Gov’t Optimistic About the Talks, MILF Wary of ‘Process Roadblocks’

Published on March 31, 2011

“The spoilers are the greatest stumbling blocks. They are not enemies of government, some are in government.” – Michael Mastura, vice chairman of the MILF negotiating panel

By RONALYN V. OLEA
Bulatlat.com

MANILA – While the Government of the Philippines (GPH) seems very optimistic that a final peace agreement would be reached, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) decried what it calls as “process deadlocks.”

“What concerns the MILF panel most is that the new GPH panel has deliberately created what I call ‘the process deadlocks’ – because, it serves their purpose to bracket the working draft. Our fear is the inadequacy of the new GPH diplomatic team to move on with the talks, without delivering,” Michael Mastura, vice chairman of the MILF peace panel, said in a forum organized by Center for People Empowerment and Governance (Cenpeg), University of the Philippines Institute of Islamic Studies and other peace advocates.

Mastura was referring to the GPH proposal to come up with Terms of Reference (TOR) to the negotiation process. The working draft, meanwhile, refers to the comprehensive compact agreement submitted by the MILF during the resumption of peace talks in February.

Michael Mastura, vice chairman of the MILF peace panel (Photo by Ronalyn V. Olea / bulatlat.com)

“There is now TOR and there was TRO,” Mastura said, the latter referring to the temporary restraining order against the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) in 2008.

Mastura said that by revisiting the modalities of negotiations, there is a risk of a breakdown of the peace talks itself. Mastura said the MILF wants to preserve its negotiation effectiveness by holding on to its “free choice of means appropriate as a non-state actor. Mastura added that due to the political sensitivity of facilitation and mediation as a process, the MILF peace negotiators have been reluctant to place on record even post factum the nuances of procedure that both sides went through.

Mastura said the GPH negotiators framed the Mindanao situation by conducting an “interrogating stance on the pretext of concern for inclusiveness of the MILF.” “By emphasizing process over substantive issues, the GPH negotiating strategy is reduced to out-lawyering the MILF, such as resorting back to the Technical Working Groups. Legal gambits do not distract the MILF negotiators from the substantive issues,” he said.

Mastura said the MILF took note of GPH peace panel chairman Marvic Leonen’s response to a question about whether the MILF represents the Bangsamoro people, saying that the GPH recognizes the MILF panel as representative of the MILF only.

In his speech at the morning session of the forum, Leonen expressed esteem for the MILF peace panel members. “[Mohagher] Iqbal, Mastura, [Abhoud Swed] Linga are very committed to their cause. They have no interest but to do what is right,” he said. Iqbal is the chairman of the MILF peace panel while Linga is another member.

Leonen also said the falling out of Ameril Umbra Kato’s group is a serious concern of the GPH panel. “Will he [Kato] respect the ceasefire?” he asked. Leonen said the issue needs to be resolved and they will raise it with the MILF in the next meeting.

Kato, a senior MILF military commander, wanted to create a separate military unit. The MILF said they continue to woo Kato.

“If we quarrel, do not interfere. If you quarrel, we do not interfere,” Mastura said.

Roadblock to Peace

Asked by a member of the audience what is the biggest roadblock to the peace process, Mastura said: “The spoilers are the greatest stumbling blocks. They are not enemies of government, some are in government.”

“If the three branches of government can face the revolutionary forces, including [the option of] changing the Constitution, we can proceed,” Mastura said.

The Arroyo administration attempted to sign the MOA-AD but the Supreme Court declared its provisions as unconstitutional.

The MILF has proposed the formation of a sub-state that, according to Mastura, is asymmetrical. “Give us back our state rights. We do not want to give up our right to self-determination,” Mastura said.

Mastura said the Bangsamoro people were never subjects of Spain and were added only by Spain as a bonus when it sold the Philippines to the Americans for US$20 million. “The Moro province became smaller. We lost our state rights. Allow us to get it back,” Mastura said.

Mastura said the revised MILF draft “envisages power and wealth sharing structured on the balancing of the principle of right to self-determination and consent.”

GPH’s Optimism

For his part, Leonen expressed optimism that a peace agreement could be signed within 12 months.

Marvic Leonen, chairman of the GPH peace panel (Photo by Ronalyn V. Olea / bulatlat.com)

“The comprehensive compact was not a document of independence or secession.” Leonen added that their counterpart in the MILF panel mentioned that they are looking at the possibility of accepting Filipino citizenship with Bangsamoro identity. “That is an opening,” he said.

Leonen added that the historical claim of the Bangsamoro people is far greater than what the MILF put in the comprehensive compact. “It’s only seven to eight percent of their historical claim,” he said.

Leonen said the task of the current panel is both easy and difficult. He said the previous talks laid down mechanisms for ceasefire, rehabilitation component and civilian protection, they left the “hardest part” for the current panel. “A comprehensive agreement will require a lot more political capital than the rest…at the very least, the legislature, at most, the Supreme Court.”

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