ZAMBOANGA CITY, 4 September 2006 — Peace talks between Manila and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) are to resume in Kuala Lumpur this month as both sides try to resolve several contentious issues on the Muslim ancestral domain in the southern Philippines.

But the MILF’s chief negotiator, Mohager Iqbal, said his team does not believe a final peace accord could be signed within the year as the government had predicted.

The MILF has been waging a rebellion for a separate Muslim state in Mindanao since 1978. It signed a truce with Manila in 2001, and agreed to a joint cease-fire committee with foreign observers.

“We don’t believe that a peace deal is likely, but we may extend the peace talks beyond September,” Iqbal told Arab News.

He said the MILF has submitted its proposal to government peace negotiators, but they disagreed on the scope of coverage of ancestral domain and on how the government and the MILF would share the resources in these areas.

“The ball is already in the hands of the government peace negotiators. We have submitted our position and it is all up to them. We may not be able to meet the deadline to sign the peace deal and we will ask for an extension of the peace talks. We cannot see any peace deal by this month, not even this year unless the government and MILF agreed on the proposals,” Iqbal said.

Ancestral domain 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.

Silvestre Afable, the head of the government peace panel, has admitted difficulties in the talks, particularly in determining and the delimitation of areas to be placed under a prospective Bangsamoro Juridical Entity.

“The government panel is now working closely with the pertinent government agencies to come up with clear, concrete and feasible methods of validation and we will strive to fast track the work to keep our present timeline on track, despite the delays,” he said.

Afable said both sides have agreed to conduct further ground validation and collection of additional data to guide them in the resolution of Muslim territorial issues._

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 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.

Foreign Monitors

Japan and Sweden have also began talks with the MILF about sending peacekeepers in Mindanao and help in Manila’s efforts to end the strife in the mineral-rich, but dangerous southern region, Eid Kabalu, a rebel spokesman, said yesterday.

Kabalu said Sweden was proposing to send a 10-man team to join the Malaysian-led international truce observers deployed around Mindanao.

“Sweden says it is committed to join the international peace keepers in Mindanao and the MILF welcomes this development. We are looking forward to working with them because the MILF is also committed to bring peace in Mindanao,” he said.

Kabalu said senior Swedish officials led by Ambassador Annika Markovic met on Friday with top MILF leaders headed by Murad Ebrahim at a rebel base in Maguindanao province. Sweden proposed to deploy two peacekeepers each for the five team sites of the 60-man International Monitoring Team in the cities of Cotabato, Iligan, Davao City , General Santos and Zamboanga.

He said Japan also wanted to join the IMT in Mindanao and sent its representatives yesterday in Maguindanao to meet with Ebrahim and other senior rebel leaders about its humanitarian role in helping rebuild war-torn areas in the region.

Kabalu said the Japanese delegation was headed by Akio Isomata, director of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Southeast Asian Desk; and Ministers Takeo Takashi and Yoshi Ishikawa, of the Japanese Embassy in Manila. “Japan wanted a bigger role in helping in the peace process by working more on the humanitarian and development and economic aspects that will benefit the people of Mindanao,” he said.

MILF leaders also cited Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi for Japan’s role in the peace process.

“Japan is a good partner in peacemaking in Mindanao and we thank Japan for its decision to join the International Monitoring Team in its socio-economic aspect of monitoring,” Ebrahim said.

Tokyo is also sending an economic expert who will closely work with the IMT to monitor relief, rehabilitation and development projects in the conflict-affected areas in Mindanao, Kabalu said. “We appreciate Japan ‘s effort and we hope to work closely with Tokyo in pursuing peace and development in Mindanao,” he said.

But Kabalu said Japan and Sweden’s participation in the IMT need the approval of the governments of the Philippines and Malaysia.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo opened peace negotiations with the MILF in 2001 and Malaysia, an influential member of the Organization of Islamic Conference, is helping broker the talks in an effort to bring stability to the region.

Many Muslim countries, including Saudi Arabia, as well as the United States and the European Union, Canada, Australia and have pledged to help in the development of Mindanao once the peace agreement is signed. The Australian Agency for International Development has already contributed over $17 million in peace and development projects in Mindanao the past seven years.