PORT DIKSON, Malaysia, 2 August — The second round of peace talks between Manila and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) ended here last night with no document signed.
MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu attributed this to the government’s insistence on the use of the Philippine constitution and national sovereignty and territorial integrity as a reference point in the formulation of the Implementing Guidelines of the Agreement on Peace signed on June 22, 2001 at Tripoli, Libya.
The MILF early on made it clear its official stand that her panel of negotiators will not sign any document that would expressly or impliedly provide recognition by the MILF to the Philippine constitution, Kabalu said. The resumption of the second round of formal peace talks officially started on July 24.
Kabalu said that matters that are already resolved by the technical committees as well as those contentious issues, which the parties failed to get a consensus point, will be elevated to the Peace Panel level for their resolution.
“For this matter, the GRP (government) and MILF Peace Panels are scheduled to meet on August 5 in Kuala Lumpur,” said MILF Peace Panel chief Al-Haj Murad Ebrahim.
Murad did not give details on which part of the agreement is already settled or contentious. The Agreement on Peace had actually 3 major components: security, rehabilitation and ancestral lands.
Under the security aspect, issues involved include the implementation of past agreements by both sides, the strengthening of the Agreement on General Cessation of Hostilities (AGCH), and the observer and monitoring team from the Organization of the Islamic Conference.
In this particular topic the issue on the implementation of past agreements seems to be the most contentious one, Kabalu said.
The government wants to introduce a new cease-fire agreement distinct and separate from the AGCH mentioned in the Tripoli Agreement on Peace. Aside from this, the government also wants to limit the role of the OIC monitoring team by introducing new setup where local government units in the area will be given the role to play.
