OIC Sec Gen's message for the 3rd session of the tripartite meeting in Manila

MESSAGE OF PROFESSOR EKMELEDDIN IHSANOGLU, SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE ORGANIZATION OF THE ISLAMIC CONFERENCE, TO THE THIRD SESSION OF THE TRIPARTITE MEETING BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES , THE ORGANIZATION OF THE ISLAMIC CONFERENCE, AND THE MORO NATIONAL LIBERATION FRONT.

MANILA, 11-13 MARCH, 2009.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It gives me great pleasure to address this honorable gathering of the Third Session of the Tripartite Meeting. We are all filled with hope that this meeting will achieve the aspired goal of reaching compromise solutions based on the concept of a full and comprehensive implementation of the 1996 Peace Agreement.

The five working groups have completed their work in Manila and presented their recommendations along with certain proposals and suggested solutions for a number of existing problems, and the gap between the two sides has been narrowed. The discussions were marked by a climate of frankness and openness. We do appreciate that the results of these meetings should form a stepping stone towards achieving decisive and fundamental results for a just and lasting solutions that will be definitive and acceptable to the Bangsamoro people who have been looking to us over so many years to help them achieve their aspiration for peace, security and development.

As you may recall, during the opening of the Tripartite Meeting in Jeddah as well as in Istanbul , I expressed my hope that these meetings would herald a good beginning and open great prospects for both sides to achieve prosperity and progress for the Bangsamoro people of southern Philippines . Let me repeat again that advancing the peace process will bring about security, prosperity, and development for all the Philippine people, and not just in the south.

I wish here to express my deep appreciation to the Government of the Philippines under the leadership of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo for their laudable efforts in favour of the achievement of our common aspired goals. My deep appreciation also goes to the MNLF under the leadership of Prof. Nur Misuari, as well as to the Philippine Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the office of the Presidential Advisor for Peace in Southern Philippines .

I should also like to avail myself of this opportunity to express my thanks and appreciation for the efforts deployed, since the Tripartite Meeting in Jeddah under the able Chairmanship of Ambassador Rezlan and members of the OIC Committee for Peace in Southern Philippines, and for their valuable assistance to both sides thus far, to facilitate their mission throughout the proceedings of the working groups in Manila. I am fully confident that the present meeting will be a continuation of those contributions to ensure our success in the implementation of the Peace Agreement as an effective means to help towards the establishment of peace in the province of Mindanao in Southern Philippines .

Four years now has passed since the OIC Council of Foreign Minister (CFM) called for the convening of the Tripartite Talks, thirteen years after the signing of the Final Peace Agreement and thirty three years since the Tripoli agreement, that is a very long time by any standards, and a very long wait for the Bangsamoro people who put their confidence in their leaders and the promise of long awaited peace that we give them hope for a better life and a prosperous future.

So, we cannot allow this process to go on forever. We cannot continue to participate in a process that will give the people false hopes. We have to put a time frame for this process and a bench mark to measure its success or failure.

I would like to conclude by expressing the hope that I will have the pleasure to communicate to the leaders of the OIC Member States at their next meeting due to be held this coming month of May, in Damascus, Arab Republic of Syria, the results achieved in your meeting here today, as a continuation of the OIC dedicated efforts in contribution towards safeguarding peace and stability in the world.

Excellencies,

Allow me, once again, to assure you that we shall spare no effort in working to attain the desired objectives. I wish your deliberations total success and I pray to Almighty God that the work we are pursuing today will yield the fruits of peace, stability, and prosperity for the benefit of both present and future generations of the entire people of the Philippines .

Thank you for your attention.

Wassalamu Alaikum Warahmatullah Wabarakatuh.