PHILIPPINES OFFER MILF AUTONOMY

Annabelle T. Abaya, the presidential adviser on the peace process

The Filipino government has agreed to offer expanded autonomy to the Muslim minority in the country's south.
Officials hope the move will pave the way for sealing a peace deal aimed at ending the 40-year-long conflict in the region with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

• Annabelle Abaya, the presidential adviser on the peace process, was hoping that the offer would convince the MILF to sign a peace accord before a new president is sworn in on June 30.
• "In enhanced autonomy, the president is offering to share powers," Abaya told reporters on Monday.
• The autonomy allows the Muslim minority to control tax collection and natural resources in the south.
• The government's overture was made during talks in Malaysia last week, where both the MILF and government representatives sat down for formal peace talks.
• The MILF claimed that the government "had nothing new to offer" and as a result found the latest round of negotiations pointless.
• However, the MILF confirmed that peace talks were to resume in Kuala Lumpur on February 18.
• The conflict in the south intensified in 2008. The fighting displaced over 700,000 people and left nearly 400 others dead.

Source: The Agencies