| Southeast Asia |
| Philippines reaches deal with MILF |
| 2007-11-16 |
| The Philippine government reached an agreement Thursday with the main Islamic separatist group there on carving out boundaries for a Muslim homeland in the south. For years, Philippine officials have held glacially paced talks with the separatist group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, about the extent of a territory that would fall under Muslim control in Mindanao, an impoverished region that has been the scene of an insurrection for decades. In recent years the talks have focused on the control Muslims would wield over natural resources in Mindanao's mineral-rich but economically backward areas. The Philippine and U.S. governments hope an agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front could transform its vast rural strongholds in Mindanao into hubs of economic growth instead of conflict zones that could harbor terrorists. Military officials have often accused the front of giving sanctuary to members of two terrorist groups, the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah, but the front has denied any links. "Demarcation has been agreed," Rodolfo Garcia, the chief Philippine government negotiator, told reporters at the end of two days of talks with Moro Islamic Liberation Front officials in Kuala Lumpur. "It is one significant breakthrough we have achieved here." The two sides still have to craft the exact text of the agreement next month and sign the deal, most likely in January, Garcia said. Othman Abdul Razak, the top Malaysian government facilitator, said Wednesday that another round of exploratory talks was likely in mid-December before a possible resumption of full-fledged negotiations early next year. Demarcation of land has been the biggest hurdle in efforts to forge a peace treaty that would replace a fragile 2003 cease-fire between the Philippine authorities and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in Mindanao. The Philippines is primarily a Roman Catholic nation, and its Muslims are concentrated in Mindanao. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which the military says has 11,000 fighters, is the largest group battling for self-rule there. |
| Link |
| Southeast Asia | ||||
| Philippines close to | ||||
| 2006-02-07 | ||||
| KUALA LUMPUR - Muslim rebels and the Philippine government are close to a deal on land claims, the key to ending a 40-year insurgency that has cost more than 120,000 lives, the facilitator of the talks said on Tuesday. Negotiators from Manila and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), now in Malaysia for talks, are putting final touches on a preliminary agreement on the issue, Othman Abdul Razak, special adviser to Malaysias prime minister, told Reuters. We are quite optimistic. Everyone is quite optimistic. There is a groundswell in support of the peace process, especially from the Muslims, said Othman, who is facilitating the talks on behalf of Malaysia, seen by both sides as a neutral party.
If everything goes on smoothly, we can have it probably before Ramadan, said Othman, a strategic adviser to successive prime ministers and a top bureaucrat with 33 years experience. Mainly Muslim Malaysia has been hosting talks between Manila and the MILF, the largest of four Muslim rebel groups in the mainly Roman Catholic country, since March 2001. The 12,000-strong MILF has been fighting for an independent Islamic state in the impoverished but mineral rich southern island of Mindanao. The conflict has stunted the islands development and hurt the nations overall investment climate. In Manila, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said in a statement the peace process with the MILF was an essential part of
So far, international support has been very limited. Only Malaysia, Brunei and Libya have deployed a team overseeing the ceasefire on Mindanao. Othman said there should also be offers from other countries to help develop infrastructure, train manpower and create jobs. We are appealing to the international community to lend support in capacity-building before the final agreement. We need it now, he said. What will the MILFs guerrillas do if peace breaks out? In peacetime, what do you do with the fighters? You have to make them become economically useful citizens. Otherwise, they become criminals. Thats the danger.
Othman played down concerns about alleged MILF links to groups such as Jemaah Islamiah, the Southeast Asian militant Islamic network blamed for a string of deadly bombings in Indonesia. Theres always been concerns about the existence of terrorists in the midst of MILF, he said. I think this is much exaggerated. MILF is aware that JI will not serve their interest. It will only derail their struggle, their objectives, what they been struggling for 40 years.
| ||||
| Link |