Ferrer: Nothing to worry about MILF peace talks

COTABATO City, Philippines - Government chief negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer on Tuesday allayed mounting speculations on the postponement of Monday’s 37th exploratory talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Malaysia.

Ferrer said in a phone interview with Catholic station dxMS that there is nothing wrong with the GPH-MILF talks and that both sides remain focused on completing the annexes of the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB).

“In fact we will be having the first meeting very soon of the members of the Transition Commission. That would be in early April (2013). There is nothing to worry about,” Ferrer said.

Ferrer said the formal talks did not push through as scheduled, but an executive meeting between members of the two panels was held and vital issues on the peace process were discussed.

The panels also discussed the composition of the third party monitoring team, the Independent Commission on Policing (ICP) and the first ever formal meeting of members of the Transition Commission (TransComm) next month.

Ferrer also said that the two panels also talked about the proposed terms of reference for the Task Force Sajahatra Bangsamoro.

The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) said that the government and MILF panels also agreed to meet in the second week of April for the 37th round of Formal Peace Talks.

The OPAPP said it was President Benigno Aquino III who asked for the postponement of the March 25-27 peace talks in Malaysia.

“The President has requested that the 37th round of formal exploratory talks that was originally scheduled to begin March 25, be reset to April next month. The President deems it necessary to have more time for review and consultations on the draft annexes,” OPPAP said in the statement.

The statement said Ferrer had conveyed the President's request for the rescheduling of the talks to the MILF peace panel and Malaysian facilitator during Monday’s executive meeting in Malaysia.

Hundreds of residents staged a “peace rally” in the city on Monday to urge the immediate resumption of peace talks the peace talks. The groups are worried that the crisis in Sabah, Malaysia could affect the continuing peace engagement.

The rally was organized by different peace-advocacy outfits in the city and surrounding regions that are engaged in various projects, some sponsored by foreign donors, complementing the GPH-MILF peace overture.

Malaysia has been helping in the peace talks as “third party facilitator” since 2003. It leads a 60-member International Monitoring team, which has been helping enforce for eight years now the 1997 Agreement on General Cessation of Hostilities between the government and the MILF.

The peacekeeping contingent is comprised of soldiers and policemen from Malaysia, Brunei, Libya, Indonesia, and non-uniformed conflict resolution and rehabilitation experts from Japan, Norway and the European Union.