Slow progress of MILF peace talks bewailed

DAVAO CITY — The Bishop-Ulama Conference of the Philippines (BUCP) has expressed concern over the slow progress of the ongoing peace negotiations with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

According to luwaran.com, the MILF’s official website, the BUCP, headed by Davao Archbishop Fernando Capalla and Dr. Mahid Mutilan, has invited government chief peace negotiator Silvestre Afable Jr. and MILF peace panel head Mohagher Iqbal to a meeting regarding developments in the peace talks.

The BUCP has been involved in the peace process through dialogues with conflicting parties whenever disagreements occur.

Formal peace negotiations with the MILF have yet to resume after they were stalled in 2001 following heated arguments over the issue of ancestral domain.

Back-channel talks and low-level meetings, however, have been held upon the auspices of the Malaysian government.

According to luwaran.com, the venue and date of the meeting between the BUCP and the heads of both the government and MILF peace panels have yet to be set.

The peace negotiations with the MILF started as early as 1996, a few weeks after the final peace agreement with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) was signed in Jakarta on Sept. 2, 2006.

The peace panels have reportedly almost reached the final stretch of the low-level negotiations, but have been stuck with unresolved issues on the size of the territory under the Bangsamoro Judicial Entity, which the MILF wanted to be larger than what the government could offer.

The government has reportedly come up with digital satellite images of the areas proposed to be covered by the Bangsamoro territory.