ZAMBOANGA CITY: The leader of the Philippines’ largest Muslim rebel group, Murad Ebrahim, praised the Muslim homeland deal they signed with Manila, but said that the path to peace in the restive southern region still has a long way to go.

Peace negotiators from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the government recently signed the Framework Agreement that would pave the way for the creation of the Bangsamoro autonomous region that will replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

“Please be reminded that the task ahead is bigger and more complex and complicated and translating this agreement into reality on the ground. And the success of this agreement hinges on its implementation and the ultimate realization of what it envisions,” Ebrahim, who spoke to reporters at a rebel base in Mindanao on Saturday, said.

“It goes without saying that there is still a long process to go through. The negotiations are far from over as both the MILF and Philippine peace panels are yet to sit down again in Kuala Lumpur in mid-November to work in the details of the Framework Agreement on the unresolved issues in power-sharing, wealth-sharing, intergovernmental relations, and normalization,” he added.

He said that while the engagement is no longer adversarial and has taken on the form of a close partnership between the MILF and the government, they still have to ascertain that the letter and spirit of the Bangsamoro accord will govern the outcome of this partnership effort.

 “The signing of the Framework Agreement is a great leap forward in our concerted effort to address and resolve the Bangsamoro question on the negotiating table. No doubt the framework agreement is a veritable compass in mapping the normalization of the totality of the relationships between the Philippine State and the Bangsamoro people,” Ebrahim said.

“It confers upon the Bangsamoro people the recognition of their identity by the Philippine State and the international community, restores to them the core of their national homeland, and affords them the right to rule over themselves with the least interference from the central authority.”

The Moro National Liberation Front headed by Nur Misuari strong-ly criticized the accord, saying
that it violated the September 1996 peace agreement that the group signed with Manila.

But Ebrahim said that the Bang-samoro agreement will bring peace to Mindanao and benefit its people. He appealed to the MNLF and other Muslim groups to support the peace process.

He said that the agreement resolves the complex issue of sovereignty as well as the problem of peace and order that had been a major stumbling block in the government’s effort to attain full economic development, progress and political stability in Mindanao.