Saturday, October 06, 2007 Malaysia committed to peace process: RP official By Nelson C. Bagaforo
PRESIDENTIAL peace adviser Jesus Dureza Friday lashed out at reports that Malaysia is abandoning the peace process, particularly the talks between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) that it has brokered since 2003.
He said Malaysia has remained committed to the peace process even as he denied reports the country is pulling out its monitoring team in Mindanao.
Malaysia has been hosting peace talks between the Philippine government and the MILF for the past four years. It has 60 military monitors based on Mindanao island to help enforce a 2003 ceasefire.
In a statement issued from New York, Dureza said the latest development was that the Philippine government delegation headed by panel chair Secretar Rodolfo Garcia had just returned a few days ago from Kuala Lumpur with positive report that issues on territory and ancestral domain are progressing.
Another meeting is set soon, perhaps within the month, Dureza said.
He clarified that what is recent is Malaysia's decision to renew the International Monitoring Team (IMT) to three months and subject to extension as needed.
Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak was quoted Thursday as saying their monitors would be staying in Mindanao but not indefinitely.
Dureza said to consider "this shortened but renewable term for the IMT as abandonment" is "stretching the context beyond credulity."
"Malaysia has contributed immensely to our peace efforts and we are confident it will continue to be with us and other nations in our peace and development work," Dureza said in a statement.
Dureza is currently in the US attending the United Nations High Level Dialogue on Inter-religious and Intercultural Understanding and Cooperation for Peace, a special meeting tabled at the 62nd Session of the UN General Assembly which aims to promote global interfaith understanding and cooperation for peace.
Aside from attending the UN meeting, Dureza also held a series of briefings on the peace process and development updates before the Philippine diplomatic posts in the States.
The 12,000-strong MILF has been waging a rebellion for the creation of an independent Islamic state in Mindanao since 1978.
The conflict has left more than 50,000 dead and tens of thousands more displaced.
The 2003 truce has often been marred by deadly clashes and the talks have been suspended since last year over MILF's territorial claims.
