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Monday, May 05, 2008
British experts to help in RP-MILF peace talks
By Ben O. Tesiorna
DAVAO CITY -- A team of British experts in peace negotiations will reportedly help jumpstart the stalled peace talks between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
The MILF continues with its tirade against the government while the talks are stalled, blaming government mediators for the turtle-paced negotiations that prompted the Malaysian government to withdraw its International Monitoring Teams (IMT) in Mindanao.
Arroyo Watch: Sun.Star blog on President Arroyo
In a report, British Ambassador Peter Beckingham said their experts were involved in the peace talks in Northern Ireland and will now serve as consultants in the Philippine peace process.
Beckingham clarified though that the experts would not be involved in the actual negotiations but would instead "talk with the government and the MILF and try and get ways in which the peace process can move along in the right direction."
Beckingham said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and then-British Prime Minister Tony Blair first agreed to the scheme when they met last December.
He said he met with MILF leaders a few weeks ago and they were also in favor of the idea.
In a text message, Secretary Jesus Dureza of the Office of the Presidential Assistant on Peace Process said top officials of the government have long been discussing about British help.
He said after talking with British officials on Saturday, they agreed to pursue cooperation with British experts.
"Sharing of experiences will be the engagement with them," Dureza said.
MILF officials meantime told visiting Malaysian officials that the Philippines is only interested in maintaining the ceasefire in Mindanao and not on pushing the peace talks to a conclusion.
This was the statement of Mohagher Iqbal, chairman of the MILF committee on information and MILF peace panel, during the meeting with Malaysian high military officials headed by General Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Bin Zainal, chief of the Malaysian Defense Forces, in May 3.
The MILF officials accused the government of deliberately delaying the peace talks by resorting to constitutional technicality.
On issue of war as an option, MILF told the visitors that war is a last option "but the government is paving the way for that hard decision." (Sun.Star Davao/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Pampanga. (May 5, 2008 issue)
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