magwawala yan, but they are contained in one place, because they are against the peaceful settlement. But in case magwawala naman sila, our soldiers and policemen are prepared,” said Hermoso.

Hermoso, however, said the military is coordinating closely with appropriate government agencies to0 persuade the BIFF not to resort to violence.

The military placed the strength of the BIFF at 250 members, with only 10 percent considered hardcore.

Meanwhile, AFP-Public Information Office chief Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala welcomed the signing of the normalization annex as another step toward lasting peace in Mindanao.

“The AFP is optimistic that lasting peace and sustainable development for Mindanao is now in our reach as the government is in near realization of forging a final peace agreement with the MILF,” said Zagala.

“Rest assured that our focused military operations will continue, to ensure that the peace process is not hampered or disrupted by spoilers and other threats,” he added.

Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel wanted the public to take time to study all the four FAB annexes including an addendum on Bangsamoro Waters and to actively participate in the national roadmap to peace in Mindanao in light of its critical importance to national development.

“Let us not be indifferent to the gains of peace that have been achieved through peaceful negotiations. I observed how serious both panels were in pursuing a successful conclusion to the ongoing talks. Our country deserves a peace agreement that would lift Mindanao up and onwards to a brighter, more progressive future,” Pimentel stressed.

The senator from Mindanao noted that the Annex on Normalization was an indication of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s sincerity in sealing a peace pact with the government. “There are solid commitments here for the decommissioning of firearms and the socio-economic empowerment of conflict-affected communities. When the MILF combatants fully embrace the cause of peace, it is with the knowledge that their families and communities will gain not just physical security but economic security as well.”

Pimentel said he would study every provision in the four annexes and addendum on the Bangsamoro Waters so he can be an informed source on the complex issues.

“Next to the conclusion of the fourth and final annex to the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro is the formal signing of the comprehensive peace pact that will be the basis of the Bangsamoro Basic Law. As legislators, I expect that we shall all do our homework in studying this comprehensive agreement while the draft law is yet to be submitted to us by the President,” Pimentel added.

Meanwhile, Pimentel said that he is willing to work closely with civil society groups and the legal community in bringing the comprehensive peace pact closer to the people.

“This peace agreement is not only for Mindanao but for the entire country. Mindanao comprises 1/3 of the Philippines. If we are successful in achieving a just and lasting peace in Mindanao, then we will emerge as a stronger, more united and therefore more competitive nation,” Pimentel said.

Senate President Franklin Drilon also hailed the peace panels from both sides and said that the Senate is “more than prepared to work on legislation capacitating the peace accords,” which would end four decades of armed conflict in central Mindanao.

“The completion of all the annexes has proven that we Filipinos are not ruled by our differences, but by our shared desire for peace, equality and prosperity as a nation,” he said.

“The admirable commitment and hard work of both parties- the government, the MILF panel, and the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process- have led to a historic stride in this decades-old quest for peace in Mindanao,” he added.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague also welcomed the pursuit of the comprehensive peace agreement saying the “conclusion of negotiations between the Government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front for a comprehensive peace agreement is a significant step towards lasting peace and development for Mindanao.”

“As we know from our own experience, many of the most difficult challenges will emerge as the parties work towards implementing the agreement. But the courage and leadership shown by the parties gives great hope that these can be overcome and we are ready to provide whatever further support we can to help the people of Moro and the Philippines recover from this devastating conflict,” he said.

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