UK security adviser urges GRP to intensify negotiations with MILF

MANILA, Philippines – The security adviser of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has urged the Philippine government to intensify political negotiations with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in order to end the long-drawn conflict in Mindanao. A press statement from the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) on Thursday quoted Dr. Robert Hannigan as saying disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) should likewise be part of the peace negotiations. Hannigan, who aso serves as head of security, intelligence and resilience of the United Kingdom, flew to the Philippines this week to share with Philippine government officials and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) leaders the UK experience in the Northern Ireland peace process. Hannigan, who aided then British Prime Minister Tony Blair in the peaceful settlement of the Irish armed conflict between Protestants and Catholics, said military solution alone will not solve the conflict in Mindanao. The British government reached a peaceful settlement of the 400-year armed conflict in Northern Ireland in 1998 with the signing of the "Good Friday Agreement." As Political Director General in Northern Ireland, Hannigan was responsible for the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement between the British government and Irish paramilitary forces, which included their version of the DDR process called decommissioning. Hannigan said it took 10 years of "patience, hard work and concessions from both sides" to reach a final agreement between the government and the Irish paramilitary forces. The British official said that while security problems between Ireland and the Philippines are different, there must be an established "platform of politics" built within "a stable security environment" for a peace process to be successful. "Drivers of violence," or those who try to drive a wedge between two negotiating parties, should also be stopped, said Hannigan, as he advised the the Philippine government to also determine what to do with the armed groups after they have turned in their weapons. For his part, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Hermogenes Esperon Jr said he is optimistic the peace talks with the MILF would be revived "sooner or later because there is no alternative to peace." The government is pursuing the DDR strategy in pursuing the peace talks with armed groups, including the MILF. The GRP-MILF negotiations broke off after the Supreme Court placed a temporary restraining order on the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain (MOA-AD) last August. The High Court's decision triggered violence from some recalcitrant MILF leaders, who then attacked several towns in North Cotabato and Lanao del Norte. The attacks prompted the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to launch police actions against MILF rogue commanders, including Abdullah Macapaar alias Commander Bravo and Commander Ameril Umbra Kato, who are currently the object of a massive manhunt by police and military units. Hannigan arrived in Manila Monday night from London and flew to Davao City Tuesday evening. He was accompanied by British Ambassador to the Philippines Peter Beckingham. - Johanna Camille Sisante, GMANews.TV