MILF leader Mohagher Iqbal. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)
Mohagher Iqbal, the MILF chief peace negotiator, said they also signed two important accords prolonging the stay of international observers and the reactivation of the ad hoc joint action group, which allows rebel forces to help authorities in anti-criminality drive in areas where it is actively operating.
He said the talks ended on Thursday.
Iqbal said the MILF, which is fighting self-determination, submitted to the government peace panel its comprehensive compact which contained the proposed negotiated political solution to the Muslim problems and the armed conflict in Mindanao.
“The negotiation was tough; discussions were prolonged,” he said, adding the comprehensive compact would be deliberated in the next rounds of talks probably next month in Malaysia which is brokering the peace talks.
Iqbal also quoted Dean Marvic Leonen, Manila’s chief peace negotiator as saying that one year is a reasonable period to come to a fundamental agreement on a politically negotiated settlement.
It was the first talks in two years since President Benigno Aquino III was elected as the new Filipino leader. “I take exception to the misimpression by some quarters that the MILF is very anxious to start the negotiation immediately, imputing, without necessarily stating, that we want to start it for reasons beyond the need to really address the legitimate grievances of our people.”
“If there is urgency on our part to engage immediately, it is because we are fully aware of the situation in the field and the presence of so many powerful and well-entrenched spoilers of the peace process both in Manila and Mindanao,” Iqbal said.
He also said the Ameril Ombra Kato, a senior rebel leader, has split with the MILF but there are efforts to bring him back.
“On the part of the MILF, we have problems. Ustadz Ombra Kato is one of those problems, but the MILF leadership is still hopeful that we can manage and solve this problem; otherwise, we will tell the government, the facilitator, and the international community that he has already burned his bridges with the MILF. He is not one of us; he is not with the MILF,” he said.
Kato, a hardcore MILF leader, had led rebel forces in attacking civilian targets in Mindanao in 2008 after the failed signing of the Muslim ancestral domain which the Supreme Court ruled was illegal. The accord was initially signed by peace negotiators in Malaysia, but had been challenged by wealthy politicians and landlords who were opposed to the Muslim land deal. (Mindanao Examiner)
No comments:
Post a Comment