Gov’t, MILF nearing peace pact

GOVERNMENT officials and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels began a fresh round of talks in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, yesterday, aiming to seal a peace agreement to end the decades-old Muslim insurgency in Mindanao.

The two sides are closing in on a framework agreement outlining the steps, or roadmap, to finalize a peace pact.

The deal could be signed as early as this week if the four-day talks in Malaysia are successful.

“We are on the brink of layering the written predicates that can frame the process of building trust,” said Marvic Leonen, chair of the government negotiating panel.

He said government officials are “looking at this framework agreeement as the overarching architecture of the peace process.”

Mohagher Iqbal, the rebels’ chief negotiator, said the talks were now “on the homestretch.”

“The smell of success is rein- forced every day (but) remember that negotiations, contrary to what many believe, is a risky business. If we cannot conclude it soon successfully, we will be in trouble,” Iqbal said.

Teresita Quintos-Deles, chief adviser on the peace process, said the government was hoping for an enduring settlement soon.

“We are always hoping and praying for just and lasting peace. Sooner, rather than later,” she told AFP.

A peace deal with the MILF would set up an expanded autonomous area for Muslims on Mindanao before the end of President Aquino’s term in 2016, giving them more political and economic powers, including a bigger share in rev- enues from natural resources and a more active role in internal security.

The agreement would set up a 15-member transition commission which has until 2015 to draft a law creating the new entity to replace the current Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) that has been in place since 1989 and which is widely seen as a failure.

Iqbal said there are still some issues to be resolved in the latest talks, particularly on the shape and size of the new political entity, internal security and wealth-sharing arrangement.

He was also concerned that the peace talks could be further complicated by next May’s midterm elections.

“For all we know, the greatest source of risk comes from spoilers, leaders and parties who believe that these emerging from negotiations threaten their power and interests, and use violence to undermine attempts to achieve it,” he said. With a