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COTABATO CITY, Philippines – The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on Saturday, July 7, said it was anxious about the slow pace of the current peace negotiations with the Aquino administration.
Speaking before hundreds of thousands of members and supporters at Camp Darapanan in Maguindanao, Al Haj Murad Ebrahim, MILF chair, said: “It is sad to know that the negotiations with the government is snail-paced considering that the term of Aquino is [entering its 3rd year],” Murad said.
Murad dropped hints that government is to blame for this, saying the MILF had already scaled down its demands. He said the chance of signing a peace pact dwindles day by day.
Last week, appearing on #talkthursday on Rappler, government peace panel chairman Marvic Leonen said he was “cautiously optimistic” that an agreement with the guerrilla group would be sealed soon.
The peace process gained momentum in August 2011 when President Benigno Aquino III himself met with Murad and other MILF officials in Tokyo. The ceasefire is also holding.
But both parties are deadlocked on the contentious issues involved in the creation of an autonomous entity in Muslim Mindanao. The 2013 senatorial and local elections are also near, a period that usually complicates peace negotiations.
Last April, both sides reached what was described as a breakthrough in the talks – a 10-point agreement on key principles.
Leonen has said the entity’s powers, geographical scope and wealth sharing are among the contentious issues still under negotiation.
“I think much of the difficulty in political negotiations is to determine how much detail you want to talk about in a peace agreement because the parties have to understand that … we will have to have the critical political mass both of the public and in the proper legislative chambers if necessary to pass the necessary law,” Leonen has said.
Murad acknowledged that the 10-point agreement has given MILF members reason to be optimistic.
But he warned the Aquino administration against repeating the mistakes of previous governments, which merely wanted — he said — to control the Bangsamoro people and exploit their natural resources.
Despite Murad’s fighting words, colorful buntings, flags and tents, and the ebullient music from the kulintang, contributed to the festive atmosphere of the MILF assembly. The last assembly of such kind was held in 2005.
But each fiery speech was met with a loud chorus of “Allahu Akbar!”
Other sectors
Murad said the MILF needs inputs from other sectors, including the Moro National Liberation Front, to ensure a successful peace process.
Secretary Teresita Deles, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, said the MILF’s gesture of reaching out to other sectors augurs well for the negotiations. Deles was present at the MILF assembly.
“We are confident that the end of the day there will already be an inclusion of the other sectors,” Deles said, adding that this would help in making significant progress in the peace negotiation. “With the huge number of participants in this assembly, it is proof that the people are really aspiring for peace,” Deles added.
Cradling his M-16 rifle, an MILF fighter said: “I know that it is still a long and rough road toward peace. But at least right now, I can see that the peace we are dreaming of is indeed possible,” he said. – Rappler.com
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