COTABATO CITY, 31 March 2003 — Moro separatist leaders involved in negotiations with the Philippine government will soon be granted “safety and security guarantees” as both parties agreed to resume formal peace talks and prevent any escalation of hostilities in Mindanao.
The announcement came after two days of “exploratory talks” in Malaysia between government negotiators and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which has been waging a bloody 25-year war for independence.
In a joint statement released in Manila, both parties agreed to “achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting political settlement of the conflict in Mindanao,” the southern third of the Philippines where the MILF has been fighting to establish an independent Islamic state since 1978.
They also agreed to “exercise mutual restraint to minimize, if not put an end” to fighting in the south, and to improve an existing monitoring mechanism on violations of a ceasefire accord signed in 2001.
Both parties would also “undertake appropriate steps to pave the way for the resumption” of formal peace negotiations, the statement said without giving a specific time frame.
“The parties reaffirm the provision on the granting of safety and security guarantees to MILF leaders and members who are directly and principally involved in the peace talks,” the statement said.
The MILF broke off all contact with government peace negotiators after losing a major stronghold in a government military offensive last month.
The recent fighting, among the fiercest in years, has killed scores on both sides and displaced about 70,000 villagers in the violence-wracked provinces of North Cotabato and Maguindanao on southern Mindanao island.
Signing the agreement for the government were Presidential Adviser for Mindanao Jesus Dureza, chair of the panel; and delegation members Norberto Gonzales, presidential adviser for special concerns; Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman; defense undersecretary Antonio Santos; and panel executive director Diosita Andot.
Representing the MILF were Lanang Ali, chief negotiator; and Michael Mastura, Musib Buat and Mohajirin Ali.
“We are moving (in) the same direction as both sides saw the light at the end of the tunnel. The desire for peace is mutual,” Gonzales said.
“We have replanted the seed of peace, we will nurture it and hopefully it will grow,” Lanang said.
If talks resume, guerrilla negotiators would likely be given immunity from arrest, Dureza said. Arrest warrants have been issued against rebel leaders over a March 4 bomb explosion that killed 21 people outside the Davao International Airport in the south.
Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes said the military would still pursue guerrillas who stage attacks. The military will conduct “hot pursuit”’ operations if the MILF harasses, attacks or destroys installations, he said.
“They cannot mass troops, they cannot endanger or harm civilian communities or vital installations, they cannot do that,” Reyes said.
MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu said his comrades launched several attacks on army positions early yesterday because the agreement with the government had not yet reached their field commanders.
“We are ready to abide by any agreement but it takes some time to communicate with our commands. We’re firmly committed to work for peace,” Kabalu said.
About 80 guerrillas bombarded an army detachment with rocket-propelled grenades and rifle fire in Columbio town in Sultan Kudarat province, near North Cotabato, at dawn yesterday, injuring a soldier, a pro-government militiaman and a civilian, army Col. Agustin Dima-ala said.
Kabalu said the guerrillas captured at least 14 soldiers during Columbio raid but later decided to free them. “It would be difficult for us to feed them if we decided to take them in,” he told reporters.
Dima-ala denied those claims as rebel propaganda.
Another group of rebels fired volleys of rocket-propelled grenades at an army camp in North Cotabato’s Carmen town early yesterday but did not cause any casualties, army Maj. Onting Alon said.
In Pikit, a North Cotabato town hard-hit by the recent fighting, a clash broke out between government troops and an undetermined number of rebels shortly after midnight yesterday.
Kabalu said six guerrillas were wounded in the fighting.
