GRP talks with MILF fails despite P5-million ‘sweetener’ By Virgilio J. Bugaoisan and Mario J. Mallari 08/24/2011

GRP talks with MILF fails despite P5-million ‘sweetener’

By Virgilio J. Bugaoisan and Mario J. Mallari 08/24/2011

After pocketing P5 million in a government check handed out by the government’s chief peace negotiator Dean Marvic Leonen, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front negotiating panel flatly rejected yesterday the government’s counter-proposal on how to resolve the conflict between the government and the MILF, ending the resumption of the peace talks a day ahead of the actual negotiation schedule.

Leonen made this admission in a video conference with the Malacañang media Tuesday despite the initial optimism expressed by President Aquino who went all the way to Tokyo to secretly meet with MILF Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim purportedly to establish goodwill with the Moro secessionist group.

Leonen however refused to accept that this meant a failure of the Aquino government’s first formal negotiations with the MILF and insisted that the 22-page document containing the government position will still be submitted to the MILF Central Committee for further review despite the fact that everything in it was already rejected by the MILF peace panel headed Mohagher Iqbal..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110824hed3.html