PIKIT, North Cotabato - The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is insisting that the approved Terms of Reference (TOR), which governs the operation of the International Monitoring Team (IMT) that will monitor implementation of the truce between the government and the MILF, “should be fully implemented in letter and spirit.”

The impasse arose over the setting up of an IMT office in Zamboanga City where the Western Mindanao headquarters of the foreign monitors is supposed to be set up, as earlier agreed upon by both camps in negotiations in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, earlier this year.

Zamboanga City Mayor Celso Lobregat opposed the setting up of a field office for IMTs in his city, saying it is not among the conflict areas in Mindanao. The IMT main office will be set up in Cotabato City.

MILF Spokesman Eid Kabalu, in an interview, said that the rebels will “stick to the TOR.”

Asked what would they do if Zamboanga City insists on not hosting the field office of the IMT, Kabalu said: “That is for the government to resolve. That is internal to them.”

But Kabalu added the MILF has yet to decide on what to do if the government concedes to Lobregat. He could not also give any assurance that the rebels will not stay away from the negotiation table if this happens.

The MILF had pinned much hope in the peace talks with the coming of 60 members of the IMT from Malaysia, Brunei and Burma. Four other countries have said they will send monitors to support the peace process in Mindanao.

The MILF said that the implementation of all minor agreements entered into between them and the government were never fully implemented because there was no “third party” to monitor and ensure they are implemented.

“We traded accusations of violations of the cease-fire agreement, but who is to judge who among us is telling the truth when there was no third party to look into the accusations,” Kabalu said in explaining how important the IMT is to the success of the peace process.

Meanwhile, Laban Rep. Erico Basilio Fabian supported Lobregat against MILF’s charges that he is scuttling the peace talks by opposing the establishment of an IMT office in his city.

“More than anyone else, the people of this city [Zamboanga] want the decades-old Mindanao conflict to be resolved. We too have suffered tremendously, we have no reason to sabotage the ongoing peace talks,” Fabian said.

“We appeal for understanding, certainly, it would be more meaningful if we set up the IMT headquarters in an area where the conflict really is,” he added.

The Zamboanga solon stressed that the local government would “definitely want to be part of the solution to the Mindanao conflict” but it also has other concerns—rebuilding the image of this city for tourism, trade and investment opportunities.

With an IMT office, the city will have to break its gun ban, part of the massive program to project a peaceful image in order to draw more tourists. The city is also not a part of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Earlier, the MILF said it will oppose the transfer of the IMT’s Mobile Office 3 from Zamboanga to any place in Mindanao.

Ghazali Jaafar, the Front’s deputy chairman for political affairs, said, “This is a product of bilateral negotiation between the government and the MILF, with Malaysia, as third-party facilitator, and could not be just set aside by any party to the agreement,” Jaafar said in a statement.

Jaafar recalled that it was the government that insisted on the establishment of the IMT’s headquarters in Zamboanga, but the MILF argued that it would be better if it were set up in Cotabato City, saying that the main power base of the MILF is in Central Mindanao, where most of the fighting is taking place.

Now that the government had decided on Zamboanga City, Jaafar said it should stand its ground. Allowing Lobregat to have his way would set “a very bad precedent and the peace process cannot move forward.”

Meanwhile, Lobregat said that he would not be swayed by pressure from the two negotiating panels.