GPH-MILF peace talks heading for an impasse
The MILF leadership, particularly its negotiating panel headed by Mohagher Iqbal, views the “3 in 1” proposal of the Philippine government for a peace agreement as “detached,” has “no connections” and has in fact “derogated the past agreements and consensus reached by the two parties in the past 14 years of negotiations.”
By MARYA SALAMAT
Bulatlat.com
MANILA — Recent developments in Mindanao do not augur well for the prospect of peace talks between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Yesterday the MILF condemned the Philippine Army for its “deliberate” violation of the MILF-GPH ceasefire after “a platoon-size troop of its 73rd Infantry Battalion (IB) under a certain Lt Col Espuelas entered and crossed over the perimeter defense post of the 107th Base Command of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) – MILF at upper Pananag, Maasim” in Saranggani.
The MILF ceasefire committee reported the violation to its counterpart with the Philippine government, as well as the International Monitoring Team (IMT), which responded by going to the government troops and informing the soldiers of their infringement of the ceasefire accord in having crossed over to the MILF defense line. But in a report at luwaran.com, the MILF said, the Army troops “totally disregarded” all these.
The MILF viewed this act as a “manifestation of direct command responsibility that does not augur well with the present situation of the peace talks between the government and MILF.”
Increased troop deployment in other provinces in Mindanao had also been reported in the media. Aside from violating the two parties’ ceasefire agreement, the Philippine Army’s act, said the MILF, also violates the agreement and mechanism of the government and MILF for the interdiction and isolation of criminal elements as mandated in the GPH-MILF Adhoc Joint Action Group (AHJAG).
Moro Islamic Liberation Front fighters man an outpost at the entrance of the office of the MILF Peace Panel in Camp Darapanan, Maguindanao. The group recently rejected the peace plan offered by the government. (Photo by Karlos Manlupig / bulatlat.com)
GPH may soon talk only to itself
Al Haj Murad Ebrahim, Chairman of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), said in a media interview yesterday, the MILF “will not sit down in the GPH’s proposed talks early this month in Kuala Lumpur because the subject of the talks is not their proposed sub-state.”
The MILF leadership, particularly its negotiating panel headed by Mohagher Iqbal, views the “3 in 1” proposal of the Philippine government for a peace agreement as “detached,” has “no connections” and has in fact “derogated the past agreements and consensus reached by the two parties in the past 14 years of negotiations.”.... MORE
Source: Bulatlat.com
URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2011/09/09/gph-milf-peace-talks-appears-headed-for-an-impasse/
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