ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippinees — The mayor of this key port city in the southern Philippines yesterday said an alleged secret agreement between the Arroyo government and the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) was a “sellout” that would bode ill for the people of Mindanao.
Mayor Celso Lobregat, a leader of the political opposition, said the deal would “dismember” Mindanao in the guise of giving Filipino Muslims their ancestral domain.
“This is a complete sellout. We will not allow Mindanao to be dismembered. We must act swiftly before it is too late,” Lobregat, a former lawmaker, said in a news conference broadcast over local radio stations.
Lobregat said he spoke with lawmakers and politicians in the south and they agreed to look into the agreement signed by the negotiators last month in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Some radio announcers yesterday were agitating the public to rise up in a rally to oppose the agreement.
One phone caller even urged citizens to take up arms and fight the MILF to prevent the dismembering of Mindanao.
Government and MILF peace negotiators announced earlier this month that they have agreed on several important matters on ancestral domain — its concept, territories and resources, and will negotiate about how the MILF shall govern these places.
Ancestral domain refers to the MILF demand for territory that will constitute a Muslim homeland. It is the single most important issue in the peace negotiations before the MILF can reach a political settlement.
Both sides have agreed on several crucial issues, including the coverage of a proposed ancestral domain in the five Muslim autonomous provinces of Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao, and other areas in Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani provinces, where there are large communities of Muslims and indigenous tribes.
Once an agreement is reached on how the MILF can govern these areas, the government and rebel peace negotiators would finally discuss the political settlement of the country’s longest-running Muslim insurgency problem.
President Gloria Arroyo said early this year that 80 percent of the peace talks have been completed and that permanent peace in Mindanao is within reach.
“We have worked with the Organization of the Islamic Conference to forge peace with our Muslim brothers,” Arroyo said in her State of the Nation Address in July.
Nothing Sinister
Ghazali Jaafar, MILF vice chairman for political affairs, yesterday said his group as unfazed by negative remarks.
“There is nothing sinister in the peace talks and we are very sincere in pursuing an end to the Mindanao problems and bring peace and stability in the region.
“We are urging everybody to join us and support the peace process and find a lasting and just solution to the Bangsamoro problem,” Jaafar said by phone from the MILF’s main base in Maguindanao province.
Jaafar also cited the success of other countries in dealing with their own Muslim secessionist problems, like in Bougainville, Sudan, Eritrea, Kosovo, Ireland, East Timor, and even in Palestine.
MILF chieftain Murad Ebrahim said his group is sincere in the talks and is willing to end the hostilities in Mindanao.
“Peace is almost at hand. After decades of unrelenting struggle, our flickering hope for a just and comprehensive political solution to the Bangsamoro problem is rekindled. Our legitimate aspiration for a rightful place in our society has once again assumed its proper shape,” hje said.
Many Arab countries, including the influential Organization of Islamic Conference and the United States are supporting the peace talks in an effort to end more than three decades of hostilities in Mindanao.
Many people in Mindanao are also supporting the government’s peace process.
Commendation
Aleem Aziz Minbantas, the MILF’s vice chairman for military affairs, expressed optimism about the peace talks and commended President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo for pushing for a resolution of the secessionist problem in Mindanao.
Arroyo resumed peace talks and forged a cease-fire in 2002 with the MILF, two years after government troops overrun separatist military bases during an “all-out war” declared by then President Joseph Estrada.
Vice Chairman Mimbantas said “positive breakthroughs” in the negotiations “indicate a high prospect of peacefully solving the centuries-old conflict in Mindanao.”
Both sides said the peace dividend would definitely be far bigger than any possible negative effect.
With peace at hand, resources being currently wasted in fighting would be better used for economic development.
Eid Kabalu, a spokesman for the MILF, said a peace pact with the government will further strengthen efforts to jointly combat terrorism in Mindanao, where security forces and rebels have joined to hunt down Jemaah Islamiyah and Abu Sayyaf militants tied to Usama bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda network.
“It will give us great opportunity to deal more effectively in combating not only threats of terrorism, but also criminality. The MILF is really sincere in bringing peace and help the government develop Mindanao,” Kabalu said.
Muhammad Ameen, of the MILF’s central committee, said: The peace deal would make the MILF a strong partner, such as, in combating syndicated crimes and other forms of evil activities, like terrorism.”
MILF leaders yesterday met in Maguindanao and discussed how they could help the government disseminate information about the progress of the talks.
Separatist leaders were also planning to speak to politicians and business groups in Mindanao to allay fears or correct false reports about the peace talks.
