Peace talks with MILF doomed

No sub-state, no deal – Ibrahim

ZAMBOANGA CITY: THE MORO Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) said Monday it will not sign a peace agreement with the Aquino government unless its demand for a sub-state in Mindanao is granted.

Peace negotiations between Manila and the MILF ended in Malaysia on August 24 without any agreement that would put an end to decades of bloody fighting in Mindanao. The MILF, which is fighting for self-rule, said it will pursue a sub-state in the mineral-rich but restive region in the southern Philippines.

“The MILF will not sign an agreement that will not solve the problem because even if we signed an agreement that is beneficial to us, but not acceptable to our people, then the struggle will go on. We are nothing if the Bangsamoro people will not support us,” MILF leader Murad Ibrahim said. “In our continuing massive consultations, a sub-state for the Bangsamoro people as a political settlement of the Bangsamoro struggle to regain self-governance and right to self-determination is acceptable to our people as an alternative to independence,” he added.

Ebrahim said his negotiators will not meet their government counterparts next week as planned because the two sides’ positions were too far apart.

“With this situation we feel that there is no point of discussion between the two panels,” Murad told reporters at Camp Darapanan, the MILF’s headquarters on the outskirts of Cotabato city.

Murad said the MILF will instead ask the Malaysian facilitator of the talks to meet separately with both sides in an effort to have the government alter its peace plan, which he described as an “exercise in futility”.

Government peace negotiators headed by Marvic Leonen offered an expanded autonomy in Mindanao which the MILF flatly rejected.

President Benigno Aquino 3rd earlier said the MILF’s demand for a sub-state cannot be granted because the Constitution only allows autonomy.

The MILF said the government offer was below their expectations and does not differ from the proposals of previous administrations.

Murad said the government proposal was not comprehensive, only a framework for the integration of the Muslims into the existing Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao which comprises the provinces of Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Basilan, Maguindanao and Lanao.

“Integration is opposite to the aspiration of the Bangsamoro people for self-determination and self-governance. Integration coupled with massive development will not solve the problem. If the (peace) agreement is not reflective of the real aspiration of the Bangsamoro people, then it is an exercise in futility,” Ibrahim said.

Mohagher Iqbal, chief MILF peace negotiator, said the government proposal will not solve the problems in Mindanao.

“The government draft is not solving the Moro question and the armed conflict in Mindanao, but it is a formula to prolong it,” Iqbal said. “The government peace panel’s draft is way below the MILF expectation. The MILF peace panel thought that the Aquino administration had a better formula than the previous administrations in addressing the Moro question and armed conflict in Mindanao.”

“The unbridled domination of the Philippine government over the Moros through the unitary setup of government is not only maintained but reenergized and practically, the draft derogated all signed agreements or documents including the historic Tripoli Agreement of Peace of 2001,” Iqbal said, adding the government proposal has “no meeting point” with the MILF peace draft.

Leonen said the government proposal which he called a “3 for 1” approach was different from the MILF’s comprehensive compact. He said “3 for 1” stands for three components for one single solution to the problem of Bangsamoro.

He said the “3 for 1” proposal was the result of the government peace panel’s extensive consultations with different stakeholders in the peace process.

“It seeks not only to provide a just and lasting peace to the troubled south but more so to improve and uplift the lives of the people who have long suffered from the brutality of decades-long armed conflict. It is a principled, realistic and practical proposal,” Leonen said at the closing ceremony of the peace talks in Kuala Lumpur.

‘ He explained that heir proposal include massive economic development, political settlement with the MILF, and cultural-historical acknowledgment. –AL JACINTO CORRESPONDENT, Manila Times