MILF submits new peace proposal to re-start talks with Philippine gov’t

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — The Moro Islamic Liberation Front has submitted a new proposal to the government peace panel.

Mohagher Iqbal, the MILF peace panel chair, said the rebel group submitted a new proposal to the government through the Malaysian facilitator, Tengku Dato’ Ab Ghafar Tengku Mohamed, hoping it would re-start the stalled peace process.

Iqbal, without providing details of the new proposal, said the MILF peace panel has been expecting Philippine government negotiators to submit their counterproposal on how to restart the talks.

Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles, who came here Wednesday morning, said the “President wanted a peace deal with the MILF that is acceptable to all stakeholders in southern Philippines and that he is hoping it will come within his term.”

According to Deles, President Aquino’s directive is being pursued seriously.

At the moment, there is no schedule for exploratory talks between the peace panels of the government and the MILF. Since their first meeting in February this year, the panels have been meeting every two months.

The panels last met August 22 during which the rebel negotiators turned down government’s proposal for enhanced autonomy through massive reforms to be undertaken within the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

The MILF said it would only go back to negotiations if the government revised its proposal.

Last month, Malaysian facilitator Tengku Dato’ Ab Ghafar Tengku Mohamed met separately with the MILF and government negotiators in a back-channel process aimed to restart the negotiations.

An MILF source said the rebel group proposed that instead of tackling the entirety of a comprehensive compact, the panels must discuss the four aspects of governance such as territory, wealth-sharing and transitional arrangements one at a time. The agreements on these would then be compiled to constitute the comprehensive compact.

Iqbal declined to confirm if this process was stated in their proposal channeled through Ghafar.

But Iqbal said they were still awaiting the government’s response so that the stalled talks could move forward.

Another source raised the likelihood of the panels meeting towards this end of this month to keep their regular schedule and signal to the expectant international community the progress in the peace process.

Ghazali Jaafar, MILF vice chair for political affairs, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer the MILF has been maintaining and would continue to maintain its original position that “we are for a peaceful and political solution to the Bangsamoro problem in Mindanao.”

Jaafar said that if formal talks resumed, the main agenda should be focused on the new proposal and the case of Ameril Umbra Kato, former MILF field commander, who had been expelled by the MILF for disobedience and forming his own group.

Jaafar said the MILF central committee has forwarded a resolution to the Malaysian facilitator on its action against Kato and his group.

Earlier, the government peace panel expressed concern over Kato’s case but it considered the issue as internal to the MILF.

But Jaafar quickly said the MILF resolution on Kato must not be interpreted as a “passport” for security forces to hunt down the renegade rebel leader.