ISLAMONLINE NEWS
[PHOTO - Moro
National Liberation Front (MNLF) chairman Nur Misuari]
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MANILA, AUGUST 6, 2011 (MANILA TIMES) Written by : JULMUNIR I. JANNARAL
CORRESPONDENT - The man who would have been king of Filipino Muslims tried to
keep a straight face after having been humiliated by Imperial Manila.
"That was a wrong signal."
This was the sharp reaction of Chairman Nur Misuari of the Moro National
Liberation Front (MNLF) to President Benigno Aquino 3rd holding secret talks
with Chaiman Al Haj Murad Ibrahim of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in
Japan on Thursday.
Misuari, during an exclusive interview with The Manila Times on Friday, said
that President Aquino should come clean with the MNLF and the Muslims in the
Philippines on the real score of his hasty meeting with Murad in Tokyo.
The President "should inform us (MNLF) and the Bangsamoro people as to
whether (the Aquino administration) has abandoned the GRP-MNLF peace agreement
so that our people will not be misled (about) the actual situation," the MNLF
chairman added.
GRP stands for Government of the Republic of the Philippines and Bangsamoro
is the political term used by both the MNLF and the MILF in describing Filipino
Muslims largely found in the country's southern Mindanao.
According to Misuari, the MNLF and the government have thoroughly discussed
some of the contentious issues in the 1996 Final Peace Agreement between the two
sides.
Such issues, which he said have not been fully implemented, are those on the
provisional government and the delineation of territory—both embodied in the
1976 Tripoli Agreement—and on the mines and minerals.
The MNLF chief pointed out that it was clear that in the delineation of
territory—including Palawan, Sulu and many parts of Mindanao —the 1976 Tripoli
Agreement would be the reference point.
On the mines and minerals, he said that except for uranium, everything
underneath could be explored for economic purposes by the Filipino Muslims.
Misuari, however, added that he still has high hopes that Mr. Aquino will
honor the legacy left behind by the President's late mother, former President
Corazon Aquino, during whose term the 1987 Jeddah Peace Accord was signed.
He appealed to the Aquino administration not to spoil the progress that the
peace process involving the government and the MNLF has made.
"We are almost at the finish line," Misuari said.
He announced that the MNLF panel will meet again with its government
counterpart from August 12 to 15, possibly at the Indonesian Embassy in Makati
City (Metro Manila).
FROM WORLD BULLETIN: AN
ANALYSIS OF THE AQUINO, MILF TALKS
Tokyo hosts Philippines-Moro Muslim meeting
Analysts said the secret meeting in Tokyo could be part of a strategy to move
the peace talks forward after initial delays and suspicion that Manila was
insincere in negotiating.
Philippine President Benigno Aquino met the leader of the country's largest
Muslim group at a Tokyo hotel in a push to accelerate peace talks, the
government and Muslims said on Friday.
Aquino met Murad Ebrahim of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) for two
hours at a hotel near Narita airport on Thursday evening. They were joined by
the heads of the negotiating teams.
"The meeting was cordial but consisted of a frank and candid exchange of
their views about the frames of the continuing peace talks and some possible
approaches that the parties can take to bring about a peaceful settlement,"
Marvic Leonen, head of the government's negotiating panel told a news conference
in Manila, confirming an earlier Reuters story.
"Both agreed the implementation of any agreement should happen within the
current administration. Both agreed to fast track the negotiations," he said.
"There's no secret deal made in the meeting," Leonen said, adding that Aquino
had sought the meeting with the Muslim leaders, who are no longer seeking to set
up a separate and independent republic.
The Muslims gave few details about the meeting, but described it as
"fruitful".
Japan's foreign ministry, which hosted the meeting, issued a statement
expressing support for the peace process, hoping the two sides will reach the
final peace agreement at an early stage. It also pledged support for development
assistance in conflict-affected areas.
The two sides will hold another round of talks on Aug. 20-22 in the Malaysian
capital Kuala Lumpur. The government is due to issue a counter-proposal to
Muslim demand to set up a "state within a state" structure in Muslim provinces.
Analysts said the secret meeting in Tokyo could be part of a strategy to move
the peace talks forward after initial delays and suspicion that Manila was
insincere in negotiating.
Zainudin Malang, head of a civil society group on the southern island of
Mindanao, said the meeting was "a shot in the arm" for a peace process which is
steadily losing public support due to delays.
"Before this meeting, the level of confidence among Muslims here on the peace
process has been steadily going down, but the Tokyo meeting has suddenly revived
people's interest and trust on the government to pursue peace talks," Malang
said.
Aquino may be following the policy practised by his late mother, former
President Corazon Aquino, who met another Muslim leader, Nur Misuari, in 1986.
Those talks led to the resumption of negotiations with his group, the Moro
National Liberation Front (MNLF), the biggest movement at the time.
In 1996, the government of her successor, Fidel Ramos, concluded a peace deal
with the MNLF, creating an autonomous government for the Muslim region in the
southern Philippines.
The Philippines, an archipelagic country located in the western Pacific
Ocean, has a population of 90 million people. The population of Muslims is about
12 million. Between the years 1450 and 1515, two Islamic principalities were
founded on the islands of Sulu and Mindanao. Agencies
FROM ISLAMONLINE NEWS AGENCIES
Next round of peace talks to be held in Kuala
Lumpur 2011-08-05 12:59:24 Islamnoline.net – News Agencies
Aquino, Moro Islamic rebel leader meet in Tokyo to boost talks.
With a hope to give a boost to peace talks, the Philippine government and the
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) said on Friday 5 August 2011 that
Philippine President Benigno Aquino met the leader of the country's largest
Muslim separatist rebel group at a Tokyo hotel.
Aquino met al haj Murad Ebrahim of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)
for two hours at a hotel near Narita airport on Thursday evening. They were
joined by the heads of the negotiating teams, the sources quoted by Reuters news
agency said.
"The meeting was cordial but consisted of a frank and candid exchange of
their views about the frames of the continuing peace talks and some possible
approaches that the parties can take to bring about a peaceful settlement,"
Marvic Leonen, head of the government's negotiating panel told a news conference
in Manila.
"Both agreed the implementation of any agreement should happen within the
current administration. Both agreed to fast track the negotiations." "There's no
secret deal made in the meeting," Leonen said, adding the talks would boost the
peace process, demonstrating the president's sincerity in finding a "pragmatic
and principled" political deal to end conflict.
"This is a bold step, this is a thinking out of the box," he said, adding
that it was the president who sought the meeting with the rebel leaders, who are
no longer seeking to set up a separate and independent republic.
The rebels gave scant details about the meeting, but described it as
"fruitful".
Next round of talks
The two sides are holding another round of negotiations on 20-22 August in
the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur. The government is due to issue a
counter-proposal to rebels' demand to set up a "state within a state" structure
in Muslim provinces in the south of the predominantly Roman Catholic country.
Aquino has vowed to strike a political deal to end the twin insurgencies from
Maoist guerrillas and Muslim separatists that have killed 160,000 people and
displaced 2 million in the last 40 years.
The rebellions have scared off potential investors in poor rural communities
believed to be sitting on deposits of minerals, oil and natural gas.
Analysts said the secret meeting in Tokyo could be part of an imaginative but
risky strategy to move the peace talks forward after initial delays and rebels'
suspicion that Manila was insincere in negotiating.
"Such a meeting would entail significant political risk for President Aquino
and could hand ammunition to his opponents if the administration was
subsequently unable to reach a deal," the International Crisis Group (ICG) said
in a report this week.
Aquino may be patterning policy after his late mother, former President
Corazon Aquino, who met another Muslim leader, Nur Misuari, in 1986. Those talks
led to the resumption of peace talks with his group, the Moro National
Liberation Front (MNLF), the biggest rebel movement at the time.
In 1996, the government of her successor, Fidel Ramos, concluded a peace deal
with the MNLF, creating an autonomous government for the Muslim region in the
southern Philippines.
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2011 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
All
rights reserved
PHILIPPINE
HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE [PHNO] WEBSITE
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