Without any explanation the Moro Islamic Liberation Fron is reporting on its web site, luwaran.com, that the controversial signing of what it says “is considered as the most significant and historic event that ever happened in the annals of the 11-year old GRP-MILF Peace Talks” is being held on August 25 and not tomorrow as earlier announced by Malacanang.
The MILF report goes on to say that “in term (sic) of significance, the MILF views this signing ceremony as at par with the signing of the Tripoli Agreement of 2001 in Tripoli, Libya.”
“Composing the MILF delegation are: 1) MILF Peace Panel; 2) Secretariat; 3) Technical Committee, whose membership were former members of the MILF Technical Working Group (TWG); 4) Back Staff of the MILF Peace Panel; and 5) representatives of MILF-nominated NGOs.
The group which originally broke away from Nur Misuari’s Moro National Liberation Front also says it has “sent some 50 persons including its peace panel, secretariat, technical committee, and representatives of its nominated non-government organizations (NGOs) to the formal signing ceremony of the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain (MOA-AD) in Putrajaya, Selangor, Malaysia August 25.”
This unexplained postponement comes in the face of mounting opposition to the agreement which, although it is being downplayed by Malacanang, is also being challenged in thre Supreme Court and non-Muslim officials, among them Malacanang ally, North Cotabato vice governer Manny Pinol.
We also know House minority leader Ronaldo Zamora will strongly oppose the agreement as illegal.
We also apoke yesterday to former vice president Teofisto Guingona and for UPCollege of Law Dean Merlin Magallona.
Both gentlemen warned the creation of the so-called Nangsamore Juridical Entiry amounts to a dismerment of the Republic and is fraught with danger of both the violent and diplomatic kind given varioius forces working in he shadows.
(We will elaborate on these points in a subsequent post.)
Simultaneous with the postponement of the signing, the MNLF has warned that Manila is wrong to try tp conclude such a pact with the MILF while “many provisions in the earlier agreement with the MNLF remain “unfulfilled.”
The MNLF also points out that “it is the only group, and not the MILF which is recognized by the Organization of Islamic Conference as representing the aspirations of the Bangsamoro people.”
What may now be emerging is that the MILF and MNLF are being pitteed by Manila against each other.
Given that both groups have heavily armed ground forces in the disputed areas in Muslim Mindanao, the GRP-MILF agreement may just be the fuse that could ignite a new conflict, not just between the two secessionist groups , but with thr Armed Forces of the Phillipines caught in the middle fighting not one but two groups simultaneously.
Do former AFP chuef of staff Hermogenes Esperon and negotiator retired politice general Rodolfo Garcia fully understand where they are dragging the Republic into with authority from Mrs. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo but not of the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the Filipino people???
Popularity: 2% [?]
This GRP-MILF peace agreement has one hidden agenda, which is to force the issue of amending the 1987 Constitution for a shift to parliamentary form of government and perpetually prolong the term of present Malacanang occupant. While the negotiators thought that they did an excellent job to satisfy their boss in Malacanang, they did not totally and deeply analyze the far reaching consequences of giving in to the demands of the MILF. It will end up with the MILF declaring itself as belligerent state which will open up the gate for other groups and provinces to claim the same rights and autonomy on the ground of being their ancestral domain.
Will not the MNLF also claim the same privileges and rights granted to MILF? How about those non-Muslims who have lands and businesses covered by the territory of MILF? Will they simply surrender their properties to the MILF as they know that the MILF will slowly ease them out once the former gain control of their territory? Worse, with that move, have they seen the specter of divisions being created with the ethnic and non-ethnic Muslims/Non-Muslims duplicating what MILF did?
Ding,
I’ve been looking at the posts on Luwaran dot com and it seems you may have misinterpreted a typographical error? Here is the August 4, 2008 post on that website:
“In what is considered as the most significant and historic event that ever happened in the annals of the 11-year old GRP-MILF Peace Talks, the MILF has sent some 50 persons including its peace panel, secretariat, technical committee, and representatives of its nominated non-government organizations (NGOs) to the formal signing ceremony of the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain (MOA-AD) in Putrajaya, Selangor, Malaysia August 25.”
I think they meant to put August 5 not August 25. The rest of the post doesn’t talk about any “postponement” at all!