MAGUINDANAO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / June 6, 2008) – Muslim rebels negotiating peace with Manila warned Friday that a fragile truce they signed with the government could be in peril once the remaining international truce observers pull out in the strife-torn region of Mindanao.
Dozens of Malaysian cease-fire observers, part of the International Monitoring Team (IMT), have already pulled out from Mindanao last month because of the slow progress of the peace talks between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Arroyo government.
Malaysia has blamed the Philippine government for stalling the peace talks aimed at ending more than three decades of Muslim insurgency.
“The mandate of the Malaysian-led IMT will end on August 31, unless it is renewed and we are afraid the cease-fire agreement may be violated again by the Philippine military and fighting could erupt that would endanger the peace process ,” Mohagher Iqbal, chief MILF peace negotiator, told the Mindanao Examiner.
Sporadic fighting between soldiers and rebels broke out last month in Basilan province shortly after Malaysia pulled out its truce observers. The MILF accused the military of attacking rebels working on a farm, triggering days of sporadic clashes, but security officials denied this and said guerillas fired on patrolling soldiers.
The MILF has repeatedly warned security forces to stay away from anywhere near rebel camps and soldiers had been reported encroaching in those areas and sparking sporadic clashes.
Iqbal has accused the Arroyo government of delaying the peace talks after negotiations were stalled last year over demands for Muslim ancestral domain.
Rebel leaders said the ancestral domain is the single most important issue in the peace negotiations before they can reach a political settlement and with the talks stalled; the hope of ending more than three decades of bloody hostilities remains dim.
Manila said the provisions of the peace agreement should be within the framework of the Constitution. Government negotiators, led by Rodolfo Garcia, had previously approved the ancestral domain only to renege on the deal later.
Iqbal said the MILF will abide by the seven-year truce accord, but warned Manila that rebels would fight to defend their rights.
“We want peace to reign, but we cannot afford to be targets of military offensives while we are negotiating for an end to hostilities in Mindanao,” he said, adding, the MILF is still optimistic that the stalled talks will resume soon.
He said the MILF will only resume negotiations if Manila would honor its commitment to grant Muslims their ancestral lands in the southern Philippines.
More than four Muslims and over 17 million Christians and indigenous tribes make the population in Mindanao, the country’s second largest island rich in minerals and natural resources.
“All we ask the Philippine government is to honor its commitment to the peace process and respect the rights of the Muslims in the country,” Iqbal said.
The MILF, an army of more than 12,000 mujahideen, boasts of millions of supporters in the Philippines’ dangerous south, where the government is battling communist insurgency and terrorism.
Murad Ebrahim, the secluded leader of the MILF, said Manila is to be blamed should the peace talks collapse.
“If the peace process fails as a result of the government’s dilly-dallying and spoiling, we are left with no choice, but to seek other means of achieving our objective. Should that happen the government is to blame for failing to settle the conflict through diplomatic means,” he said.
The MILF previously appealed to rebels and supporters for patience as the talks stalled over demands for a separate Muslim homeland.
“The Philippine Government bears the responsibility to comply with its commitment to adhere to the consensus points and agreed Memorandum of Agreement draft proposal on ancestral domain. Such moves will avert the peace process from falling apart.”
“Let me reiterate to all, including the international community that the MILF leadership is very serious and fully committed to resolve the conflict between the Bangsamoro people in Mindanao and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines through the current peace process," Ebrahim said.
Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said Kuala Lumpur wanted progress in the peace process.
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim also said Kuala Lumpur will not be sending any more truce observers to Mindanao after the mandate of its current team ends. Members of the Malaysian Defense Forces had been in Mindanao since 2004.
The monitoring team is composed of 41 officers from the Malaysian Defense Forces, the Royal Malaysia Police, and the Prime Minister's Department and is also supported by 10 military officers from Brunei Darussalam and 5 from Libya. Canada and Japan have also members on the team.
Since the IMT arrived, fighting between security and rebel forces drastically decreased from 698 armed clashes in 2004 to just 7 incidents last year.
Mohammad Ameen, a senior rebel leader, said the MILF will only sign a peace deal with Arroyo government if it establishes genuine governance for Muslims either in the form of "state" or "sub-state".
President Gloria Arroyo opened up peace talks with the MILF in 2001 and signed a cease-fire agreement, but some rebel commanders see the negotiations as a strategy which is aimed at temporarily stopping the hostilities in Mindanao until her term ends in 2010 and pass on the secessionist problems to the next president. (Mindanao Examiner)
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