RP urged to continue pursuing peace process

MANILA, Philippines - Two visiting foreign peace experts on Wednesday urged the Philippine government to continue pursuing the peace process with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). In their separate briefings, Jonathan Powell and Gerry Kelly the peace process should be “pursued without let-up until a final peace agreement is forged.” Powell and Kelly gave the lectures in Malacañang Palace and at the Diamond Suite in Ortigas Center, Pasig City Wednesday afternoon. Powell served as chief of staff to former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, while Kelly was involved in the Irish civil rights movement in the 1960s. The two participated in the historic signing of the so-called Good Friday agreement that ended the bloody conflict in Northern Ireland in 1998. Cabinet members in attendance during the briefings were Executive Secretary Eduardo R. Ermita, presidential adviser on the peace process Hermogenes C. Esperon Jr., and national security adviser Norberto Gonzales. Kelly gave an overview on his experience as a rebel and his participation during the nine-year peace negotiations between the British government and the Irish Republican Army. He cited the importance of backchanneling during negotiations to reach a peace solution to a conflict. “At times, confusion erupts during the peace process, but talks must be pursued, bilaterally or multilaterally to bring out all the issues,” he said, adding that unilateral moves are also necessary to keep the process on track. Kelly said "trust" from both panels is important and "never entirely lose contact" with the other side. Powell, for his part, said the Northern Ireland conflict may differ with that of the Philippine setting, but some lesson can be drawn from it. He said peace process is important because it gives hope for a political solution to a conflict. “This is because in hope there is not a vacuum left during the negotiation period,” he said. - GMANews.TV