ZAMBOANGA CITY, 16 December 2007 — A plan by the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to conclude a peace deal early next year looked doubtful after a dispute erupted yesterday over a draft agreement on the boundaries for a Muslim homeland, officials said.

The MILF rejected a proposed draft over the extent of territory that would fall under Muslim control in the impoverished Mindanao region at the start of talks in Malaysia, causing the meeting to be abruptly called off, officials said.

“There has been differences in the proposed text on concepts of territory and resources, including elements of governance,” chief Philippine government negotiator Rodolfo Garcia said.

“Realistically given this present situation, it might be difficult to reach the (January) target. We are going to review the proposal that we have brought here and hope to be able to resolve the differences,” he said.

MILF leaders accused Manila of failing again to fulfill its commitment. “The MILF peace panel accuses the government of reneging on its commitment to the peace process by reversing all what have been agreed as consensus points on ancestral domain,” the group said in a statement posted on its website luwaran.com.

The MILF said government negotiators completely disregarded the agreement on the ancestral domain and insisted again that the granting of homeland to Muslims in Mindanao would solely be through constitutional process, which the rebel group previously opposed.

Peace talks had been stalled since September last year after both sides failed to agree on the scope of the ancestral domain.

Mohagher Iqbal, chief MILF peace negotiator, earlier said that both sides are expected to sign the formal agreement on ancestral domain probably before the end of the year after the two groups ended a meeting in Malaysia in November.

Mohammad Ameen, a senior rebel leader, said the MILF will only sign a peace deal with Manila if it establishes genuine governance for Muslims either in the form of “state” or “sub-state.”

Jesus Dureza, the president’s adviser on the peace process, said in Manila that the MILF “was expecting a different draft from what our team showed them. They have a higher expectation.”

“This is just a minor hiccup. We will make our own assessment and make an effort to go back to the table,” he said.

Both sides hoped to get an agreement done in January on the “ancestral domain” agenda after years of wrangling.

Once the ancestral domain agreement is forged, both sides are to discuss other issues - such as the type of government for the territory - in order to formulate a comprehensive peace pact, possibly by August 2008, officials have said.

“The MILF was disappointed with the draft because they accused the Philippines government of reneging on what has been agreed upon earlier,” Othman Abdul Razak, the chief Malaysian government facilitator, told AP.

“The meeting has to be called off because the MILF has refused to meet with the government panel,” he said.

It is up to Manila to improve the draft and make it acceptable to the MILF, he said, conceding the January target may be in jeopardy because of the year-end holidays. (With reports from AP & Reuters)