Friday, December 08, 2006 Road to peace full of twists: Moro group
THE Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is anticipating a "road that is full of twists and turns" amid hard bargaining on the talks with the government.
MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal said the December 1 "question and answer session" with the government peace panel in Kuala Lumpur did not achieve much to break the impasse.
He said they are "still glued to the four strands of ancestral domain especially territory."
The other strands of ancestral domain are concept, resources, and governance, which the government and MILF peace negotiators have succeeded to sign at least 29 pertinent consensus points.
Iqbal said the government has not yet presented a proposal good enough to interest or be accepted by the MILF.
"The MILF wants more or less contiguous, viable, and wide enough territory to sustain the proposed Bangsamoro Juridical Entity or State," Iqbal said.
He, however, described the latest meeting in Kuala Lumpur as very important for the peace process as the two parties have full grasp of the other party's position, framework, and thinking.
Both the MILF and the government refused to call this meeting as exploratory talks or back-channeling talks.
A member of the MILF negotiating team, who requested anonymity, described the recent meeting as very cordial, friendly, and issue focused. (BOT)
