Rebels Bare Rehab Plan For Mindanao

MILF supporters gather at a plenum in Mindanao. (Zamboanga Journal)

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Zamboanga Journal / 09 Jan) Separatist Muslim rebels negotiating peace with Manila bared Monday a comprehensive program to help the government rehabilitate and develop war-torn areas in Mindanao once a peace deal is signed this year.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) said it 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 as a business hub or gateway to Southeast Asia.

"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," Eid Kabalu, a rebel spokesman, said of the MILF plan.

Kabalu said the Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA), put up jointly by the MILF and the government in 2002, will oversee the whole implementation of the ambitious plan, aside from the rehabilitation, humanitarian and development projects in the conflict-affected areas.

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 North Borneo.

And these are only some of what the rebels will undertake once the MILF and government peace negotiators finally sign a formal agreement. Both sides were negotiating since 2001 in Malaysia, which is brokering the talks, and rebel and government leaders are optimistic that they can soon seal a final peace accord.

The MILF has been fighting the government the past three decades for the establishment of a strict Islamic state in Mindanao.

Peace talks are scheduled to resume this month in Kuala Lumpur , Kabalu said.

"We are ready and prepared for the resumption of the peace talks. We are expecting that both panels shall be able to consolidate all previous interim agreements, and then after some 'fine tuning' then they shall be able to arrive at a consensus and put it into compact agreement and eventually signed," he said.

Mohagher Iqbal, MILF chief peace negotiator, also 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," Iqbal 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 countries, including the European Union, have pledged to help in the development of Mindanao once the peace agreement is signed, Kabalu said.

"Many donor countries, like the United States, Japan, Australia and Canada, and the European Union and Muslim countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Libya and Malaysia, have pledged to help once the peace agreement is finally signed between the MILF and the Arroyo government. We will appreciate all foreign assistance to Mindanao for the future of the Bangsamoro people," Kabalu said.

He said all assistance intended for the development of the conflict affected areas in the region would be taken care by the BDA being the authorized agency to identify, lead and manage the same as provided in the agreement signed by both the MILF and the Arroyo government.

"It is the BDA which has the authority to spend resources intended for the conflict affected areas either for infrastructure projects or otherwise and other than stability in the region, the economic well being of the country is expected to take off once the conflict in Mindanao shall find comprehensive just, fair and acceptable solution," Kabalu said.

Presidential peace adviser Jesus Dureza said the government will tap the Mindanao Trust Fund for the implementation of various development projects in the region once the peace agreement is signed.

The fund, he said, has been set up by the Arroyo government, the World Bank and international donor countries to help in rehabilitating Mindanao. He said donor countries are eager to start the development of Mindanao.

Manila opened peace negotiations with the MILF, the country's largest separatist Muslim rebel group, in 2001 in an effort to end the bloody fighting and develop Mindanao.

Many Arab countries, including the influential Organization of Islamic Conference and the World Muslim League are strongly supporting the peace process, and even President George W. Bush offered as much as $30 million in financial assistance to help develop Mindanao should the MILF seal a peace agreement with Manila. The money would be used to help the rebels get back to the mainstream of society.

President Arroyo previously 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 said that a peace agreement with Manila would further strengthen the government's anti-terrorism campaign in Mindanao, where security forces and rebels have joined to hunt down Jemaah Islamiya and Abu Sayyaf militants.

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.

Last year, the United Nations Development Programme and the European Commission have agreed to implement an 18-month rehabilitation project benefiting people displaced by armed conflicts in Mindanao, particularly in the provinces most hit by the fighting and destruction.

The project was aimed at addressing the rehabilitation and resettlement requirements of displaced families by providing basic services, including enhancing their capacity for earning a living and improved infrastructures. The implementation of the project is preceded by a needs assessment survey conducted by the World Bank.