Mindanao - Acting promptly, Malaysia has conveyed to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) the desire of the Philippine government to immediately resume the collapsed Mindanao peace process.
Mohagher Iqbal, chairman of the MILF peace panel, acknowledged the communication from Malaysia, the negotiation`s sole facilitator and host of meetings.
Malaysia, however, did not set yet a date for the talks` revival, he said.
The MILF leader, who is the chairman of the Moro rebel group`s information committee, said a Malaysian official whom he did not identify informed him of the recent visit of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Rafael Seguis, new Presidential Peace Process Adviser Avelino Razon Jr., and Ryan Mark Sullivan, a director at the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP).
Seguis` group was in Malaysia from Jan. 27 to 29 and met with officials there, asking them to convey to the MILF that Manila is ready for an immediate resumption of the peace talks.
It was learned that any communication between the two peace panels must be coursed through Malaysia.
The Office of the Prime Minister of Malaysia assigned Datuk Othman Bin Abdul Razzak as the go-between.
Last year, the talks collapsed after the Supreme Court declared as "unconstitutional" an accord that would pave the way for a bigger ancestral homeland for the Bangsamoro people.
As this developed, disgruntled MILF commanders Ameril Umbra Kato and Abdullah "Bravo" Macapaar raided Christian communities in North Cotabato and Lanao del Norte, prompting the President to order an all-out offensive.
Since June 2001, with the resumption of formal talks in Tripoli, Libya, Malaysia has been facilitating the talks, spending hundreds of millions of pesos for its contingent in the International Monitoring Team in Mindanao since 2004.
The peace process, which former President Fidel V. Ramos started on Jan. 7, 1997, has been an on-and-off affair.
But when movie actor Joseph Estrada became the president, he waged an all-out war against the MILF.
Then Vice President Gloria Arroyo then replaced Estrada on Jan. 20, 2001, and scuttled her predecessor`s all-out war policy with her all-out peace policy.
But President Arroyo later launched her all-out war against the MILF on Feb. 11, 2003, with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) attacking Buliok Complex, the MILF`s second stronghold after the fallen Camp Abubakar As-Siddique, on Eid`l Adha, Islam`s second major festival.
The late MILF chairman, Ustadhz Salamat Hashim, was delivering a sermon for the Eid`l Adha (Feast of Sacrifice) early morning prayers when the military`s onslaught started.
Hashim barely escaped death as bombs fell all around. He died of a lingering illness on July 13, 2003.
Al-Hajj Murad Ebrahim took the place of Hashim and the MILF founder`s peace negotiation with the government.
Meanwhile, Iqbal lauded the Japanese Government for its continuing assistance to the Mindanao peace process and the region`s development.
"We are particularly indebted to Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Makoto Katsura and the rest of his embassy staff particularly Political Minister Nakayama for helping make this aid possible," said Iqbal, referring to Japan`s new emergency food aid totaling 860 million Yen.
Japan will provide 7,500 metric tons of rice for the Mindanao evacuees through the World Food Programme (WFP) headed in the Philippines by country representative Stephen Anderson.
The MILF chief negotiator also welcomed the Brunei Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah`s plan to strengthen his country`s participation in the peace process through the team of foreign monitors.
"We appreciate the Brunei Sultan`s assistance to the peace process," said Iqbal, who also noted the open letter of 190 Muslim religious leaders to United States President Barack Obama.
"This is a welcome development. We need everyone`s help to realize peace and stability in Mindanao," said Iqbal, in reaction to the letter appeal of the National Ulama Conference of the Philippines (NUCP) to President Obama for help move the negotiation forward.
"The Muslims are not your enemy," the NUCP officials and members in response to the new American President`s inaugural statement that America is not an enemy of the Muslim world. By EDD K. USMAN
Source: http://www.mb.com.ph (Februari 02, 2009)
Mohagher Iqbal, chairman of the MILF peace panel, acknowledged the communication from Malaysia, the negotiation`s sole facilitator and host of meetings.
Malaysia, however, did not set yet a date for the talks` revival, he said.
The MILF leader, who is the chairman of the Moro rebel group`s information committee, said a Malaysian official whom he did not identify informed him of the recent visit of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Rafael Seguis, new Presidential Peace Process Adviser Avelino Razon Jr., and Ryan Mark Sullivan, a director at the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP).
Seguis` group was in Malaysia from Jan. 27 to 29 and met with officials there, asking them to convey to the MILF that Manila is ready for an immediate resumption of the peace talks.
It was learned that any communication between the two peace panels must be coursed through Malaysia.
The Office of the Prime Minister of Malaysia assigned Datuk Othman Bin Abdul Razzak as the go-between.
Last year, the talks collapsed after the Supreme Court declared as "unconstitutional" an accord that would pave the way for a bigger ancestral homeland for the Bangsamoro people.
As this developed, disgruntled MILF commanders Ameril Umbra Kato and Abdullah "Bravo" Macapaar raided Christian communities in North Cotabato and Lanao del Norte, prompting the President to order an all-out offensive.
Since June 2001, with the resumption of formal talks in Tripoli, Libya, Malaysia has been facilitating the talks, spending hundreds of millions of pesos for its contingent in the International Monitoring Team in Mindanao since 2004.
The peace process, which former President Fidel V. Ramos started on Jan. 7, 1997, has been an on-and-off affair.
But when movie actor Joseph Estrada became the president, he waged an all-out war against the MILF.
Then Vice President Gloria Arroyo then replaced Estrada on Jan. 20, 2001, and scuttled her predecessor`s all-out war policy with her all-out peace policy.
But President Arroyo later launched her all-out war against the MILF on Feb. 11, 2003, with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) attacking Buliok Complex, the MILF`s second stronghold after the fallen Camp Abubakar As-Siddique, on Eid`l Adha, Islam`s second major festival.
The late MILF chairman, Ustadhz Salamat Hashim, was delivering a sermon for the Eid`l Adha (Feast of Sacrifice) early morning prayers when the military`s onslaught started.
Hashim barely escaped death as bombs fell all around. He died of a lingering illness on July 13, 2003.
Al-Hajj Murad Ebrahim took the place of Hashim and the MILF founder`s peace negotiation with the government.
Meanwhile, Iqbal lauded the Japanese Government for its continuing assistance to the Mindanao peace process and the region`s development.
"We are particularly indebted to Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Makoto Katsura and the rest of his embassy staff particularly Political Minister Nakayama for helping make this aid possible," said Iqbal, referring to Japan`s new emergency food aid totaling 860 million Yen.
Japan will provide 7,500 metric tons of rice for the Mindanao evacuees through the World Food Programme (WFP) headed in the Philippines by country representative Stephen Anderson.
The MILF chief negotiator also welcomed the Brunei Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah`s plan to strengthen his country`s participation in the peace process through the team of foreign monitors.
"We appreciate the Brunei Sultan`s assistance to the peace process," said Iqbal, who also noted the open letter of 190 Muslim religious leaders to United States President Barack Obama.
"This is a welcome development. We need everyone`s help to realize peace and stability in Mindanao," said Iqbal, in reaction to the letter appeal of the National Ulama Conference of the Philippines (NUCP) to President Obama for help move the negotiation forward.
"The Muslims are not your enemy," the NUCP officials and members in response to the new American President`s inaugural statement that America is not an enemy of the Muslim world. By EDD K. USMAN
Source: http://www.mb.com.ph (Februari 02, 2009)
