MILF's Iqbal: 'If one wants to enjoy life, never spend it as a negotiator'

From InterAksyon (Jan 29): MILF's Iqbal: 'If one wants to enjoy life, never spend it as a negotiator'



Center for Humanitarian Dialogue Philippines senior program manager Camilo Montesa, Government peace negotiating panel chairperson Professor Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, European Union Ambassador Franz Jessen, and MILF peace negotiating panel chairman Mohagher Iqbal at the book launch of Journey to the Bangsamoro. Photographed by Tricia Aquino, InterAksyon.com

"If one wants to enjoy life, never spend it as a negotiator."

This was how Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) peace negotiating panel chairman Mohagher Iqbal opened his speech at the launch of "Journey to the Bangsamoro", a compilation of three books about the history of the peace process between the Philippine government and the MILF, on Monday at the Shangri-la Hotel in Makati City.

The EU, with the MILF and the center for Humanitarian Dialogue, launched the publication together.

'Not easy'

"Negotiation is never fun. It isn't easy," Iqbal said. "I confess that there are far more bitter memories of the negotiations than the good ones ... The good ones can be counted on our fingers."

The two sides had been working on the peace process for over 17 years, in negotiations that had been disrupted by the rise of the hostile breakaway group Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters in 2011; the storming of Lahad Datu, Sabah, by followers of the late Sultan of Sulu Jamalul Kiram III in 2013; and the standoff in Zamboanga City between members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and government troops in the same year.

Iqbal also recalled a time when, as acting chair of the MILF peace panel from 1999 to 2000, he witnessed government troops opening fire on "the fringes" of Camp Abubakar, even as a government negotiator insisted that there was no plan to enter the MILF's camp.

But, perhaps, the most infamous of them all was the battle in Mamasapano, which unraveled exactly a year ago, where 44 commandos of the police's Special Action Force (SAF), 18 MILF fighters, and five civilians were killed in SAF's pursuit of Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan, and two local cohorts.

GPH peace negotiating panel chairperson Professor Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, on the other hand, acknowledged that critics might frown upon the choice to launch "Journey to the Bangsamoro" on the first anniversary of the Mamasapano debacle.

Affirm commitment to end the conflict

But for those involved in the peace process, she said, "Today is the best day to affirm the commitment of both parties to end the conflict and achieve the needed social, economic, and political reform that will sustain the peace and bring about happier beginnings and endings in the lives of the people."

She pointed out that it was also on January 25, two years ago, that the last annex that sealed the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro was signed: the one on normalization, and the addendum on Bangsamoro waters.

It was difficult to find an "inclusive and pragmatic solution" that addressed the concerns of the Bangsamoro as well as the diverse needs of the affected population.

"The talks were characterized by hard bargaining," Ferrer said. Add to that the complications of the aforementioned events, particularly Mamasapano.

Battle of Mamasapano

"That it happened after the agreement indicates that, if negotiations are difficult, more so the implementation, as we have seen in different parts of the world that have gone through the same politically negotiated agreements," she said. "But ... the fact that we were able to achieve agreement despite all the previous disruptive events also manifests that difficulties are not insurmountable. With determination and support from many sectors, these difficulties may cause setbacks, yes, but not the collapse of a generally healthy process."

Unfortunately, Iqbal acknowledged, the culmination of all that effort – the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) – would be forgotten in the final days of President Benigno Aquino III's administration.

"Chances are high that it will not pass at all," Iqbal said. "If it will not pass in these three days, I don't think it will ever pass at all."

Ferrer said the congressional hearings on the BBL had to give way to the hearings on the Mamasapano tragedy, and the involvement of the MILF in the fight affected public perception negatively.

45 public hearings

Nevertheless, both chambers had already conducted 45 public hearings at the committee level on the BBL. They had also spent "millions in taxpayers' money", as well as numerous session days, on the same.

"Legislators who say that the bill is being rushed have all the opportunity to correct whatever perceived flaws they have on the draft law, since these are all within their powers," she said. "But they cannot accomplish the task if they are not inside the session hall during the deliberations."

She pointed out that Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) Secretary Teresita Quintos-Deles was in talks with the MNLF in Jeddah to see how elements of the peace agreement with the MNLF which had not been fully implemented could "find realization in the BBL."

"So at no other time in the history of these difficulties, this conflict, have we found this right moment for the convergence of both the MNLF and MILF," Ferrer said.

Peaceful transformation

She warned that not passing the BBL would mean "scuttling" an initiative where the MNLF and the MILF could work together "for peaceful transformation of the region under the Bangsamoro government."

The BBL would have settled the government's conflict with the MILF, allowing government troops to deal more effectively with "other groups" in the region, as well as the dispute over the West Philippine Sea.

"If we lose another year, or even more, in bringing about the turnaround in Muslim Mindanao, we set back the socioeconomic programs, the reconciliation measures, and the decommissioning of weapons and combatants of the MILF and other armed groups. We might lose the hearts and minds of many of the people there, especially the youth, and increase the risk of radicalization," Ferrer added.

"And that's the one we want to arrest by making sure that moderation prevails. And that's what the MILF has shown us: the kind of moderate leadership and a moderate path that will allow them to achieve the historical aspirations," she underscored.

Peace and stability vital for EU

European Union Ambassador Franz Jessen stressed that peace and stability in Mindanao is vital for the EU, given that it affects the decisions made by businessmen who would want to invest in the Philippines.

Despite the seriousness of the subject, Iqbal and Ferrer were able to exchange pleasantries, with the latter calling him "ever the poker-faced negotiator, the hardest one to read among the members of the panel" who carried his team "through the joys and travails" of the journey.

For his part, Iqbal called his counterpart "steely" and "committed to overcome all the trials, tribulations, and obstacles along the way."
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/123435/milfs-iqbal-if-one-wants-to-enjoy-life-never-spend-it-as-a-negotiator