MILF foresees collapse in truce with Philippine governmentA high-ranking official of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on Friday expected the ceasefire with the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) to "collapse" after August 31, 2008.
"If the peace panels of the GRP and MILF fail to meet and inject new lease of life to the International Monitoring Team (IMT)," Mohagher Iqbal, MILF chief peace negotiator, said in a report posted on Luwaran.com.
Iqbal expressed this view during a meeting with international and local non-government organizations right after the launching of the Bangsamoro Leadership and Management Institute in Darapanan, Sultan Kudarat, Shariff Kabunsuan last June 4.
He was joined in during the close-door dialogue by other members of the MILF Peace Panel namely, Moro lawyers Atty. Lanang Ali, Atty. Michael Mastura, and Atty. Musib Buat.
Also present during the dialogue were Jun Mantawil, head of the MILF Peace Panel Secretariat, Atty. Abdul Dataya, head of the MILF AHJAG, Al Camlian, head of the MILF Technical Committee, and Dr. Tomanda Antok, head of the BLMI.
"There are procedures in the peace talks that the Parties must follow and cited the case of the IMT, saying the tour of duty of the IMT can only be extended, including inviting other countries to join it, during a meeting of the panels," Iqbal explained.
According to him, the GRP and MILF peace panels must meet before August 31, which is the end of the mandate of the present IMT, and decide to renew its mandate and tour of duty in Mindanao.
He clarified that this renewal is not automatic, because IMT member countries such as Malaysia, Libya, Brunei, and Japan have the final say whether to act on the joint request favorably or not.
However, Iqbal said that as far as he knows the MILF will not agree to resume talks with the government just to extend the IMT tour of duty, which he described as a "side issue."
"If we resume, we will zero-in on the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain (MOA-AD). This is the main agenda of the talks. We can discuss the IMT after hurdling the MOA-AD," he told his audience.
The audience included Dr. Steven Rood of the Asia Foundation and Atty. Mary Ann Arnado of the Mindanao People's Caucus. European Ambassador Alistair MacDonald failed to attend the dialogue, because of prior important commitment.
Iqbal furthered that if the IMT mandate is not renewed before August 31, all the IMT contingents will all go home, and the ceasefire between the MILF and government will eventually collapse due to shattered trust and confidence between the Parties to the talks.
Meanwhile, Mastura told the group that the "due diligence study" of the proposed draft MOA-AD conducted by the government is already more than three months since February 22, when the Parties' peace negotiators, through the intercession of Datuk Othman bin Abdulrazak, the chief Malaysian facilitator, have practically sealed an agreement on this subject. HG
"If the peace panels of the GRP and MILF fail to meet and inject new lease of life to the International Monitoring Team (IMT)," Mohagher Iqbal, MILF chief peace negotiator, said in a report posted on Luwaran.com.
Iqbal expressed this view during a meeting with international and local non-government organizations right after the launching of the Bangsamoro Leadership and Management Institute in Darapanan, Sultan Kudarat, Shariff Kabunsuan last June 4.
He was joined in during the close-door dialogue by other members of the MILF Peace Panel namely, Moro lawyers Atty. Lanang Ali, Atty. Michael Mastura, and Atty. Musib Buat.
Also present during the dialogue were Jun Mantawil, head of the MILF Peace Panel Secretariat, Atty. Abdul Dataya, head of the MILF AHJAG, Al Camlian, head of the MILF Technical Committee, and Dr. Tomanda Antok, head of the BLMI.
"There are procedures in the peace talks that the Parties must follow and cited the case of the IMT, saying the tour of duty of the IMT can only be extended, including inviting other countries to join it, during a meeting of the panels," Iqbal explained.
According to him, the GRP and MILF peace panels must meet before August 31, which is the end of the mandate of the present IMT, and decide to renew its mandate and tour of duty in Mindanao.
He clarified that this renewal is not automatic, because IMT member countries such as Malaysia, Libya, Brunei, and Japan have the final say whether to act on the joint request favorably or not.
However, Iqbal said that as far as he knows the MILF will not agree to resume talks with the government just to extend the IMT tour of duty, which he described as a "side issue."
"If we resume, we will zero-in on the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain (MOA-AD). This is the main agenda of the talks. We can discuss the IMT after hurdling the MOA-AD," he told his audience.
The audience included Dr. Steven Rood of the Asia Foundation and Atty. Mary Ann Arnado of the Mindanao People's Caucus. European Ambassador Alistair MacDonald failed to attend the dialogue, because of prior important commitment.
Iqbal furthered that if the IMT mandate is not renewed before August 31, all the IMT contingents will all go home, and the ceasefire between the MILF and government will eventually collapse due to shattered trust and confidence between the Parties to the talks.
Meanwhile, Mastura told the group that the "due diligence study" of the proposed draft MOA-AD conducted by the government is already more than three months since February 22, when the Parties' peace negotiators, through the intercession of Datuk Othman bin Abdulrazak, the chief Malaysian facilitator, have practically sealed an agreement on this subject. HG
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