Government, MILF to beef up peace monitoring team

COTABATO CITY , Philippines  – The government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have agreed to further beef up the International Monitoring Team (IMT) and reactivate the joint anti-crime mechanism for areas covered by the ceasefire, during their two-day formal talks in Malaysia.

Muhaquer Iqbal, chairman of the MILF’s peace panel, said in an e-mailed statement that they discussed the reactivation of the defunct Ad Hoc Joint Action Group, which served as a mechanism to prevent crimes in the rebel front’s strongholds.

According to the MILF website (www.luwaran.com), the talks also tackled Presidential Decree 1959 which placed the province of Maguindanao under martial law following the Nov. 23 massacre of 57 people, including 30 mediamen.

The MILF said the government’s chief negotiator, Rafael Seguis, explained the need for the declaration of martial law in Maguindanao and gave assurance that it would not affect the existing ceasefire with the rebel group.

Iqbal said the two panels also discussed the civilian protection component of the IMT, which is meant to hasten the enforcement of peace and security measures to protect the lives of non-combatants in potential flashpoint areas.

The IMT, which helped oversee the ceasefire from 2003 to late 2008, was originally composed of police and military officers from Malaysia, Libya and Brunei, and a civilian rehabilitation expert from Japan.

Some sessions of the Dec. 9-10 talks in Malaysia were attended by members of the International Contact Group, a pool of foreign organizations helping push the peace process forward.