Eight years of the GRP-MILF talks under Arroyo: Long-term or short-term

2nd of three parts

COTABATO CITY (MindaNews/23 June) – Nearly a year after the failed formal signing of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD), the three commanders of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) whom the military refers to as “lawless” or “rogue,” but “legitimate” for the MILF, are still on the loose.

“In pursuit of these three, some 600,000 persons (at its highest last year, according to the National Disaster Coordinating Council), were displaced, hundreds killed and injured and the peace process is back in limbo. Meanwhile, thousands of civilians are suffering. How do we put an end to their suffering? “ MindaNews asked the two peace panel chairs.

Both government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) agree that the suffering of civilians caught in the crossfire must end and that it would end if the panels return to the negotiating table but 10 months after August, the two panels have yet to meet.

The NDCC has reported that as of May 17, there were still 240,640 displaced villagers.

For MILF peace panel chair Mohagher Iqbal, the “final solution” is to “solve the Bangsamoro problem and the armed conflict in Mindanao. This is not happening because the government is just fooling around and the larger Filipino nation especially most of their oligarchs are not yet ready for such accommodation.”

“The short term, but a palliative, is re-declare a ceasefire and return to negotiation. This can even be tricky, because if fooling around becomes the policy, then conflict complicates and hardens,” he told MindaNews.

Seguis told MindaNews that the presence of IDPs in Mindanao is “a reality that the Philippine government fully recognizes and has always been determined to address in light of forced evacuations mostly in the provinces of Lanao del Sur, Lanao del Norte, North Cotabato, and Maguindanao.”

“Residents in these areas were forced to leave their homes in August 2008 because of indiscriminate attacks by renegades of the MILF allegedly in protest over the aborted signing of the MOA-AD,” Seguis said.

Iqbal says Ustadz Ameril Umbra Kato, one of the commanders being pursued, is a “legitimate MILF commander.

“He is still MILF. He is not rogue to us. He had truce violations but those commanders of the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) were worse,” he said.

Asked what sanctions had been imposed on Kato for his truce violations, Iqbal said, “that is internal to the MILF but open sanction will only happen if there is an investigation by an international body. All those guilty must be punished including from the AFP.”

Seguis said that “as of end 2008, 163 deaths and 123 injuries, many of which involved women and children, resulted from these attacks. While the government is determined to bring the criminals behind the sad plight of IDPs to justice, its responsibility to attend to the well-being of the IDPs remains.”

Seguis also noted that “the number of internally displaced families and persons in the areas cited in Mindanao has steadily decreased.”

“This gradual decrease has been attributed to the ongoing return of IDPs back to their communities, although a new set of IDPs is being anticipated as a result of the recent attacks by the same MILF rogue group,” he said.

The Philippine government, he added, “has always acted with urgency and responsiveness to the Mindanao IDP situation, delivering assistance directly to conflict-affected communities and to the evacuation centers, with the much appreciated cooperation of the international community.”

“Notwithstanding this course of action, the Philippine government will continue to seek ways to resolve these problems with finality by pursuing the peace process in Southern Philippines. For it is only in an environment of peace can we address the roots of political violence, and the issue of IDPs for that matter,” he said.
With only 12 months left in President Arroyo’s term, is there hope at all that her 2001 “all out peace” vow will be realized before she steps down at noon of 30 June 2010?

Iqbal sees “ no sign at all (that the vow will be realized). That is next to impossible; she is only less than a year in office.”
Seguis acknowledged that “despite the steady progress in the GRP-MILF talks since 2001, the non-signing of the MOA-AD resulted in difficulties in the peace process.”

“Nevertheless, some aspects of the peace process continue to hold, particularly the security arrangements and the development aspect. It is important to note that from 2000-2003, there were massive military operations against kidnap for ransom groups operating near MILF communities. The drastic decrease in such operations in the following year and succeeding years were largely due to strengthened ceasefire mechanisms. The significant increase in military operations in August last year has been due to lawless MILF groups’ reaction to the shelved MOA-AD, but it has not – and is not expected to – reach the level of hostilities in 2002 and 2003.” Seguis said.

Military officials have repeatedly said there is no ceasefire against the three commanders and their men but ceasefire continues between government forces and the 16 other base commands of the MILF. [Tomorrow: Breaking the Impasse] (Carolyn O. Arguillas/MindaNews)