Bishop wants religious leaders to mediate in GRP-MILF talks

MANILA, Philippines - The presence of a third party would be helpful for the success of the peace talks between the government and the Moro International Liberation Front (MILF), a senior member of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said Sunday. “We should ask the intermediation of a third party to make sure both sides are really sincere and that they are sticking with the agreement,” said Cagayan de Oro Arhcbishop Antonio Ledesma. Ledesma said the peace problem in Mindanao should not be considered as an internal issue since it also affects the peace process and situation in Southeast Asia. “Even if it’s within the Philippine territory, Muslim communities have this sense of brotherhood all over the world. So this situation has also become the concern of many other countries,” said Ledesma. Besides the participation of the Malaysian government, Archbishop Ledesma proposed to allow religious leaders to also act as mediators. “They should get some religious leaders and look at the peace process itself, because it’s the religious leaders who can provide the moral and spiritual underpinnings of the peace process,” the prelate said. Peace negotiations between the government and the MILF broke down Saturday after MILF negotiators walked out from the meeting reportedly due to the government’s insistence on changing some crucial points in the draft memorandum of agreement. MILF are also asking for the suspension of the upcoming August 11 elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) as one of its condition in the peace talks. - GMANews.TV