Sunday, September 10, 2006
Moro rebels reject government's offer of limited autonomy
By Al Jacinto
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has rejected Manila's offer for a limited autonomy in the restive Mindanao Island as peace negotiators from both sides try to reach an accord.
Manila is currently negotiating peace with the MILF, which is fighting the past three decades for the establishment of a strict Islamic state on the southern island, home to more than four million Filipino Muslims.
"They offered the MILF the whole of the Muslim autonomous region and 613 other Muslim villages scattered in Mindanao, but all these are subject to Philippine legislation. The offer is just like a leopard skin and we did not agree with it," Mohager Iqbal, chief MILF peace negotiators, said by phone from Malaysia, which is brokering the peace talks.
"Peace cannot be unilaterally imposed on the MILF and the Muslim people," Iqbal added.
The Muslim autonomous region is composed of five provinces -- Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi -- which are among the poorest in the country torn by strife and clan wars since its creation in 1989.
The MILF previously proposed that the Muslims be given an option to choose in a referendum whether they wanted Mindanao to be an independent state or not.
Peace talks on Tuesday ended three days later with both sides failing to sign any agreement on the most contentious issue -- ancestral domain -- which refers to the MILF demand for territory that will constitute a Muslim homeland. It is the single most important issue in the peace negotiations before the rebel group can reach a political settlement.
"The peace talks ended with nothing, but conditional offers from the Philippine government which we cannot accept," Iqbal said, adding, the Filipino President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has lack political will to resolve the decades old problems in Mindanao. "Arroyo lacks the political will to resolve the Mindanao problems."
Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye confirmed there was an impasse in the peace talks, but Manila will present to the MILF a new proposal aimed at resolving the ancestral domain issue hounding peace talks between both camps.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita earlier said the peace talks are far from totally collapsing since negotiators will discuss what communities with Muslim-dominated population can be included in the so-called Bangsamoro homeland. But for the MILF, the quest for peace is important to all Muslims in Mindanao. "There is no template for peace and what we need is a political settlement in Mindanao to bring development to the land we call home," Iqbal said.
A Filipino Muslim lawmaker, Hussin Amin (Sulu), said he would propose to divide Mindanao at least in three Federal states to resolve the MILF problems and bring peace in the southern region.
"The proposal to divide Mindanao into three Federal states has the support of many Muslims and Christians, but we need to amend the Constitution to realize this aspiration," said Amin, who is also chairman of the House Special Committee on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity.
Manila previously announced that it was to sign a peace deal with the MILF by September or before the start of Ramadan, Islam's holiest month, but Iqbal said this is unlikely after both sides failed to agree on issues on ancestral domain and how the government and the rebel group would share natural resources in Mindanao.
Iqbal said the peace panels are likely to resume peace talks again before end of this month to discuss the ancestral domain. "The peace panels are likely to meet again before September 30 in Malaysia to discuss again the contentious issue of ancestral land. We don't expect a peace deal soon unless the Philippine government settle the issue of ancestral domain," he said.
In September, government and rebel peace negotiators have signed several agreements centered on the ancestral domain -- its concept, territories and resources, and how the MILF shall govern these places.
Iqbal said the MILF has submitted its proposal to the government peace negotiators, but they disagreed on the scope of coverage of the Muslim ancestral domain. "There are still some contentious issues and these are the scope of Muslim territories under the ancestral domain and how the government and the MILF would share the resources in these areas," he said.
The ancestral domain covers the five Muslim autonomous provinces of Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao. And other areas in Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga Sibugay, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani provinces where there are large communities of Muslims and indigenous tribes.
The MILF previously said it is willing to compromise if only to arrive at an acceptable, reasonable and comprehensive agreement that would include not only the Muslims, but also all 18 ethnic tribal groups in Mindanao. Once an agreement is reached on how the MILF can govern these areas, government and rebel peace negotiators would finally discuss the political settlement of the country's longest-running Muslim insurgency problem.
Iqbal said Malaysia may pull out its cease-fire observers in Mindanao if the peace talks collapse. "Malaysia may recall all its cease-fire observers deployed in Mindanao if the peace talks totally collapse. That is the implication if the peace talks fail and Malaysia has implied this clearly to the MILF and the Philippine peace negotiators," Iqbal said.
The 60-man Malaysian-led international observers are deployed in Mindanao since last year to monitor the truce between MILF rebels and government forces.
Peace talks between the government and MILF started in January 1997 but the absence of a neutral third party bogged down the initiative. It was only on March 24, 2001, after the all-out war against the MILF declared by former President Joseph Estrada that Malaysia, at the behest of the Philippine government, facilitated the talks.
However, in February 2003, despite the avowed all-peace policy of President Arroyo, an all-out war was again declared against the rebels, but both sides later agreed to resume peace talks. Just this year, President Arroyo said that 80% of the peace talks have been completed and that permanent peace in Mindanao is within reach.
Many Filipino Muslims said they were supporting the MILF and the proposal to put up the Bangsamoro government, but majority of them wanted an independent Islamic state, similar to Iran.
"We want our own homeland. We support the MILF. I am a Muslim and Mindanao is our land and it should be independent," said Akeem Susulan, a fisherman in Zamboanga City.
Arab countries, including the influential Organization of Islamic Conference, Libya, Saudi Arabia and the United States, including Japan and Sweden, are strongly supporting the peace talks.
Washington has offered as much as $30 million in financial assistance to help develop Mindanao should the MILF seal a peace agreement with Manila. The money would be used to help the rebels get back to the mainstream of society.(Sunnex)
(September 10, 2006 issue)
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