Peace talks over conflict in the southern Philippines have foundered apparently over a government proposal that gives greater autonomy to Islamic rebels, but falls short of what the militants seek.
An official peace talks observer, Dr Steven Rood, said the offer went some way to addressing issues of corruption and a lack of faith in public institutions which were big problems for people in the region.
The talks between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the government, held in Malaysia, were aimed at setting a timeline to end 40 years of conflict.
The rebels want to form their own sub-state on Mindanao island, but sticking points remain over the power the rebels would have and control of natural resources.
Poverty
Dr Steven Rood, the Asia Foundation’s representative in the Philippines, and a long-serving academic in the country, told Radio Australia’s Asia Pacific the conflict “is a persistent drag both in the expenditure of equipment and material in a conflict but also in the development that does not take place”.
It has claimed up to 120,000 lives over the four decades. It is also discouraging investment in resource-rich Mindanao and outlying islands, a poverty-stricken region.
Dr Rood said: “The Moros want to remain a separate people, and the government realises that. The question is, how to arrange governments and economies so you can make that possible?”
Media reports claiming the government’s peace negotiation panel had asked the rebels to surrender their arms before agreeing to the proposal were wrong, he said.
“The government understands that any chance of laying down arms before an agreement is premature. What they do say is that they want to begin a process of discussing normalisation and ways of dealing with the proliferation of firearms.”
Plaguing
The observer said: “The record of very bad governance which is plaguing the southern Philippines needs to be rectified and the government has a plan of putting into place into that autonomous region of Muslim Mindanao a transition team beginning October.”
It would be in place for 18 months to try to “reset the state of governance”.
He said there should be a greater focus on building up public institutions like the police, rather than disarmament, so that “everybody understands that their lives and property are secure”.
The talks came two weeks after President Benigno Aquino met the chairman of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, Al Haj Murad Ibrahim, in Japan.
Dr Rood said both parties have agreed a deal must be reached by the middle of next year, ahead of elections in 2013.
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By: Alma Mistry
Source: Radio Australia, Aug. 23, 2011
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