ZAMBOANGA CITY, 10 January 2006 — Separatist Muslim rebels negotiating peace with Manila bared yesterday a comprehensive program to help the government rehabilitate and develop war-torn areas in Mindanao once a peace deal is signed this year.
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) said it would strengthen the agricultural industry and work closely with tourism operators in an effort to attract more local and foreign visitors, and boost trade activities by promoting the mineral-rich region as a business hub or gateway to Southeast Asia.
“We have a comprehensive program to help the government rehabilitate and develop the region. We will prioritize the agricultural industry because Mindanao is the country’s food basket, and then promote tourism and trade aggressively to attract not only visitors, but foreign and local investors as well,” Eid Kabalu, a rebel spokesman, told Arab News of the MILF plan.
Kabalu said the Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA), put up jointly by the MILF and the government in 2002, will oversee the whole implementation of the ambitious plan, aside from the rehabilitation, humanitarian and development projects in the conflict-affected areas.
It was the first time the MILF has spoken about its plan that eventually would benefit Mindanao, the country’s second largest island previously under the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo .
And these are only some of what the rebels will undertake once the MILF and government peace negotiators finally sign a formal agreement.
Both sides were negotiating since 2001 in Malaysia, which is brokering the talks, and rebel and government leaders are optimistic that they can soon seal a final peace accord.
Peace talks are scheduled to resume this month in Kuala Lumpur , Kabalu said.
In September, government and rebel peace negotiators signed several agreements centered on the ancestral domain — its concept, territories and resources, and how the MILF will govern these places.
Many countries, including the European Union, have pledged to help in the development of Mindanao once the peace agreement is signed, Kabalu said.
“Many donor countries, like the United States , Japan, Australia and Canada, and the European Union and Muslim countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Libya and Malaysia, have pledged to help once the peace agreement is finally signed between the MILF and the Arroyo government,” Kabalu said.
He said all assistance intended for the development of the conflict affected areas in the region would be taken care by the BDA being the authorized agency to identify, lead and manage the same as provided in the agreement signed by both the MILF and the Arroyo government.
“It is the BDA which has the authority to spend resources intended for the affected areas either for infrastructure projects or otherwise once the conflict finds a just, fair and acceptable solution,” Kabalu said.
Presidential peace adviser Jesus Dureza said the government will tap the Mindanao Trust Fund for the implementation of various development projects in the region once the peace agreement is signed.
The fund, he said, has been set up by the Arroyo government, the World Bank and international donor countries to help in rehabilitating Mindanao.
Many Arab countries, including the influential Organization of Islamic Conference and the World Muslim League are strongly supporting the peace process, and even President George W. Bush offered as much as $30 million in financial assistance once a peace agreement with Manila is sealed.
President Arroyo previously said that 80 percent of the peace talks have been completed and that peace in Mindanao is within reach.
The MILF said that a peace agreement with Manila would further strengthen the government’s anti-terrorism campaign in Mindanao, where security forces and rebels have joined to hunt down Jemaah Islamiya and Abu Sayyaf militants.
Last year, the United Nations Development Program and the European Commission agreed to implement an 18-month rehabilitation project benefiting people displaced by armed conflicts in Mindanao.
The project is aimed at addressing the rehabilitation and resettlement requirements of displaced families by providing basic services, including enhancing their capacity for earning a living and improving community infrastructures.
