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Philippines says peace deal with Muslim rebels on track
KUALA LUMPUR, April 28 (Reuters) - The Philippine government and Muslim rebels will sign a deal next month on ancestral rights, paving the way for a final peace pact by September, the Philippine foreign secretary said on Friday. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has been fighting for an independent state for Muslims on the southern island of Mindanao, although a truce has held since July 2003.Negotiators from the two sides, meeting in Malaysia, in February agreed to a preliminary deal on "ancestral domain", the key to ending a nearly four-decade revolt that has cost more than 120,000 lives. But the signing of the agreement has been delayed, fanning concerns about new roadblocks in the peace process. Ancestral domain involves issues such as territories in the south that would be part of the Muslim ancestral homeland, the sharing of revenues from strategic resources such as gold, copper and oil and the form of government within the area. "There are no problems whatsoever," Alberto Romulo said after meeting Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar. "It was because there is the need to have more consultations with the stakeholders -- I mean, you have to go the provinces," he said. "It's just the logistics problems." The conflict had killed 120,000 people over nearly 40 years, stunted development of resource-rich Mindanao and clouded the overall investment and security climate of the Philippines. Asked if the final peace agreement was still achievable by September as planned, he said: "Something like that." "The most important thing is to overcome the ancestral domain, which is really the major issue," he said. "But they have come to an agreement basically on the ancestral domain. "So when they come here to Kuala Lumpur, they are optimistic that they will be able to come to a final agreement."
Posted by: ryuge 2006-04-28 |
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