Saving the peace process
MOHAGHER Iqbal, chief negotiator of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in the current peace talks with the Philippine government, finally surfaced in the Senate inquiry into the Mamasapano clash that killed 44 members of the Special Action Force (SAF) last Jan. 25, 2015.
His presence in the hearing softened a bit the all-out assault by some sectors, including politicians, on the MILF following the posting of a video on YouTube and on social networking sites showing an unidentified armed man shooting to death one of the policemen wounded in the clash. Iqbal also presented the side of the MILF on various issues.
In the wake of the Mamasapano clash, which involved not only the SAF and the MILF but also the Bangamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), some senators who are known to be running for either president or vice president in the 2016 elections are trying to score pogi points by riding on the people's emotional response to the death of the policemen.
Incidentally, the same senators are among those in Congress who have been called upon to pass the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), the most important document to come out of the talks. But with the way they are demonizing the MILF following the Mamasapano clash, passing the BBL, even with an amended version, has gotten difficult.
Iqbal himself admitted that peace talks have been derailed (“nasagasaan”) by the Mamasapano issue.
The question now is where we should go from here. Seventeen years after the Philippine government started negotiating with the MILF, there is the belief that peace in Mindanao, whether partial or total, is already within the country's grasp. It would be unfortunate, therefore, if all the gains are wasted now because of the Mamasapano clash.
Those who are working for peace, especially the people responsible for cobbling the agreement that gave rise to the BBL, should find ways to save the peace process while giving justice to the “Fallen 44.” That is a tricky task but it can and should be done.
They can start by educating the senators on the nitty-gritty of the peace process that many of them seem to be ignorant of.