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Friday, July 15, 2005
Moro rebels' lawyer warns Arroyo ouster to disrupt talks
By Ryan Rosauro
Ozamiz correspondent
MARAWI CITY -- An ouster of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo from power will set back the peace process between the government and Muslim secessionists in Mindanao, a lawyer for the rebels said.
Speaking before a news conference at the Ayala Resort Hotel here, lawyer Alex Macalawi, a legal counsel for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), said any "untimely changes in the national leadership" will seriously impact the peace negotiations in terms of momentum and direction.
The government and the MILF are in the thick of talks for a final peace deal.
The MILF, which broke away from the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in the late 70s, seeks to establish an Islamic state in Mindanao. The MNLF concluded a final peace deal in 1996.
According to Macalawi, the negotiation is going smoothly and there are high hopes it will eventually see the imprimatur of both sides in the near future.
"Every time there is a new leader in the country, the mood of the peace efforts by government also changes," Macalawi noted.
Macalawi, who is among the Maranao leaders urging Arroyo to hold on power, said a final peace deal will be among the first casualty in the event Arroyo is forced out of office.
If the peace deal is aborted, according to him, restarting it would bring it back to square one and it will take time before it again establishes momentum.
Macalawi credited Arroyo for launching "an aggressive peace effort" with the MILF since she assumed power in 2001.
Another potential casualty in the event of an Arroyo ouster is the impending election in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, he added.
According to Alinog Disamburun, president of the barangay councils federation here, the scenarios are bleak for the Muslim communities with the ouster of Arroyo "given her track record of concern for them."
"It is our aim to let her know we are solid for her so that her attention will not focus on the noise in Manila," he said.
"We can't allow a few thousands of people in Luzon to decide the fate of the nation (through the ouster of Arroyo)," Disamburun said.
(July 15, 2005 issue)
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