COTABATO CITY, Philippines — (UPDATE) Government and secessionist rebel negotiators have sought an extended mandate for the Malaysian-led International Monitoring Team (IMT) and “lightly discussed” the issue of ancestral domain during a secret meeting in Kuala Lumpur on Monday.
Ghadzali Jaafar, political affairs chief of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), confirmed on Tuesday that the meeting pushed through but could not say why it was kept under wraps.
A joint statement from both parties said the monitoring team had made a “substantial contribution” in stabilizing the situation in the Mindanao region, as well as in boosting international confidence in the peace process.
The statement said both sides “reached a consensus to request Malaysia, Brunei, Libya and Japan to extend the tour of duty of their respective contingents… for another 12 months ending August 2008.”
“The most important thing is that we agreed to extend the tour of duty of the IMT, which was set to expire on Friday,” Jaafar said. “The IMT has played a big role in our efforts to sustain the gains of the 10-year-old peace process. Losing it is like putting an end to the process.”
The IMT, a creation of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, is a 60-man body tasked to oversee the implementation of the ceasefire agreement between the government and the MILF.
The current team comprises some 60 soldiers, mainly from Malaysia and with token contributions from Brunei and Libya, plus a Japanese aid worker. Japan is the only non-OIC member in the team.
The statement said the next round of talks would look at whether to expand the truce monitoring team to include other countries.
They first deployed in October 2004 under Malaysian command and carry small arms.
Earlier, Malacañang had announced that it was calling off the talks scheduled for August 22-24.
The MILF said it was surprised by the abrupt cancellation, noting its negotiators were already at the Manila airport and about to leave for Malaysia, which has been brokering the talks, when Malacañang announced the cancellation of the talks.
Officials expect the talks to resume in Malaysia in mid-September.
Among the IMT’s member-countries, only Japan does not belong to the OIC.
The negotiators, who met in Cyberjaya in Selangor, Malaysia, included retired general Rodolfo Garcia, Professor Rudy Rodil, Camilo Montessa and Mark Ryan Sullivan for the government side.
The MILF was represented by Mohagher Iqbal, Michael Mastura, Maulana Bobby Alonto, and Mike Pasigan.
“They mainly discussed the extension of the tour of duty of IMT although they talked about some issues,” Jaafar said.
He said the negotiators also agreed to expand the coverage of the IMT to Basilan, Palawan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.
Asked about the other particular issues discusses during the meeting, Jaafar said the panels also “lightly touched on the most contentious issue of ancestral domain.”
“The discussion on ancestral domain issue was very cordial but obviously disagreements prevailed and both agreed to fine-tune their positions in preparation for the next formal peace talks,” Jaafar said.
Ancestral domain is seen as a major stumbling block to the signing of a peace agreement between the rebels and the government.
The MILF wanted the unconditional inclusion of 1,000 villages in the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE) but the government said it could only allow the inclusion of about 600 villages.
The government also said the composition of the BJE would depend on the outcome of a plebiscite to be held for the purpose.
Originally posted at 09:19 am
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