COTABATO CITY, 14 April 2003 — The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) yesterday demanded the removal of Jesus G. Dureza as chair of government’s peace panel as a first step to regaining the separatist group’s confidence in the negotiations.
The group had earlier lodged a protest over Dureza’s handwritten footnotes on the minutes of a joint statement of the government and MILF panels in their meeting late last month in Kuala Lumpur.
“This is without prejudice to the earlier demand presented by the MILF for Dureza to ask an apology to government of Malaysia and the MILF and at the same time issued a declaration disregarding the effect of his unauthorized explanatory notes on the said minutes,” said a statement by the separatist group.
Dureza, who is also the government’s presidential assistant for Mindanao, has not issued any reaction so far. The office of Secretary Eduardo Ermita, President Arroyo’s adviser on the peace process, has refused to comment pending receipt of the MILF demand.
“Dureza’s act has a long negative impact on the government’s desire to resume the peace talks,” MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu told Arab News.
Kabalu recalled that the MILF has singled out the word “sincerity” on the part of the government as a key factor for them to agree on the proposed resumption of the formal peace talks.
“What he has done is a clear act of insincerity or even deception...” Kabalu added.
The MILF is also pressing for the “full implementation in letter and spirit without any delay of all the points the parties agreed upon in the minutes of the meeting.”
Kabalu said the minutes provides for the pullout of government troops from the Buliok Complex, not Islamic Center as Dureza had wanted in his footnotes.
The minutes also called for the withdrawal of all criminal charges filed against MILF leaders to be done within 4 weeks after the signing of the joint statement.
Kabalu further said that the minutes speaks of the implementation of past and existing agreements, notably the acknowledgement by the government of the MILF’s major camps and their eventual return to MILF possession. Despite the signing of the joint statement which called for a cessation of hostilities between government and MILF forces, sporadic fighting have continued in Central Mindanao.
