MILF irked over peace adviser's statement on Malaysia

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is not happy with presidential peace process adviser Annabelle Abaya's recent remark about replacing Malaysia as facilitator in the ongoing peace talks between the MILF and the Philippine government. MILF secretariat Muhammad Ameen said Friday Abaya should not think of replacing Malaysia as facilitator, even if she may be only joking. "She is putting the next administration in a difficult situation for suggesting something that she did not attempt or was unable to do during her time as chief peace adviser of the Arroyo administration. Is she pitting Kuala Lumpur against Jakarta, which are both Muslim states and close to the Moros in Mindanao?" he said in an article on the MILF website. “Even in joke, don’t ever think of replacing Malaysia as facilitator of the GRP-MILF Peace Talks. You are creating intrigues that are not wholesome," he added. It was referring to a report in BusinessWorld quoting Abaya as saying, "Maybe we can go back to Indonesia. We can ask Indonesia to continue their splendid job of mediating the peace." He said Abaya must realize that three Indonesian embassy officials in Manila visited Darapanan on May 22 to inquire about Jakarta's possible role as an International Monitoring Team (IMT) member country. Another Moro official noted that Abaya is engaged in the "wishful thinking of an outgoing appointive public official." He added that Malaysia has been doing well in its facilitation of the peace talks since 2001, noting Malaysia and Indonesia are “big brothers" to the Moros. The MILF said Indonesia has a long history of cordial and reciprocal ties with the Moros. "They sent hundreds of their fighters to aid the Moros in repelling European colonial powers. Moros supplied Indonesian freedom fighters waging a war of independence against the Dutch. In early centuries, the bronze cannons of the Moros came from Indonesia, courtesy of the Dutch, who were also at war with Spain," it said. On the other hand, it said Malaysia and Brunei have mainly been responsible for strengthening Islam in Mindanao. The MILF cited "religious leader sources" that the secessionist group MILF will not agree to such a change in peace facilitators. It also added that Indonesia is already busy with the GRP-MNLF-OIC Tripartite Review Committee. - TJD, GMANews.TV