MILF: Chances of peace talks after Ramadan not optimistic

Chances for the resumption of peace talks between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the government after the holy month of Ramadan are not encouraging, the secessionist group said. There has been no “formal" move by the government yet regarding the continuation of the talks, MILF Chairman Al-Haj Murad said. "(We) cannot be very optimistic as to the resumption of the talks immediately after Ramadan because so far there is no formal move yet by the government on the resumption of the talks," Murad said at a forum on the peace process at Camp Darapanan in Maguindanao. Excerpts of his statements were posted Tuesday on the MILF website. President Benigno Aquino III, in his first State of the Nation Address last July 26, voiced hopes the peace talks can resume after Ramadan.

Murad cited positive indications on the peace process such as the appointment of Teresita Deles as presidential peace process adviser. He added, another “plus" was the appointment of University of the Philippines Law Dean Marvic Leonen as the chief government negotiator. But he said the government has not informed the Facilitator yet that it has already fully composed its negotiating panel for the continuation of the talks. Once informed about the creation of the panel, the Facilitator will then relay the information to the MILF, and in turn, the MILF will reactivate its currently deactivated peace panel and respond appropriately. “The greatest challenge to the peace process is whether this time the President has the political will to surmount all obstacles and oppositions including well-entrenched spoilers once the peace talks start or when an agreement will be signed. Running parallel is whether the peace process is truly a problem-solving endeavor or just an exercise to manage the conflict, as what previous presidents, deliberately or otherwise, did," said Murad. “It is our hope that the Moro Question and armed conflict in Mindanao will be settled in our lifetime, otherwise, this struggle of our people for freedom and right to slef-determination will drag on for generation after generation. To ensure this, we are preparing the young generations to carry on the great task of liberating our people from the yoke of oppression and thralldom," he added. Not from scratch Murad warned the government against restarting peace talks from scratch, instead of picking up where the panels left off during the previous administration. “The two parties [government and MILF] have to continue from where we stopped, and following the stipulations agreed by both parties as provided for in the Declaration of Continuity for Peace Negotiation between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front signed in Malaysia last June 3, 2010," he added. He voiced concerns the government is "still trying to catch up" on which way to go. He also claimed government is hinting it wants to start the talks from scratch. Also, he said government may want to localize the talks, and to replace the facilitator of the talks. “If true, these are serious propositions that can delay or even imperil the peace talks," he said. Murad said there is still relative peace on the ground, but this might change dramatically soon. “[While] this normalcy is the most desirable situation, it is expected to change dramatically once the peace talks continue to hang in the balance," he said. Murad noted the Declaration of Continue for Peace Negotiation was the last document the government and MILF peace panels signed during the Arroyo administration. He said that if the Aquino administration wants to proceed with the peace talks, established protocols have to be followed because the MILF cannot directly talk with the Philippine government. “The government has to course through with the Third Party Malaysian Facilitator what it intends to do with the peace process and negotiations, and the MILF will respond accordingly," he said. Murad said the MILF has "no intention" to change Malaysia as facilitator, saying it "cannot see any justifiable reason for it." “We have to understand and be very clear of it that at present Malaysia is still the Facilitator of the talks and changing the facilitator is not an agenda prior to the resumption of the peace talks with the Aquino administration," he said. — LBG, GMANews.TV