Roundup: Dawn of Peace in Southern PhilippinesThe signing of Ceasefire Guidelines between the Philippine Government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has brought dawn of peace to Southern Philippine island of Mindanao.The Malaysia-brokered peace document, which would lead towards stable peace in Mindanao, was an outcome of the two-week negotiations in Malaysia between panels of the Philippine government headed by presidential advisor Jesus Dureza and MILF by its Vice-Chairman Murad Ebrahim. The two sides agreed to stop hostile and provocative acts, harboring of criminals and lawless elements, and all other acts that endanger the safety of the Mindanao populace, according to the document. They also agreed to normalize the situation in the conflict areas, thus paving the way for the successful conduct of relief, rehabilitation and development programs in Mindanao, which has been wrecked by decades of fightings. The two parties decided to set up a coordinating committee for the cessation of hostilities, which would investigate violations of ceasefire and recommend punitive action against any violators. The ceasefire will be monitored by a team from the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), comprising members from Libya, Indonesia and Malaysia, and is open to other OIC member states. The ceasefire document sets the stage for the two sides to begin further talks to cement lasting peace on the island. A joint communique, issued after the signing ceremony, says: " the guidelines will not only silence the guns for the peace of mind of the people, but also prohibit all public pronouncement that will tend to undermine the sincerity or credibility of both parties in waging peace." "Towards this end, the war of bullets and of words shall cease and the parties shall follow the road to peace through earnest and principled negotiations. This will accord the Bangsa Moro people permanent space for peace, self-reliance and development," it adds. The two sides also agreed to hold next round of talks within September this year to discuss the remaining agenda items on rehabilitation, development projects and ancestral domain. Commenting on the peace document, Dureza said, "we have just started, this is just one early start, we must have a ceasefire so that as we continue peace negotiations in the future, the atmosphere is conducive to negotiations as there is no fighting on the ground." The signing of the Ceasefire Guidelines is a follow-up to a peace agreement entered into by the warring parties in Tripoli, Libya, on June 22 this year. The peace talks collapsed last year after former president Joseph Estrada launched an all-out war on the 12,500-strong MILF, which has been fighting for an independent Islamic state in Southern Philippine island of Mindanao since 1978. In another development, a unity agreement between MILF and MNLF was also inked here Tuesday, which will promote the unity of the two armed groups that separately claim to represent the 5 million Muslims in Mindanao known as the Moro people. A significant aspect of the pact was that both parties had agreed the Bangsamoro would be represented under one name, that is Bangsamoro Solidarity Conference. The MILF, a breakaway group of the Moro National Liberation Front(MNLF), was formed in 1978, two years after the signing of the first peace agreement between MNLF leader Nur Misuari and Imelda Marcos, wife of then Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos in Tripoli, Libya. The MNLF struck two peace deals with Manila in 1976 and 1996 which led to the formation of the autonomous region of Muslim Mindanao. Speaking to reporters, Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed hamid Albar, who witnessed the two occasions, said Malaysia hoped both sides would use the opportunity and momentum to continue working on other aspects of peace process. |
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