The signing of the normalization annex under the Bangsamoro agreement does not mean that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is surrendering, its chief negotiator said Saturday.
“There is no element of surrender. No destruction of
firearms,” Mohagher Iqbal said in a live press conference at Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia
He added that the normalization annex delineated the laying
down of firearms by the MILF, but that it noted that these firearms would only
be “put beyond use.”
Philippine government peace panel chair Miriam
Coronel-Ferrer said too that the process for decommissioning of firearms is a
“gradual process.”
“Upon the signing, we cannot expect that we have a complete
change in the situation,” she said.
Both panels remain hopeful, though, that the signing of the
last annex seals the deal in the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro,
which would be signed in Manila
The MILF, which has been pushing for secession for decades,
signed with the Philippine government the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro
in October 2012.
Both parties have also signed the annexes on transitional
arrangements and modalities, revenue generation and wealth sharing, and power
sharing.
The panels also signed the addendum that delineates the
Bangsamoro territorial waters.
Once the documents are completed, a separate political
entity called the Bangsamoro Political Entity will replace the Autonomous
Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
The peace agreement with the MILF is one of the cornerstones
of the administration of President Benigno Aquino III.
Turning the Moro rebel group into a government ally is seen
as a key step to end the Muslim insurgency, especially as other armed groups
remain.
For one, the Moro National Liberation Front, where the MILF
broke off, attacked Zamboanga City
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