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Philippine Supreme Court halts autonomy deal
 The Supreme Court in the Philippines has halted the signing of an agreement between the Philippine government and the Islamic rebel movement, Moro Islamic Liberation Front. The agreement was due to be signed on Tuesday.The agreement, which took ten years to negotiate, would have given autonomy to three million Muslims on the southern island of Mindanao. However, non-Muslims on the island, mainly Roman Catholics, feared their agricultural land would be carved up under the deal and took the matter to the Supreme Court. The agreement would have paved the way for definitive peace negotiations in the Philippines and brought an end to a 30-year conflict in Mindanao. Posted by: Fred 2008-08-05 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=246153 |