PORT DICKSON, Malaysia, 21 April 2005 — Government and rebel negotiators yesterday hailed a “breakthrough” in efforts to end a decades-old Muslim separatist rebellion in the southern Philippines.
A joint statement at the end of a three-day meeting in this Malaysian port city between delegations from Manila and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) said formal peace negotiations were expected to begin within months.
Both sides “hailed the outcome of the meeting as a breakthrough towards a just and durable solution to the Mindanao conflict,” the statement said.
The MILF has been demanding that it be granted rights over its “ancestral domain” or homeland which traditionally means the entire southern island of Mindanao, where they are fighting to establish an independent Islamic state.
But MILF officials have said that they were willing to compromise on the demand, without saying what they were prepared to accept.
“Since the inception of the peace process in January 1997, the Port Dickson talks marked the first time that both sides entered into substantive discussions outside the cessation of hostilities,” the statement said.
“The panel decided to forge on with technical level talks in Malaysia to exhaust all possible consensus points before the start of formal negotiations expected to be held by mid-year.”
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s chief negotiator Silvestre Afable told a news conference that “the past three days have been very productive exploratory talks. This is truly a breakthrough.
“This could not happen without the commitment of both sides and the sincerity shown by the MILF. President Arroyo is very happy with the development. We informed her that we have broken ground.”
Ancestral Domain
The leader of the MILF delegation, Mohagher Iqbal, told the news conference: “It was very fruitful negotiations. I suppose if we can fully harness this issue then we will be able to find a negotiated political settlement in Mindanao.”
Iqbal was referring to the “ancestral domain” issue, which was the focus of the talks.
Asked for details of the breakthrough, Afable said: “I cannot go into details but in the area of concept, territory and resources we have some detailed consensus.
“We have breached more than 60 or 70 percent of issues in the area of ancestral domain. This gives us much confidence to move ahead. The issue of governance is reserved for the next round of negotiations.”
Asked when a peace agreement might be signed, he replied: “There is confidence on both sides but we do not want to state any deadlines.”
Both sides said a recent outbreak of hostilities in Mindanao, where a ceasefire has been in place since 2003, would not derail the talks and that they would “strive to resolve all outstanding ceasefire issues.”
The 12,000-strong MILF has been waging a separatist rebellion since 1978, when it split from the larger Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). The MNLF signed a peace deal with Manila in 1996 and settled for limited autonomy.
The MILF was left out of that deal and MNLF leaders later became officials of what is now known as the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), comprising several provinces and cities that are mostly Muslim populated.
The MILF leadership had earlier said that the ARMM was a failure, because the region remains mired in extreme poverty and that the nature of its framework left it open to abuse and graft.
More than 100,000 people are estimated to have died in the conflict in the past 27 years.
Appeal for Patience
In the southern Philippines, MILF chief Ebrahim Murad has appealed to fellow separatists to be patient and to continue supporting the peace talks.
Murad has told his followers that the peace talks with the Arroyo government is the only practical way in finding a just and lasting solution in ending the more three decades of hostilities in the south.
“The road to victory is long and winding,” Murad said in a statement posted yesterday on the rebels’ website. “This is not an exercise in futility. Everybody should support the peace process because this is the only practical and civilized way in finding the just and lasting solution to resolve the conflict peacefully.”
President Arroyo opened peace talks with the MILF shortly after the ouster of President Joseph Estrada in 2001. Estrada, who is accused of plunder, declared an “all-out war” against the MILF in 2000 after he accused the group of expanding its forces while exploratory talks were going on.
Assurance of Support
Meanwhile, the chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines said forging peace with the MILF is the military’s “priority.”
“The peace talks are our primary concern. It is a priority. We believe that if we forge a peace (settlement) with the MILF, we’ll have a better chance of running after the Abu Sayyaf Group later on,” said Gen. Efren Abu on Wednesday.
Abu was answering questions about charges that the MILF was coddling extremists while talking peace with Manila.
“The statement of their leadership is that they do not coddle (terrorists). And we believe that unless proven otherwise,” Abu told reporters.
Abu, however, defended the military air strike and ground assault in an MILF camp in the Butilan Marsh in Datu Piang town, Maguindanao province last Friday.
The MILF accused the military of violating a cease-fire agreement by launching the atack.
It said the military operation, which was supposedly aimed at Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah terrorists, killed two of its members and wounded five other members.
“When we conduct an air strike it’s because we have very reliable information. We do not do that just because we want to,” Abu said. (Al Jacinto of Arab News added to this report from Zamboanga City, Philippines)
