KUALA LUMPUR, (Bernama / September 3, 2008) - The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) said Wednesday the dissolution of the Philippine government's panel on the Mindanao peace talks has little bearing on the ancestral domain agreement as the group considers it a done deal.
A senior member of the MILF peace talks panel, Datu Micheal Mastura, said the document, which was supposed to be signed last month, was now known as an agreed text as both the MILF and the Philippine government had initialled it.
"Our position on this is very clear that it's a done deal. Under the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, there's a provision which states that status of initialing is as good as signature. But whether they comply with it or not is a different story," he told Bernama when contacted in Mindanao.
He said this when asked whether Manila's decision to dissolve its panel and end peace talks with the group would affect the agreement which had yet to be formally signed pending decision from the Philippine Supreme Court.
A news report today quoted Philippine presidential spokesman Jesus Dureza as saying that Manila had dissolved its panel and ended the 11-year peace talks following attacks on communities on the southern island of Mindanao last month by rogue MILF members, killing civilians and burning property.
However, Mastura said they were still awaiting official notice from the peace talks secretariat in Kuala Lumpur about the dissolution as "there are often too many confusing statements coming from various parties in Manila", before considering the group's next course of action.
"We have expected this and we have our contingency plan. We will deliberate on it once we receive the official communication from Malaysia. But if they are indeed dissolving the panel, then there will be other implications.
"Number one, to whom will the IMT (International Monitoring Team) make its report as the procedure is the IMT reports to both peace talks panels.
"Number two, the relevant agencies and committees will collapse, not to mention violence will escalate," said the former congressman.
On July 27,Manila and the MILF reached a compromise on the ancestral domain aspect, which was considered the most contentious issue in the peace process between the two parties.
The final aspect in the Tripoli Agreement was scheduled to be inked on Aug 5 in Putrajaya but was postponed after the Philippine Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order against the signing.
The agreement would create an ancestral homeland for four million Muslims in the region, but it was reported that some Catholic politicians, including President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's allies, opposed to it.
Since then, numerous violent incidents have been reported in the volatile territory of southern Philippines as the Malaysia-led IMT prepared to leave the region.
However, last week, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said the IMT would stay for a short period while waiting for the Supreme Court's decision on the ancestral domain agreement.
The IMT, which has been charged with peace-keeping in the region for the past four years, was supposed to end its stint on Aug 31.
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