Tuesday, August 19, 2008 Dureza swipes at ABS news
PRESS Secretary Jesus Dureza appealed to the media to become partners, not just impartial chroniclers, and at worst, critics of the peace efforts.
Dureza made the appeal after a news website (not Sun.Star) came out with a story stating that, "the government's peace negotiators will no longer sign the MOA-AD (Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain) in the face of widespread opposition to it and questions about its constitutionality. Instead, the government will try to renegotiate it with the MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front)."
In a text message, Dureza said he and Secretary Gabby Claudio's statement that the government will not stop at anything in search for peace if the MOA is declared unconstitutional (by the Supreme Court) "was speculatively headlined as a move to renegotiate with the MILF."
"We are saddened that some sectors of the media, with due respect, have been playing with peace stories as if they are political chattels where sound bites or catchy headlines make their day. This is, at the least, provocative and may be viewed in a negative light by the MILF leadership with whom government has long nurtured the paradigms of peace," Dureza said.
The former peace adviser urged the media to "rise above fleeting headline considerations."
"A miscue can put to waste years of patient negotiations which are bringing us now so close to a mutually acceptable peace settlement," he said. (BOT)
