Peace process negotiators: We’re hard on issues but soft on people

By: Nikko Dizon - 11 years ago

“We have crossed the barrier.”

That’s how government chief negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer described the dinner thrown by the Inquirer for her and her counterparts from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on Thursday night.

It was the first time that members of the two panels found themselves breaking bread with each other at a venue that was not part of the formal peace process.

Earlier on Thursday, they did saw each other in Malacañang when the Bangsamoro Transition Commission, which is drafting the Bangsamoro basic law, paid a courtesy call on President Benigno Aquino III.

The Transition Commission is headed by MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal.

Later, at the Inquirer offices in Makati City, Ferrer and Iqbal may not have sat at the same table while having dinner but they did share the floor with government negotiator Senen Bacani and lawyer Raissa Jajurie, also of the Transition Commission and a member of the MILF technical working group on the wealth-sharing annex when they started to answer questions from the editors and reporters.

“I think this is the first time we appeared in a forum together like this. Like boxers, we slugged it out in the ring but at the end of the bout, we embraced each other. In the negotiations, nothing is personal. We are hard on issues but soft on people. Nothing personal,” Iqbal said.

Referring to Ferrer, Iqbal added that he didn’t expect they would “speak together tonight.”

‘WONDERFUL EVENING’ Sitting together for the first time after the peace talks, MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal and government chief negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer answer questions from Inquirer editors and reporters on Thursday night. With them are Raissa Jajurie of the Transition Commission (left) and government negotiator Senen Bacani (right). ARNOLD ALMACEN

Wonderful evening

“It is a wonderful evening. We are expecting hard questions from you. The last resort is a no comment, especially if the question is difficult,” Iqbal said, drawing laughter from his audience.

Iqbal joked that he also expected the session with the Inquirer to be “very difficult” for him.

“You will do the shooting but I cannot shoot back because you are the messenger,” Iqbal said, making his audience laugh again.

Seated side by side, Ferrer and Iqbal shared not a few light moments.

They laughed together and at times, would consult each other on who would answer a question.

“We have reached a point where … a lot of breakthroughs were reached and barriers crossed, like sitting together,” Ferrer said.

“During the negotiations we could not be seen seated together,” she added.

Trust and confidence

Ferrer said being together in one room without the restrictions during the tough negotiations was “a very good indication of the confidence and trust” that the two parties had in each other.

The two parties held closed-door negotiations at the Palace of the Golden Horses, the venue chosen by the Malaysian government, which brokered the peace talks between the government and the MILF.

Both panels’ staff members, as well as reporters covering the talks, relied on the facial expressions and body language of the negotiators when they stepped out of the room for lunch or dinner breaks or to go to the toilets to tell if the talks were going well or not.

There were times when the atmosphere was tense and one would think twice about approaching any negotiator.

Happy mood

But there were instances when the mood was happy, even light. This was quite evident at the exploratory talks after the signing of the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro in October 2012.

Everybody smiled. Not a few jokes were tossed around. A male MILF panel member even held hands with an Armed Forces of the Philippines general as they joked with the staff of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process.

But it was always a rare moment to see the chief negotiators seated together.