PHILIPPINES GOVERNMENT PEACE TALKS WITH MORO REACH AN IMPASSE
MANILA, Philippines - Representatives from the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) abruptly ended their latest round of talks in Kuala Lumpur after the rebel group rejected Manila's peace proposal.
"We are keeping our framework, but we will see if there are ways we can keep on talking," government chief negotiator Dean Marvic Leonen told GMA News.
"We will meet again," he added.
At the start of what was supposed to be a three-day formal talks, government negotiators submitted to the MILF a "three for one" peace proposal which involves "three important components for one solution to the Bangsamoro problem".- The components include: a political settlement or a peace accord with the MILF, massive economic development in Mindanao, and cultural-historical acknowledgement.
- Representatives from the MILF, however, insisted on the formation of a sub-state for minority Muslims and the allocation of two Senate seats for Filipino-Muslims, which the government panel insisted require an amendment of the Philippine Constitution.
The MILF's sub-state proposal calls for the setting up of a federal-type of government in the autonomous region which will have its own legislative body, courts, police, and security services, sources said.- MILF vice-chairman Ghadzali Ja'afar said the government proposal "does not address the real issues."
- "We want to first address the political issue," he said. "This is a political problem, not an economic problem. We are not talking here about economic reforms, which are nothing if they are not given a political solution."
The MILF earlier gave up their demand for a separate state and said they were willing to work with the government on protecting Muslims' rights in the predominantly Roman Catholic nation.
Earlier, the Philippine government has proposed a sharing of revenues between the national government and the autonomous region.
Source: Gulfnews
MORO FREEDOM FIGHTERS TO BEGIN TALKS IN MALAYSIA
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Negotiators for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Philippine government are slated to begin their three-day meeting on Monday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
High on the agenda is the Aquino administration's counter proposal which was drafted in response to the rebel group's draft proposal that was handed over to President Benigno Aquino when he met MILF chairman Murad Ebrahim in Japan several weeks ago.
"The Government of the Philippines (GPH)” Panel will present its proposal to the MILF on the first day of the talks. This proposal is the position of the government, guided solely by national interest and based on our consultations with the different stakeholders in the Mindanao peace process," said Dean Marvic Leonen, chief negotiator of the Philippine government.- It took more than a decade for the government and the MILF to reach this phase of the talks since a ceasefire agreement was signed by the two sides.
AQUINO PLANS TO END MANILA CONFLICT WITH MORO?
Manila: President Benigno Aquino III's government has bared its dream to end the Moro separatist conflict in the south, which at the onset, does not appear to be much different from the tack taken by the Arroyo administration.During the formal turnover ceremonies in suburban Pasig City of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP), newly appointed Secretary Teresita Deles presented a four-point peace agenda to end the four-decade old southern Philippines' conflict between government forces and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
She identified these four areas as:
- The delivery of basic services to communities affected by the conflict, with particular emphasis on education and health;
- The economic reconstruction and sustainable development in the region, wherein
- The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) is an integral part; security with stress placed on disbanding private armies
- Good governance.
Deles assumed the post as Aquino III's peace adviser taking over from outgoing secretary Annabelle Abaya.Not surprisingly, Deles's strategy is not much different from that taken by the OPAPP under Abaya. This is partly because it had been Deles who was chief architect of the peace strategy taken by then president Gloria Arroyo.
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).
Source: The Agencies
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.
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