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By Julmunir I. Jannaral, Correspondent
COTABATO CITY: Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Gov. Datu
Zaldy Uy Ampatuan and Ambassador Alistair Mac Donald, delegation
head of the European Commission (EC) to the Philippines on Tuesday
agreed there was a need to intervene with the government and the
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and convince them to resume the
peace process and go back to the negotiating table.
The European Union (EU) is worried that
EU-funded projects could not move on because of security problems
now besetting the Autonomous Region particularly the provinces of
Maguindanao, Shariff Kabunsuan and Lanao del Sur.
McDonald, who is helping oversee costly EU
projects in the South, was one of more than a dozen foreign
dignitaries that attended the state-of-the-region address here of
Ampatuan on Monday.
MacDonald and Ampatuan, along with Autonomous
Region regional officials, met with the European Commission official
Tuesday at the office of the Autonomous Region chief executive. The
European Commission envoy listened to briefings from Autonomous
Region Solicitor General Frances Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi and regional
Health Secretary Dr. Tahir Sulaik on the situation of teachers,
health needs of the residents, etc., in the region.
Also in the meeting was Undersecretary Nabil Tan
of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process who
was formerly the regional vice governor of Autonomous Region from
1993 to 1996.
Tan thanked Ampatuan and MacDonald for their
support for the peace process, as he suggested to the Autonomous
Region chief executive to take advantage of the international
community’s interest on Mindanao’s welfare.
Autonomous Region is composed of the provinces
of Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Shariff Kabunsuan, Sulu and
Tawi-Tawi and the cities of Lamitan and Marawi.
Ampatuan cited his administration’s role on
the peace process, saying consultations with communities led by
Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process are ongoing.
“Continue your efforts for the peace
process,” MacDonald said, adding that the EU had a standing appeal
to the government to reconsider its options.
MacDonald gave the governor a copy of the
September 15 “Declaration by the Presidency on behalf of the
European Union concerning the Situation in Mindanao” issued by
European Commission, the executive branch of the 27-member States’
European Union.
In the statement issued out of Brussels,
Belgium, where European Commission headquarters are located, the
European block voiced its deep concern on the spread of violence in
southern Philippines, specially the increasing number of civilian
casualties and evacuees.
“The European Union believes strongly that the
conflict in Min-danao can only be resolved through dialogue and
calls upon all parties to show restraint and genuine respect for the
rule of law. The European Union urges the government of the
Philippines and the MILF, who both invested heavily in the peace
process, to agree to an early return to the negotiating table in
order to seek a lasting solution to the conflict,” the European
Union said.
A strong supporter of the Philippines and
Mindanao, in particular, the European Commission since the 1990s has
given about P6.2 billion (in today’s currency rate) through a
grant funding for its development works in the troubled island of
Mindanao.
It can be recalled the peace talks that started
on January 7, 1997, broke down after the aborted signing last August
5 of the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain (MOA-AD), which
was proposed to grant the Bangsamoro their homeland through an
expanded territorial deal otherwise known as the Bangsamoro
Juridical Entity.
This prompted disgruntled Moro Commander Ameril
Umbra Kato and Abdulrahman Macapaar (Commander Bravo) to vent their
outrage on Christian communities in North Cotabato and Lanao del
Norte.
Kato and Bravo’s separate attacks resulted in
the killing of civilians, burning of houses and dislocation of
thousands of people.
President Arroyo then ordered an all-out
offensive against what she called “rogue MILF
commanders”—including Aleem Sulayman Pa-ngalian. She also
disbanded the Government of the Republic of the Philippines peace
panel and vowed that the government will only talk peace with MILF
if they will surrender Kato and Bravo.
However, Mohagher Iqbal, Moro chief negotiator
told The Manila Times earlier that while the government dissolved
its negotiating team, the MILF peace panel is still intact. However,
Iqbal said the MILF stood pat on its decision to go back to the
peace process only to continue talking about the controversial
memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain. “It is a done
deal,” Iqbal said.
At the same time the President said the
government is now changing its strategy in the peace negotiation by
talking directly with the affected communities and also applying the
scheme known as DDR (demobilization, disarmament, rehabilitation).
Somehow, according to the findings of most civil
societies monitoring the recent Mindanao conflict that has spread to
several Autonomous Region areas, it has forced over 600,000 people
to evacuate their homes as internally displaced persons.
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