Arroyo outlines plan for Mindanao peace
By Christian V. Esguerra
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 04:24:00 01/07/2009
Filed Under: Mindanao peace process, Armed conflict
ILIGAN CITY, Philippines—President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Tuesday outlined a comprehensive approach to bring “lasting peace” to Mindanao, another indication that the government was ready to resume talks with Moro rebels.
In her first Cabinet meeting for the year at her ancestral house here, Ms Arroyo laid down the mechanics of the Mindanao Agenda, a program she said was anchored on “peace talks for all and projects for peace.”
“The start of 2009 should mark the renewal of sustained, intense and vigorous efforts to ensure the fulfillment of the government’s Mindanao Agenda,” she said at the start of the full Cabinet meeting.
Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Rafael Seguis, chair of the new government peace panel, Tuesday said the government was set to talk with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) “with no preconditions.”
In the “peace talks” element of the Agenda, Ms Arroyo said they would put in place “lasting peace—stilling the guns of war, drawing from the biblical theme of turning swords into plowshares.”
Crash program
“This shall be an all-inclusive effort,” she added. “All Mindanao stakeholders are welcome to join the peace process.”
The second element of the program would mean more government investments and a speedy implementation of development programs in Mindanao. Included in the initiative is a “crash program” against illiteracy and poverty for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
The projects, along with donations from foreign sources such as the European Commission, were also apparently in the context of confidence-building measures designed to convince the MILF to talk peace again with the government.
The MILF had earlier come out with five conditions before returning to the negotiating table. Among these were the resolution of the issue of the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain and a halt to police and military operations against rogue elements of the secessionist group.
At the same time, the Mindanao People’s Movement (MPC), a peace movement, is pressing the European Union (EU) to facilitate talks between the government and the MILF.
The MPC said Tuesday that the EU should go beyond providing humanitarian aid for the residents displaced by last year’s clashes, and play a bigger role in the peace talks.
“Malaysia is still willing to facilitate the negotiations. But we need a more influential nation and institution that can back up the work of Malaysia,” MPC secretary general Mary Ann Arnado said in a phone interview. With TJ Burgonio
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