GOVT STANDS FIRM ON COUNTER-PROPOSAL / MILF KEEPS RENEGADE KATO
[PHOTO Marvic Leonen, RP GOVT PEACE PANEL CHAIRMAN. Photo source: asintado2011.blogspot.com]
MANILA, AUGUST 30, 2011 (TRIBUNE) The Philippine government stands firm on its counter proposal submitted to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) even after the MILF peace panel said that it would recommend to the MILF Central Committee to reject the proposal.
"The government proposal is the most principled, realistic and practical approach to resolving the decades-old armed conflict in the south," Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) panel chairman Marvic Leonen said.
"The government rejects the MILF's rejection of our proposal," he said, emphasizing that the "3 for 1" proposal or three components for one solution to the Bangsamoro problem was crafted within the bounds of the Philippine Constitution, which allows a lot of flexibility.
Earlier, the MILF submitted its proposal to create a sub-state in Mindanao to end the over four decades of armed conflict.
The government peace panel submitted its counter proposal to the MILF peace panel during the 22nd exploratory talks in Kuala Lumpur on Aug. 22-23.
Leonen underlined that the 20-page proposal was the result of the series of consultations the peace panel conducted with various stakeholders in Mindanao.
"It seeks not only to provide a just and lasting peace to the troubled south but more so to improve and uplift the lives of the people who have long suffered from the brutality of decades-long armed conflict," according to Leonen who, along with panel members Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, Ramon Piang, Sr. and Senen Bacani, met with the MILF panel for their 22nd formal exploratory talks in Kuala Lumpur.
"These components are made up of: 1) massive economic development; 2) political settlement with the MILF, and; 3) cultural-historical acknowledgment," Leonen said.
He related that this includes a "massive program of social services and economic development" to break the cycle of poverty in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
"In this regard, the government has encouraged and is prepared to work with the MILF in conflict-affected areas in undertaking these much needed social services," the panel chairman stated. "Their partnership will contribute immensely to the growth of the area as well as build confidence and trust between the parties."
Leonen also said that the "3 for 1" proposal involves a political settlement or peace agreement with the MILF by which a Bangsamoro Commission will be created and composed of the government, the MILF and stakeholders in the Mindanao peace process. The said commission will supervise the implementation of the peace pact.
Likewise incorporated in the government proposal is the cultural-historical acknowledgment that "corrects historical narratives and fosters appreciation of different cultures borne out of the struggles of all Filipinos including those of Bangsamoro identity."
Ferrer, in an interview on the ABS-CBN News Channel, said that the MILF should realize that the proposal was an "honest offer from the government."
"The MILF now has to decide whether it wants to move forward to achieve a negotiated settlement to the Bangsamoro problem, " Leonen said as he emphasized that "in negotiations, it should be expected that the other party opens with ideas different from yours (MILF)."
The government is sincere in moving the peace process forward.
As a proof, no less than President Aquino held a one-on-one meeting with MILF Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim in Tokyo on Aug. 4 to fast-track the peace process.
"The GRP proposal reflects the sincere desire of the President for permanent peace in Mindanao obtained in a fair, just and transparent manner. We await a reciprocal show of sincerity, openness and commitment from the MILF to move the peace process forward," Leonen said. PNA
FROM MANILA TIMES
MILF keeps renegade Kato Published : Monday, August 29, 2011 00:00 Written by : WILLIAM B. DEPASUPIL REPORTER
'Ousting rebel leader 'not easy' move to make'.
FEARING that his actions might affect the outcome of talks between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), Mohagher Iqbal (photo), the Muslim secessionist group's chief peace negotiator, said that they would keep renegade commander Ameril Umbra Kato in their roster of fighters and still attempt to win him back.
Iqbal, during an interview on Sunday, clarified that Kato has not been stripped of membership in the mainstream rebel group or declared as a lost command as such would have dire consequences.
"It's not a simple case of Kato as a lost command, it's not as simple as that. It has lots of components. It has components of social, political, military, religious, psychological, etc. So we cannot just say that he is no longer with the MILF or lost command," he said, without elaborating.
The decision to expel Kato, he stressed, solely rests in the hands of the MILF Central Committee, which has asked for 10 days from the start of the end of the holy month of Ramadan before handing out its verdict on the renegade commander.
On Kato's threat that he would sabotage the peace talks, Iqbal warned that it would be at the commander's own risk.
But since Kato is still considered part of the MILF, government troops cannot launch offensives against Kato's troops, numbering about 300.
"We cannot be responsible for any individual act and to answer for it, while he [Kato] is not doing anything, so where is the violation? It's internal to the MILF," Iqbal pointed out.
Leverage The amount of time spent on trying to woo back Kato into the MILF mainstream has led to suspicion that he was only being used as leverage in the peace talks, which stalled when both panels failed to arrive at an initial agreement on the "sub-state" being proposed by the MILF.
In fact, during resumption of stalled talks in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, last week, the government panel insisted that the status of Kato should first be discussed but Iqbal's panel shied away from the issue and insisted that the main agenda of the meeting should be their draft proposal for the sub-state.
Iqbal maintained that the MILF would push its proposal and it is up to the government to adjust to it.
When asked what would happen if the government stood pat on its decision to work for "genuine autonomy" rather than a sub-state, he said, "I do not want to imagine."
The peace talks stalled after a "deadlock" during the last meeting on account of irreconcilable differences in both camps' positions.
"Well, it's not [an] impasse but as far as the states of the positions are concerned, there appears to be a deadlock, deadlock on the positions," Iqbal said.
Resolving the deadlock, he explained, would all depend on the MILF Central Committee, which was yet to discuss the matter after the government rejected the establishment of the Muslim sub-state as provided under their proposed comprehensive compact agreement that the MILF submitted to the government peace panel.
Iqbal said that both parties have not agreed on when to resume the exploratory peace talks that they started August 22 in Malaysia.
Frustrated According to the rebels' chief negotiator, they were frustrated that their proposal was flatly rejected by his counterpart in the Kuala Lumpur talks.
"It was very clear in the July 29 guidelines signed by the GRP [Government of the Republic of the Philippines] and the MILF. They were acknowledging MOA-AD [Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain] as an unsigned and yet initialed then. They agreed to reframe the consensus point and bring them to the discussion of the comprehensive compact, which means that there must be continuity, not starting from scratch," he pointed out.
Basically, Iqbal further explained, what they wanted to be included in the sub-state are the areas listed in the MOA-AD that the government was supposed to sign with the MILF had the Supreme Court (SC) not declare it as "contrary to law and the Constitution."
"That is the minimum [requirement]. Anything lesser than that would fall [under] the category of ARMM, which is not autonomous," Iqbal said, adding "it would be a federal system. Anything less than that, nothing would happen."
ARMM is the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
The MOA-AD also proposed for an independent Muslim state to be called Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE).
Unconstitutional On October 14, 2008, the High Court en banc, voting 8-7, declared the MOA-AD unconstitutional. Motions for reconsideration were filed but the High Tribunal ruled with finality in a resolution issued on November 2008.
In an 89-page decision, the SC through then Associate Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales, ruled that the "the Memorandum of Agreement on the Ancestral Domain is declared contrary to law and the Constitution" and that the proposed Bangsamoro Juridical Entity [BJE] under the MoA "runs counter to the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of the republic."
The court also pointed out that the MoA-AD was entirely out of sync with the Constitution, particularly the creation of the BJE.
"The BJE is a far more powerful entity than the autonomous region recognized in the Constitution. It is not merely an expanded version of the ARMM, the status of its relationship with the national government being fundamentally different from that of the ARMM. Indeed, BJE is a state in all but name as it meets the criteria of a state." the Supreme Court said.
Under its proposal, the MILF wanted the whole of ARMM and adjacent areas to be the core area for its proposed "Bangsamoro sub-state."
As stated in their comprehensive proposal, the envisioned fully autonomous sub-state would have the power to exploit the region's mineral and natural resources and thus, would not need funding from the national government.
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