Saturday, July 01, 2006
Gov't to present rebel group proposal on territory issue
COTABATO CITY -- Government negotiators are to present another proposal on the issue of territory to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in an effort to break the impasse on the ancestral domain agenda that has remained a stumbling block towards the signing of a final peace agreement.
Professor Rudy Rodil, vice chairman of the government peace panel, admitted that negotiations on territory had bogged down and both panels are having difficulty agreeing.
"In the last two meetings, we discussed territory. The first to present was the government and the next was the MILF but nothing was reached. The ball is now in the court of the government," said Rodil, who spoke on the updates of the peace process during the 1st Central Mindanao Media Summit.
Rodil, however, declined to elaborate on the specifics of the territory issue due to its sensitivity and "so as not to break the confidence" of the rebels.
Noting the climate of talks between the negotiators had drastically improved, he said both sides have "successfully built personal relationships" that are important in finding a lasting solution to the Mindanao problem.
Rodil did not disclose when the government will submit its new proposal to the MILF.
The MILF, which is claiming to be the representative of the Bangsamoro in the country, has been fighting for an independent Islamic state in Mindanao since it formally broke away from the Moro National Liberation Front in 1981.
Rodil, a noted Mindanao historian, said a census done from 1918 to 1970 showed most towns in Mindanao were populated by the Moro people.
But by 1970, the settlers began easing them out Mindanao.
Rodil stressed that settling the issue on territory is not a simple case that can be laid down and drawn on the table.
He said the government is carefully threading the ground on the issue of territory to avoid outrage from the tri-people of Mindanao.
Cotabato Governor Emmanuel Piñol, who was also a speaker during the conference, described the ancestral domain as a "bloody" issue in that both sides "will have to break their heads."
Piñol, previously a staunch critic of the MILF, said North Cotabato leaders are opposed to annexing the province into possibly another Muslim region.
"Christians and Muslims in my province are living harmoniously. This early, I don't think we will agree to having small Moro communities being annexed to a bigger Moro community," he said.
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(June 26, 2006 issue)
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