The government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front peace panels 39th Exploraratory Talks is underway in Kuala Lumpur with four Mindanawon members of the House of Representatives, Mindanao civil society groups and the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) attending.
The formal talks started at 9:45 a.m. on Thursday, August 22 and to end on the 25th.
This is the first time in the 16-year history of the peace talks between the Philippine government (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) that observers from various sectors are represented. “We are also joined in today’s Opening Ceremony by an unprecedented number of observers – a glowing affirmation that we need the whole village to build peace,” GPH peace panel chair Prof. Miriam Coronel-Ferrer said as reported by MindaNews..
It is the first time since 2001 that civil society representatives from Mindanao are attending the GPH-MILF peace talks in Kuala Lumpur as observers.
OBSERVERS. Representatives from Congress, Mindanao civil society and the Bangsamoro Transition Commission are in Kuala Lumpur as observers in the GPH-MILF peace talks that resumed Thursday: From left, former Ambassador Akmad Sakkam and Johaira Wahab of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission, Mary Ann Arnado of Mindanao Peoples Caucus, Dean Talib Benito of the Transition Commission and Salic Ibrahim of C-CARE (Photo by MindaNews).
Deputy Speaker Pangalian Balindong of Lanao del Sur and Reps. Rufus Rodriguez of Cagayan de Oro City, Jim Hataman of Basilan and Jesus Sacdalan of North Cotabato are also present. Rep. Sacdalan arrived at noon on the opening day.
The panels are negotiating the last of two annexes on power-sharing and normalization that would complete the comprehensive peace pact. The parties signed the annex on transitional arrangements and modalities on February 27 and the annex on wealth-sharing on July 14, MindaNews also reported.
Deputy Speaker Pangalian Balindong of Lanao del Sur and Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez attended the closed-door opening rites along with five members of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) and three representatives from Mindanao’s civil society — Patricia Sarenas, chair of the Mindanao Coalition of Development NGO Networks (Mincode); Mary Ann Arnado, secretary general of the Mindanao Peoples Caucus; and Salic Ibrahim, chair of the Citizens Coalition for ARMM Electoral Reforms, Inc.
The BTC members who attended the opening rites are former Ambassador Akmad Sakkam; Johair Wahab, former chief legal counsel of the GPH peace panel; Froilyn Mendoza, aTeduray who co-founded the Téduray Lambangian Women’s Organization, Inc. (TLWOI); Talib Benito, Dean of the King Faisal Center for Islamic, Arabic and Asian Studies at the Mindanao State University in Marawi City and former Isabela City councilor Pedrito Eisma. All five were nominated to the BTC by the GPH. The BTC is mandated to draft the Bangsamoro Basic Law that will govern the future Bangsamoro Region.
Sarenas told MindaNews at the end of the session at 10:25 a.m. that they have been allowed as well to attend the sessions of the joint technical working group on Normalization and the Special Team on power-sharing.
Sarenas quoted Malaysian Facilitator, Dato’ Tengku Abd’ Ghafar bin Mohamed, as saying civil society groups are “important people who are the bridge between the (peace) process and the people.”
In Mindanao, ARMM Governor Mujiv Hataman issued a five-paragraph statement reiterating his administration’s “all-out support to the Mindanao peace agenda.”
“We made a covenant, that we will step down in case of a peace deal – and this will always be our standing principle,” Hataman said as quoted by MindaNews.
MindaNews said in a follow-up report that, an air of optimism marked Thursday’s opening of the four-day talks between the Philippine government (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on power-sharing and normalization, with both parties looking forward to “put to sleep” what GPH peace panel chair Miriam Coronel-Ferrer describes as “the infamous devil in the details and awaken the angel of creativity and compromise.”
However, it said that sources from both parties do not expect a signing in this round of talks but are hoping that the contentious issues are resolved so they can move forward. Malaysian Facilitator, Dato’ Tengku Abd’ Ghafar bin Mohamed told MindaNews the parties are “working on the language” of the annexes and are expected to bring back the drafts their respective principals.
MILF Peace Panel Chair Mohagher Iqbal said that the last of two of four annexes “must be settled and fixed now.” When agreed and signed, it will complete the comprehensive peace agreement.
Wearing his other hat as chair of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC), Iqbal appealed to the GPH and MILF to “fast-track their negotiation and, without delay, sign the remaining two annexes and finally the comprehensive peace agreement.”
Iqbal said the BTC “cannot write the Bangsamoro Basic Law in its wholeness” unless the annexes and the comprehensive peace pact are signed.
“We cannot afford to delay the completion of the peace process. We must act now before it is too late,” Iqbal said in his statement at the opening rites held behind closed doors.
Ferrer said the signing of the Annex on Wealth-Sharing on July 13, the toughest round since the parties signed the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) on October 15, 2012 in Malacanan, was generally positively received and that while there were questions and commentaries, they were not so serious as “to throw out or render unviable any single part of the Annex.”
She said the signing “dispelled the doubts that a comprehensive agreement between the Philippine government and the MILF in our lifetime, under this administration, in 2013, can be done.” Ferrer acknowledged that the path to the two other annexes “is strewn with various types of landmines.”
“But through their grievous deeds, these entrepreneurs of violence and mayhem have only succeeded in isolating themselves from the rest of the people. Bombings, sniping, and various forms of indiscriminate attacks on civilian populations and objects such as bridges have no place in the moral order that we are instituting in our country and our communities.” “In this round, we will prove that we have not been waylaid by these groups’ destructive, desperate ways,” she said.
Iqbal said the answer to the spoilers is to “finish the remaining issues and sign the comprehensive peace agreement.” “Once the agreement is sealed, it would be very difficult for them to destroy it,” he said. Iqbal paid tribute to the MILF and GPH negotiators who had passed away in the last 16 years of the peace process and those who had fallen ill. He mentioned some names in his opening statement.
“Why I am making this narrative? It is simple! I just wanted to stress the need to finish this process soon. Any further delay is not only taking a toll on the very people whose lives are heavily invested in the peace process but more seriously, the various spoilers and enemies of peace are given the chance to spread their venom and to jump on our failures to stop dead the peace process on track. It appears nowadays that there is a conspiracy of all these anti-peace forces against us. This comes in various forms and uses diverse tactics to advance their evil agenda,” he said.
Signing the comprehensive agreement, he said, will not only stop the spoilers on their track but also strengthen the partnership between GPH and MILF so they can “proceed to consolidate the gains of the peace process and strengthen the Bangsamoro Transition Commission and Bangsamoro Transition and set up the Bangsamoro government by 2016. Once the Bangsamoro is set up, “the problems that we are encountering now will gradually be eased out and those still opposing or fighting the government will be deprived of legitimacy and of popular support.”
Iqbal said that as soon as the annex on power-sharing is settled, “we can pour all our remaining stamina on normalization, an issue that is not too difficult to overcome by willing and committed peace partners.
Ferrer said the President has repeatedly expressed his commitment to ensure the roadmap to get the Bangsamoro set up by June 30, 2016 is followed. She said the panels will do their share by completing the last annexes.
“Let us show that we are ready to put to sleep the infamous devil in the details and awaken the angel of creativity and compromise,” she said.
She said she knows there will be more challenges ahead and that “in fact, things might still get worse before things get better “ as this has been the experience in most post-conflict settings. “
This is my objective view, not a pessimistic stance. But it is an appraisal that is imbued with the determination that we shall overcome,” she said as quoted by MindaNews.
On August 23rd, Mindanews also quoted House Deputy Speaker Pangalian Balindong and two other Mindanawon representatives sent here by Speaker Feliciano Belmonte to sit as observers in the GPH-MILF peace talks are hoping that the remaining annexes on power-sharing and normalization would be signed soon so that the Bangsamoro Basic Law can be “finished as soon as possible.”
“We will try to do our best to craft this law. We need this. We want peace as soon as possible,” Balindong, representative of the 2nd district of Lanao del Sur told MindaNews after the opening rites at the Palace of the Golden Horses on Thursday.
Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said they “want the two annexes finished this month or next month” so that the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) can draft the Bangsamoro Basic Law and submit to Congress by December.
“We will have to fast-track this,” Rodriguez told MindaNews on Friday morning.
He said Congress can act on the draft law from January to March, before Congress goes on break.
“We want to have peace in Mindanao. We have to hurry up,” said Rodriguez.
OBSERVERS FROM CONGRESS. House Deputy Speaker Pangalian Balindong (right) with Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez (left) and North Cotabato Rep. Jesus Sacdalan are in Kuala Lumpur as observers in the GPH-MILF peace talks. (Photo by MindaNews)) Not in the picture is Rep. Jim Hataman.
He said Speaker Belmonte sent him, Deputy Speaker Balindong and North Cotabato Rep. Jesus Sacdalan to observe the talks.
Rodriguez said coming here is “very good” as it gave them an opportunity, among others, to see the basic text of the annexes, the positions of the parties, which issues “need more consensus” and whether the provisions conform with the Constitution.
http://www.luwaran.com/index.php/welcome/item/520-gph-milf-39th-exploratory-talks-underway-in-kuala-lumpur-observers-attending
This is the first time in the 16-year history of the peace talks between the Philippine government (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) that observers from various sectors are represented. “We are also joined in today’s Opening Ceremony by an unprecedented number of observers – a glowing affirmation that we need the whole village to build peace,” GPH peace panel chair Prof. Miriam Coronel-Ferrer said as reported by MindaNews..
It is the first time since 2001 that civil society representatives from Mindanao are attending the GPH-MILF peace talks in Kuala Lumpur as observers.
OBSERVERS. Representatives from Congress, Mindanao civil society and the Bangsamoro Transition Commission are in Kuala Lumpur as observers in the GPH-MILF peace talks that resumed Thursday: From left, former Ambassador Akmad Sakkam and Johaira Wahab of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission, Mary Ann Arnado of Mindanao Peoples Caucus, Dean Talib Benito of the Transition Commission and Salic Ibrahim of C-CARE (Photo by MindaNews).
Deputy Speaker Pangalian Balindong of Lanao del Sur and Reps. Rufus Rodriguez of Cagayan de Oro City, Jim Hataman of Basilan and Jesus Sacdalan of North Cotabato are also present. Rep. Sacdalan arrived at noon on the opening day.
The panels are negotiating the last of two annexes on power-sharing and normalization that would complete the comprehensive peace pact. The parties signed the annex on transitional arrangements and modalities on February 27 and the annex on wealth-sharing on July 14, MindaNews also reported.
Deputy Speaker Pangalian Balindong of Lanao del Sur and Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez attended the closed-door opening rites along with five members of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) and three representatives from Mindanao’s civil society — Patricia Sarenas, chair of the Mindanao Coalition of Development NGO Networks (Mincode); Mary Ann Arnado, secretary general of the Mindanao Peoples Caucus; and Salic Ibrahim, chair of the Citizens Coalition for ARMM Electoral Reforms, Inc.
The BTC members who attended the opening rites are former Ambassador Akmad Sakkam; Johair Wahab, former chief legal counsel of the GPH peace panel; Froilyn Mendoza, aTeduray who co-founded the Téduray Lambangian Women’s Organization, Inc. (TLWOI); Talib Benito, Dean of the King Faisal Center for Islamic, Arabic and Asian Studies at the Mindanao State University in Marawi City and former Isabela City councilor Pedrito Eisma. All five were nominated to the BTC by the GPH. The BTC is mandated to draft the Bangsamoro Basic Law that will govern the future Bangsamoro Region.
Sarenas told MindaNews at the end of the session at 10:25 a.m. that they have been allowed as well to attend the sessions of the joint technical working group on Normalization and the Special Team on power-sharing.
Sarenas quoted Malaysian Facilitator, Dato’ Tengku Abd’ Ghafar bin Mohamed, as saying civil society groups are “important people who are the bridge between the (peace) process and the people.”
In Mindanao, ARMM Governor Mujiv Hataman issued a five-paragraph statement reiterating his administration’s “all-out support to the Mindanao peace agenda.”
“We made a covenant, that we will step down in case of a peace deal – and this will always be our standing principle,” Hataman said as quoted by MindaNews.
MindaNews said in a follow-up report that, an air of optimism marked Thursday’s opening of the four-day talks between the Philippine government (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on power-sharing and normalization, with both parties looking forward to “put to sleep” what GPH peace panel chair Miriam Coronel-Ferrer describes as “the infamous devil in the details and awaken the angel of creativity and compromise.”
However, it said that sources from both parties do not expect a signing in this round of talks but are hoping that the contentious issues are resolved so they can move forward. Malaysian Facilitator, Dato’ Tengku Abd’ Ghafar bin Mohamed told MindaNews the parties are “working on the language” of the annexes and are expected to bring back the drafts their respective principals.
MILF Peace Panel Chair Mohagher Iqbal said that the last of two of four annexes “must be settled and fixed now.” When agreed and signed, it will complete the comprehensive peace agreement.
Wearing his other hat as chair of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC), Iqbal appealed to the GPH and MILF to “fast-track their negotiation and, without delay, sign the remaining two annexes and finally the comprehensive peace agreement.”
Iqbal said the BTC “cannot write the Bangsamoro Basic Law in its wholeness” unless the annexes and the comprehensive peace pact are signed.
“We cannot afford to delay the completion of the peace process. We must act now before it is too late,” Iqbal said in his statement at the opening rites held behind closed doors.
Ferrer said the signing of the Annex on Wealth-Sharing on July 13, the toughest round since the parties signed the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) on October 15, 2012 in Malacanan, was generally positively received and that while there were questions and commentaries, they were not so serious as “to throw out or render unviable any single part of the Annex.”
She said the signing “dispelled the doubts that a comprehensive agreement between the Philippine government and the MILF in our lifetime, under this administration, in 2013, can be done.” Ferrer acknowledged that the path to the two other annexes “is strewn with various types of landmines.”
“But through their grievous deeds, these entrepreneurs of violence and mayhem have only succeeded in isolating themselves from the rest of the people. Bombings, sniping, and various forms of indiscriminate attacks on civilian populations and objects such as bridges have no place in the moral order that we are instituting in our country and our communities.” “In this round, we will prove that we have not been waylaid by these groups’ destructive, desperate ways,” she said.
Iqbal said the answer to the spoilers is to “finish the remaining issues and sign the comprehensive peace agreement.” “Once the agreement is sealed, it would be very difficult for them to destroy it,” he said. Iqbal paid tribute to the MILF and GPH negotiators who had passed away in the last 16 years of the peace process and those who had fallen ill. He mentioned some names in his opening statement.
“Why I am making this narrative? It is simple! I just wanted to stress the need to finish this process soon. Any further delay is not only taking a toll on the very people whose lives are heavily invested in the peace process but more seriously, the various spoilers and enemies of peace are given the chance to spread their venom and to jump on our failures to stop dead the peace process on track. It appears nowadays that there is a conspiracy of all these anti-peace forces against us. This comes in various forms and uses diverse tactics to advance their evil agenda,” he said.
Signing the comprehensive agreement, he said, will not only stop the spoilers on their track but also strengthen the partnership between GPH and MILF so they can “proceed to consolidate the gains of the peace process and strengthen the Bangsamoro Transition Commission and Bangsamoro Transition and set up the Bangsamoro government by 2016. Once the Bangsamoro is set up, “the problems that we are encountering now will gradually be eased out and those still opposing or fighting the government will be deprived of legitimacy and of popular support.”
Iqbal said that as soon as the annex on power-sharing is settled, “we can pour all our remaining stamina on normalization, an issue that is not too difficult to overcome by willing and committed peace partners.
Ferrer said the President has repeatedly expressed his commitment to ensure the roadmap to get the Bangsamoro set up by June 30, 2016 is followed. She said the panels will do their share by completing the last annexes.
“Let us show that we are ready to put to sleep the infamous devil in the details and awaken the angel of creativity and compromise,” she said.
She said she knows there will be more challenges ahead and that “in fact, things might still get worse before things get better “ as this has been the experience in most post-conflict settings. “
This is my objective view, not a pessimistic stance. But it is an appraisal that is imbued with the determination that we shall overcome,” she said as quoted by MindaNews.
On August 23rd, Mindanews also quoted House Deputy Speaker Pangalian Balindong and two other Mindanawon representatives sent here by Speaker Feliciano Belmonte to sit as observers in the GPH-MILF peace talks are hoping that the remaining annexes on power-sharing and normalization would be signed soon so that the Bangsamoro Basic Law can be “finished as soon as possible.”
“We will try to do our best to craft this law. We need this. We want peace as soon as possible,” Balindong, representative of the 2nd district of Lanao del Sur told MindaNews after the opening rites at the Palace of the Golden Horses on Thursday.
Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said they “want the two annexes finished this month or next month” so that the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) can draft the Bangsamoro Basic Law and submit to Congress by December.
“We will have to fast-track this,” Rodriguez told MindaNews on Friday morning.
He said Congress can act on the draft law from January to March, before Congress goes on break.
“We want to have peace in Mindanao. We have to hurry up,” said Rodriguez.
OBSERVERS FROM CONGRESS. House Deputy Speaker Pangalian Balindong (right) with Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez (left) and North Cotabato Rep. Jesus Sacdalan are in Kuala Lumpur as observers in the GPH-MILF peace talks. (Photo by MindaNews)) Not in the picture is Rep. Jim Hataman.
He said Speaker Belmonte sent him, Deputy Speaker Balindong and North Cotabato Rep. Jesus Sacdalan to observe the talks.
Rodriguez said coming here is “very good” as it gave them an opportunity, among others, to see the basic text of the annexes, the positions of the parties, which issues “need more consensus” and whether the provisions conform with the Constitution.
http://www.luwaran.com/index.php/welcome/item/520-gph-milf-39th-exploratory-talks-underway-in-kuala-lumpur-observers-attending
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