Officials
of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on Saturday denied it negotiators
ever said the GPH-MILF meeting in Davao was going nowhere that it issued
warning its fighters will return to arm struggle.
At
the same time, the MILF urged journalists to exercise prudence in reporting
about the peace process.
“We
should avoid creating scenarios depicting that the efforts of both sides to
build lasting peace in Mindanao is doomed to
fail,” Ghadzali Jaafar, MILF’s vice chairman for political affairs, said.
Speaking
over a local radio station, Jaafar said the MILF had not made public
announcement that the review on the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) between
GPH and MILF in Davao
City
Jaafar
also downplayed claims by some reports that the MILF had issued warning it will
resume hostilities in Mindanao if both sides
fail to reach a consensus.
“We
did not warn the government and will never give warning to the government
because the MILF does not do that,” Jaafar said.
Both
sides are now reviewing the provisions of the draft BBL to make it within the
framework of the Philippine Constitution and for smooth sailing in Congress. If
the draft gets Congress approval, it will be ratified through a referendum in
selected areas in Mindanao .
Once
ratified, the BBL will replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao with an
MILF-led Bangsamoro political entity.
Jaafar
stressed that the MILF remain committed to come to terms with the national
government to solve the Bangsamoro question.
”As
we repeatedly said we have no other option and our only option is peace,”
Jaafar stressed.
Mohaqher
Iqbal, MILF chief negotiator, was quoted in some media broadsheets as saying
the President broke his promise.“I have never said those words, nor will I ever
say that about the President,” Iqbal said in a statement.
The
review process in Davao
City
Chief
government negotiator Professor Miriam Coronel-Ferrer said the process was
about 80 percent complete.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=671209
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