Standoff will not affect talks

From Business World (Feb 17): Standoff will not affect talks

The standoff between Malaysian forces and armed supporters of the Sultanate of Sulu in Sabah will not affect talks between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), both sides said yesterday.

"It [standoff] will have no effect on the peace process to which the parties and major stakeholders remain committed," Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Q. Deles said in a text message yesterday.

A similar position on the issue was expressed by Mohagher Iqbal, MILF chief negotiator, when asked if the conflict will not affect the talks.

"Yes. I’m sure," he said in a separate text message.

The incident may have revived past differences between Manila and Kuala Lumpur over the ownership of Sabah, even as relations have improved in recent years with Malaysia facilitating the peace negotiations between the government and MILF since 2001.

Peace efforts broke down in 2000 after the Estrada administration adopted an all-out war policy against the Moro rebels.

Last week, Malaysian authorities reported the intrusion of at least 100 armed men in Lahad Datu, a town east of Sabah in Borneo. Lahad Datu can be reached via an hour-long boat ride from the southernmost province of Tawi-Tawi.

Malaysian officials and Philippine authorities have confirmed that the armed men clad in camouflage are supporters of the Sultanate of Sulu on a mission to reclaim Sabah.

By history, Sabah has been part of the regional power of the sultanate prior to Spanish colonization of the Philippines in the 16th century, as well as the British empire in Malaysia.

It has been noted that the British government has been paying rental fee to the sultanate for Sabah. However, during the declaration of independence of Malaysia in 1957, the entire Sabah was made part of Malaysia. The position of the Sulu Sultanate over the issue has been overshadowed when the Moro revolt against the Philippine government in Mindanao started in the 1960s.

Sulu is now one of the southernmost provinces of the Philippines.

Professor Ali T. Yacub, who has been advising the Sulu sultan, said in a interview that the conflicting claims over Sabah by Malaysia and the heirs of the Sulu sultanate is a wake-up call to the Philippine government on the issue, which had been raised during consultations and fora organized by the state on the current talks with the MILF.

Mr. Yacub said that the position of the Sultanate of Sulu was ignored during the consultations.

"The Philippine government should not underestimate this sensitive situation. If not handled quickly, it will escalate to something bigger," he said in an interview yesterday.

PARTICIPATION BUCKED

Meanwhile, the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) has advised armed followers in Sulu against joining and reinforcing the armed group in Sabah.

"The MNLF is not a party to this issue," according to a statement released to media yesterday.

Explaining the armed group’s aim, a leader cited the claim to citizenship in the sultanate.

"They demand to be acknowledged as citizens of the Sultanate of Sulu," Abdullah Kiram, a son of the Sultan of Sulu, Ismael Kiram the II, told Reuters in Manila.

"They want to be acknowledged as citizens of their own land. They own Sabah," he added.

The Philippine government has taken steps to address the situation.

"This matter is being handled by the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) in coordination with security forces," said Ms. Deles.

http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Nation&title=Standoff-will-not-affect-talks&id=66001