DAVAO CITY (Zamboanga Journal / 06 Feb) Government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) peace negotiators are to resume formal talks in Malaysia with both sides optimistic about signing fresh agreements that would end more than three decades of bloody fighting in the strife-torn Mindanao island.
Peace talks are scheduled to begin this week in Kuala Lumpur, which is brokering the negotiations and the MILF said it hopes to sign a deal that will hasten the negotiations.
"We expect to consolidate previous issues and concerns about the ancestral domain and then put everything into one compact agreement and if Allah is willing, then a political settlement to the decades-old problems of Muslims in Mindanao will finally be realized," Eid Kabalu, a rebel spokesman, told the Zamboanga Journal.
Secy. Jesus Dureza, presidential adviser on the peace process, also expressed optimism and said that any new agreements between government and rebel negotiators will further strengthen efforts to end the Muslim insurgency in the southern Philippines.
"We feel confident and optimistic every time the peace talks resume. We pray for the success of the peace talks," Dureza said.
The talks resume barely a week after fierce fighting between security and MILF forces broke out in Maguindanao province that left more than a dozen people dead.
Both sides said the clashes were isolated and would not affect the peace negotiations and soldiers and rebels had agreed to a truce after more than 20,000 people fled their homes in Datu Unsay town for fear the fighting would escalate into a bigger battle.
The MILF accused the soldiers of encroaching into their strongholds, but the military said MILF forces attacked a group of government militias guarding the town, sparking clashes.
Last month, the MILF bared a comprehensive plan to help the government -- once a peace agreement is signed -- in the rehabilitation and development of war-torn areas in Mindanao.
Kabalu said they would strengthen the agricultural industry and work closely with tourism operators in an effort to attract more local and foreign visitors, and boost trade activities by promoting the mineral-rich region.
"We have a comprehensive program to help the government rehabilitate and develop the region. We will prioritize the agricultural industry because Mindanao is the country's food basket, and then promote tourism and trade aggressively to attract not only visitors, but foreign and local investors as well," he said.
Kabalu said the Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA), put up by the MILF and the government in 2002, will oversee the whole implementation of the ambitious plan.
It was the first time the MILF has spoken about its plan that eventually would benefit Mindanao, the country's second largest island previously under the Sultanate of Sulu and Borneo.
And these are only some of what the rebels will undertake once the MILF and government peace negotiators signed a formal agreement, he said.
Mania opened peace talks in 2001 with the MILF which is fighting the government for the establishment of a strict Islamic state in Mindanao.
Mohagher Iqbal, MILF chief peace negotiator, previously said his group is hoping to sign a comprehensive agreement with the government and finally put an end to the hostilities in Mindanao. "The prospect of peace has become more realistic this year as the two parties, despite some controversies, are zeroing in on a negotiated political settlement as the only civilized and practical solution to end this conflict," he said.
In September, government and rebel peace negotiators have signed several agreements centered on the ancestral domain -- its concept, territories and resources, and how the MILF shall govern these places.
Ancestral domain refers to the MILF demand for territory that will constitute a Muslim homeland. It is the single most important issue in the peace negotiations before the rebel group can reach a political settlement.
Many Muslim countries, including the United States and the European Union, Canada and Australia have pledged to help in the development of Mindanao once the peace agreement is signed.
President Arroyo said that 80 percent of the peace talks have been completed and that peace in Mindanao is within reach and MILF chieftain Murad Ebrahim has said that his group is sincere in the talks and is willing to end the war in Mindanao.
The MILF split in 1978 from the larger Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) which signed a peace deal with Manila in September 1996, but many of its members were disgruntled with the accord and had joined either the MILF or the Abu Sayyaf and renewed hostilities against the government.
Peace talks are scheduled to begin this week in Kuala Lumpur, which is brokering the negotiations and the MILF said it hopes to sign a deal that will hasten the negotiations.
"We expect to consolidate previous issues and concerns about the ancestral domain and then put everything into one compact agreement and if Allah is willing, then a political settlement to the decades-old problems of Muslims in Mindanao will finally be realized," Eid Kabalu, a rebel spokesman, told the Zamboanga Journal.
Secy. Jesus Dureza, presidential adviser on the peace process, also expressed optimism and said that any new agreements between government and rebel negotiators will further strengthen efforts to end the Muslim insurgency in the southern Philippines.
"We feel confident and optimistic every time the peace talks resume. We pray for the success of the peace talks," Dureza said.
The talks resume barely a week after fierce fighting between security and MILF forces broke out in Maguindanao province that left more than a dozen people dead.
Both sides said the clashes were isolated and would not affect the peace negotiations and soldiers and rebels had agreed to a truce after more than 20,000 people fled their homes in Datu Unsay town for fear the fighting would escalate into a bigger battle.
The MILF accused the soldiers of encroaching into their strongholds, but the military said MILF forces attacked a group of government militias guarding the town, sparking clashes.
Last month, the MILF bared a comprehensive plan to help the government -- once a peace agreement is signed -- in the rehabilitation and development of war-torn areas in Mindanao.
Kabalu said they would strengthen the agricultural industry and work closely with tourism operators in an effort to attract more local and foreign visitors, and boost trade activities by promoting the mineral-rich region.
"We have a comprehensive program to help the government rehabilitate and develop the region. We will prioritize the agricultural industry because Mindanao is the country's food basket, and then promote tourism and trade aggressively to attract not only visitors, but foreign and local investors as well," he said.
Kabalu said the Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA), put up by the MILF and the government in 2002, will oversee the whole implementation of the ambitious plan.
It was the first time the MILF has spoken about its plan that eventually would benefit Mindanao, the country's second largest island previously under the Sultanate of Sulu and Borneo.
And these are only some of what the rebels will undertake once the MILF and government peace negotiators signed a formal agreement, he said.
Mania opened peace talks in 2001 with the MILF which is fighting the government for the establishment of a strict Islamic state in Mindanao.
Mohagher Iqbal, MILF chief peace negotiator, previously said his group is hoping to sign a comprehensive agreement with the government and finally put an end to the hostilities in Mindanao. "The prospect of peace has become more realistic this year as the two parties, despite some controversies, are zeroing in on a negotiated political settlement as the only civilized and practical solution to end this conflict," he said.
In September, government and rebel peace negotiators have signed several agreements centered on the ancestral domain -- its concept, territories and resources, and how the MILF shall govern these places.
Ancestral domain refers to the MILF demand for territory that will constitute a Muslim homeland. It is the single most important issue in the peace negotiations before the rebel group can reach a political settlement.
Many Muslim countries, including the United States and the European Union, Canada and Australia have pledged to help in the development of Mindanao once the peace agreement is signed.
President Arroyo said that 80 percent of the peace talks have been completed and that peace in Mindanao is within reach and MILF chieftain Murad Ebrahim has said that his group is sincere in the talks and is willing to end the war in Mindanao.
The MILF split in 1978 from the larger Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) which signed a peace deal with Manila in September 1996, but many of its members were disgruntled with the accord and had joined either the MILF or the Abu Sayyaf and renewed hostilities against the government.
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