Gov’t-MILF peace panels to meet in Kuala Lumpur

Chief government negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer: Meeting will push through. INQUIRER PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE

MANILA, Philippines–A dark cloud hangs over the special meeting between the peace panels of the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Kuala Lumpur following the deadly clash between police commandos and Moro fighters on Sunday.

Ironically, the panels are set to put the finishing touches on the decommissioning of firearms of the MILF and the normalization annex of the peace agreement between the government and the Moro secessionist group.

The panels are set to meet on Jan. 29-31.

Meeting to push through

Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, the chief government negotiator, is confident that the meeting will push through despite the bloody clash.

“We are meeting in KL,” Ferrer told the Inquirer in a text message when asked if there were fears that the MILF might decide not to attend the meeting.

Ferrer said that the terms of reference for the decommissioning of firearms had been completed.

“We are working on the implementing guidelines and protocols,” she said.

The panels will also discuss when the ceremonial turnover of a cache of MILF firearms will take place, she said.

Ferrer’s counterpart, Mohagher Iqbal, said the MILF was “thinking” if they would proceed to Kuala Lumpur for the special meeting.

Chief negotiator for MILF Mohagher Iqbal: Still “thinking” AP FILE PHOTO

Obviously, what happened in Maguindanao on Sunday will figure prominently in the special meeting.

“The two parties are still trying to settle this,” Iqbal told the Inquirer by phone.

‘Still on track’

But Iqbal stressed that the MILF wanted to continue with the peace process.

“We have no reason why we can’t. The government is still on track. There are just some people who don’t want this,” Iqbal said.

Iqbal, however, once again lamented the failure of the elite Special Action Force (SAF) of the national police to coordinate with the MILF its mission to arrest Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, or Marwan.

Both the government and the MILF agreed that as part of the peace process, their security forces would coordinate with the Ad Hoc Joint Action Group when they have missions to conduct.

This is to avoid “misencounters” such as the one that happened between the police commandos and the MILF last Sunday.

Forty-four SAF commandos were killed in the encounter. The MILF said it suffered 10 fatalities but counted 64 dead policemen.

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