Malaysia leads int'l group monitoring MILF truce

By Ferdie J. Maglalang

 

Malacañang said yesterday Malaysia will lead the 25-man special peace mission which will monitor the implementation of the ceasefire agreement that will soon be entered into by the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) once their formal peace talks are resumed.

 

In a press briefing in Malacañang, Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople said Malaysia, which has offered to host and facilitate the peace talks between the government and the Muslim rebel group, will also head the special peace monitoring team to ensure that no glitches will occur during the peace talks.

"We talked about the peace process with the MILF. As you know, it has been agreed in principle that Malaysia take the lead in forming a peace monitoring team that will monitor the ceasefire once the peace talks resume under the auspices of Malaysia," he said.

According to him, Malaysia, which had been instrumental in the signing of the 1995 peace accord with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), is still completing the required "consultative process" within the Malaysian government before a formal notice is sent to the Philippine government.

To be included in the 25-man monitoring team headed by Malaysia are Brunei Darussalam, Bangladesh, Bahrain, and Libya, among other Islamic countries, he added.

Ople made the announcement after he and the President had a luncheon meeting with Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Dato Seri Abdullah bin Ahmad Badawi and Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid bin Syed Jaafar Albar at Malacañang yesterday.

Badawi is expected to be the new Prime Minister of Malaysia by October this year at the conclusion of the summit meeting of the Organization of Islamic Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia under the chairmanship of outgoing Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad.

It may be recalled that Malaysian authorities have agreed to facilitate the hosting of the formal peace talks between the government and the MILF once the warrant of arrests slapped against MILF leaders are lifted and subsequently, given a safe conduct pass during the duration of the peace talks.

In response, the President said she felt that there is merit in the idea of suspending the effect of the warrants of arrests against MILF Chairman Hashim Salamat and other Muslim rebel leaders "if it is needed to protect the national interest and the security of the country."

"But at the same time, of course, the court is beyond the reach of the executive branch under the Constitutional separation of powers, and all the government can do at this stage is to encourage and prompt the MILF leaders and their legal advisers to initiate these proceedings in court," Ople said.

The two Malaysian officials had a four-hour stopover in Manila on their way to Japan and the Ukraine.

US role

 

The United States will only play a supporting role behind Malaysia in facilitating peace talks between the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), according to US Ambassador Francis Ricciardone.

"Our role will be to supplement, not to supplant," Ricciardone said after the induction of the Tropical Forest Conservation Board (TFCB) at the Department of Finance yesterday.

The US role in the peace talks will only be to "help and pitch in" where it can and not to "take over" the peace talks, he said.

Malaysia has offered to facilitate the peace talks as soon as the arrest warrants on MILF leaders, including MILF Chairman Hashim Salamat, have been lifted by the Philippine Government.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas F. Ople last week called on the MILF to initiate court proceedings to reconsider the cases filed against the group's leaders saying only the courts have the power to lift the arrest warrants.

"We hope the parties will agree to meet very soon," Ricciardone said.

He added the US is committed to help in the development of conflict-affected areas once peace has been achieved.

"We have a long list of things we'd like to do if peace permits-real peace, not the just piece of paper with signatures," he said citing programs for postharvest facilities, livelihood facilities, education, and small infrastructure projects.

Ricciardone added the US Institute for Peace (USIP), not the US government, would be their representative to the peace talks.

"Malaysia will continue to host the talks and bring the parties together, then Malaysia will invite the US Institute of Peace," he added. (David Cagahastian)

Loren

 

Senate Majority Leader Loren Legarda said yesterday that the deadly bombings in Mindanao last year constituted criminal acts that should not be treated as a bargaining chip for the resumption of peace talks between government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

"The government filed cases in relation to the despicable bombings although the MILF has denied participation in the attacks. At this point, I believe the courts should be allowed to resolve whether or not there is evidence linking MILF officials to the crimes," Legarda said.

The senator pointed out that the MILF should realize that although it may not recognize the Philippine government and the Constitution in its campaign for independence, the latter has a moral duty to enforce the law in the country.

"Yes, all avenues for a peaceful solution to the Mindanao peace problem should be explored. But such a quest for peace should not be at the expense of justice. Crimes have been committed, so let those responsible - whomever they may be - be held answerable for their deeds," she stressed.

Legarda said that even war is governed by internationally accepted norms, and groups seeking independence should make it a point to follow international law.

"It's good that the MILF has denied participation in these bombings since attacks against civilian targets constitute terrorist acts. Still, the government contended when it filed cases against some MILF leaders that it has evidence to back up its claim, so let's leave it to the courts to determine the validity of these conflicting claims," she said.

Only the courts, and not even Malacañang, can suspend the warrants of arrests that have been issued against MILF leaders in connection with the bombings, the senator said..

 

MANILA (AFP) - Philippine President Gloria Arroyo held talks Wednesday with Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to help jumpstart negotiations aimed at ending a 25-year-old Filipino Muslim rebellion.

But officials said after the talks that "technical obstacles" remained in Manila's effort to forge a peace deal with the country's biggest Muslim separatist movement, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

The Philippine government and the MILF forged an initial pact last month in Malaysia, which is helping mediate the conflict, to begin peace talks. But the process has been blocked by Manila's reluctance to lift arrest warrants and bounties on the heads of top rebel negotiators.

Kuala Lumpur had previously insisted the lifting of the warrants and bounties was essential as part of "confidence building measures" to bring the two parties together.

But Arroyo emphasised to Abdullah during their brief talks Wednesday that she was prepared to lift the restrictions only if the MILF made a formal application in the courts, Philippine Foreign Secretary Blas Ople told a media briefing.

Ople termed it as part of the "technical obstacles" to the peace deal.

The MILF had said that it would be premature for it to seek redress in local courts because of its longstanding principle of not recognising the Philippine constitution.

Abdullah, who made a four-hour stopover in Manila enroute to a three-day official visit to Japan, did not speak to reporters. He was accompanied by, among others, Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar.

"The Malaysian guests were informed by the president that the effect of these warrants can be suspended by the court, but first the MILF respondents through their lawyers should initiate the proceedings for a review so that the court can decide," Ople said.

The warrants against MILF chief Salamat Hashim and others were issued in connection with deadly bombings in the southern Philippines this year.

Under the Philippines legal system only the courts can lift the warrants.

The 12,500-strong MILF has been waging a 25-year rebellion for the establishment of an independent Islamic state in the southern third of this mostly Roman Catholic country.

High-level talks were suspended early this year when Arroyo accused the MILF of harboring terrorists responsible for a spate of attacks in the south, including the bombings of an airport and a wharf in the city of Davao that left 38 dead.

President Arroyo has also invited Malaysia to lead a team comprising Islamic nations to the Philippines to monitor a ceasefire deal ahead of prospective high-level peace talks with the MILF rebels.

But Ople said his Malaysian counterpart, Syed Hamid, told him that Kuala Lumpur was "still completing the required consultative process" within the government on the monitoring role.

Other Islamic nations proposed to be included in the police-military monitoring team are Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brunei and Libya, Ople said.

During his three-day official visit to Tokyo, Abdullah will hold talks with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and speak to Japanese businessmen.