'Impasse on government-MILF peace talks may force IMT to go home'

MANILA, Philippines –  The failure of the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to strike a deal to resume the stalled peace talks may force the Malaysian-led International Monitoring Team (IMT) to leave Mindanao.

Composed of 33 soldiers and six civilians – 20 from Malaysia, 15 from Brunei, three from Libya and one from Japan – the IMT is currently deployed in various areas in Mindanao to monitor enforcement of the ceasefire between government troops and MILF rebels as well as supervise the implementation of development projects in the region.

“With the present impasse of the GRP-MILF peace talks and the uncertainty of its immediate resumption, the IMT’s fate hangs heavily in the balance and a resurgence of fighting is feared by many quarters,” the MILF, in its official website, Luwaran, said.

The Muslim separatist group has observed that the IMT deployment since last year in Mindanao has reduced the fighting to almost zero level from January to October this year.

And unless the IMT deployment is renewed by both parties, their tour of duty as a buffer force as well as development implementors in the region is deemed terminated next month.

Under the overall command of Maj. Gen. Datuk Baharom bin Hamzah of the Malaysian Army, the IMT has a fixed term of one year that is due to end on Dec. 9.

The MILF has blamed the impasse to resume peace negotiations on moves of the government’s peace panel to replace the current facilitator of the peace talks, Datuk Othman Bin Abdul Razak.

Headed by Secretary Teresita Deles, the government peace panel wants Razak replaced by another facilitator for his supposed biases.

The MILF through its Peace Panel chair Jun Mantawil maintained the government’s move is against established protocol for the peace talks.

Kuala Lumpur has hosted negotiations since March 2001 between Manila and the MILF to end a conflict that has killed 120,000 people, displaced two million and stunted growth in resource-rich areas in the south.

Since 2003, Othman Razak has been facilitating the talks to end the conflict that has run for more than 40 years, but government negotiators do not consider him to be a neutral player.  

“Delays in the resumption of peace talks are feeding into the appetite of radicals and spoilers of the peace process,” Mantawil was quoted in wire reports.

Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, a member of the government’s peace panel, said the panel was hopeful the issue could be resolved.  

“We hope this matter will move forward on Malaysia’s end,” she was quoted in the same wire report. She said the government has been exhausting diplomatic channels to end the impasse.

Clan wars

Meantime, the Speaker of the Malaysian parliament has called on the MILF to flex its muscles in helping resolve bloody clan wars in the South in order to not unduly affect the on-going talks.

Tan Sri Datuk Seri Danglima Pandikar Amin Hadji Mulia of the Dewan Rakyat, or the Malaysian parliament, said his government has always been willing to help push forward the GRP-MILF talks, but both sides need to work harder in addressing conflicts among local clans.

Records from the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) police indicate that in the ARMM alone, there are more than a hundred existing clan wars, called “rido,” involving powerful Muslim families, mostly identified with the MILF.

Mulia attended yesterday the culmination of the five-day celebration of the ARMM’s 21st founding anniversary.

Mulia, who addressed local officials during the closing ceremony of the regional festivity, expressed apprehension that clan wars in areas covered by the GRP-MILF ceasefire can badly affect the efforts of the rebel group and the Philippine government in peacefully resolving the security problems in the south.

Residents of ARMM celebrated yesterday the region’s 21st founding anniversary with special bonus – a $30-million additional development package for the area from the World Bank, and more perks from the national government to hasten governance in the area.

The celebration started Nov. 15 with cultural parades and shows meant to showcase the diversity of cultures and traditions of the ARMM’s more than four million residents.

The event, spearheaded by acting ARMM Gov. Ansarudin Adiong and the region’s executive secretary Naguib Sinarimbo, was capped with visits to the regional government center here of representatives from the World Bank and national officials, among them Local Government Secretary Jess Robredo.

Robredo, in a dialogue with regional executives, said President Aquino is committed to helping strengthen Muslim autonomy in Mindanao.

The World Bank had earlier approved, in “black and white,” an additional assistance of $30 million for various socio-economic projects in the ARMM, which covers Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur, both in Central Mindanao, and the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Marawi City.

Experts from the World Bank rated seven times as “satisfactory” the implementation of its projects in the autonomous region the past five years by its conduit, the ARMM Social Fund Project, which is being managed by Engr. Nazzer Sinarimbo.

Mulia said he is optimistic a final peace pact between the government and the MILF will usher in more improvements in the region’s business climate.

– With John Unson