British MPs visit RP, vow to help in talks with MILF

Britain has vowed to help the country resume peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the government said yesterday.

Retired Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr., presidential adviser on the peace process, said Britain’s interest in the peace talks was relayed by visiting British lawmakers Mark Pritchard, Elliot Morley and Graham Stuart.

“The British MP’s (Members of Parliament) said the UK will also help in educating the public, particularly the stakeholders in southern Philippines, on the importance of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR), the new paradigm being pushed by the Philippine government in the peace negotiations, to attain a genuine and lasting peace in the country,” he said.

Esperon briefed the visiting lawmakers on the assistance given by several countries and agencies in the economic development of Mindanao.

However, MILF chief peace negotiator Mohagher Iqbal said peace talks could not resume immediately following the termination of the International Monitoring Team’s tour of duty and the absence of a government panel that would negotiate peace.

In a statement, Iqbal said the MILF and the government have not yet agreed on some conditions that could pave the way for the extension of the Malaysia-led team to monitor the ceasefire agreement in Mindanao.

Since August, the IMT has become irrelevant because the government has not allowed it to do its mandate, he added.

Last Nov. 14, the government formally informed Malaysia, Japan, Brunei, Libya and Japan of the possible resumption of peace talks.

Malaysia, which heads the IMT, has 12 representatives, while Brunei has 10, Libya six and Japan, two.

Japan has signified its intention to retain its representatives to the IMT.

The last batch of Malaysian peacekeepers flew out of Mindanao aboard a military cargo plane for Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

Twenty-one Malaysian soldiers and policemen had left in May.

“It’s nice to go home but leaving behind friends is hard,” said mission head First Admiral Pahlawan Amzah bin Sulaiman before departing.

“We hope that we can come back again in a different capacity. I hope that the Philippine government and MILF can resume the peace talks soon.”

The Malaysians have made up the bulk of the small international monitoring team which has overseen a ceasefire between the government and the MILF.

Members from Brunei, Libya and Japan will continue with their work, although with barely two-dozen covering the south, it is unlikely they will be effective.

Malaysia has said it was pulling out its troops due to a lack of progress in the peace talks, which have been suspended since President Arroyo ordered a massive assault on the MILF in August.

A fresh breakdown in talks came after MILF fighters staged a series of coordinated, deadly attacks across several towns and provinces on Mindanao island that left hundreds of thousands displaced and dozens dead.

The attacks came shortly after the Supreme Court issued an injunction against a proposed deal that would have given the MILF control over 700 towns and territories across Mindanao.

It subsequently ruled the deal was unconstitutional. – James Mananghaya, Jose Rodel Clapano, Paolo Romero