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Aquino to re-open peace talks with Islamic separatists
Sydney Morning Herald - July 17, 2010
Carlos Conde, Manila – Benigno Aquino intends to revive talks with Islamic separatists in the southern Philippines, appointing a law professor known for supporting the land rights of Muslims to serve as chief negotiator.
Analysts saw the appointment as a sign that the President, who was inaugurated only weeks ago, was moving strongly to recognise the rights of Filipino Muslims, or Moros.
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front has been fighting for a separate Islamic state since the 1970s.
"I am aware of our history, our different cultures and the many just aspirations of our peoples," Mr Aquino said in a statement.
The appointee is Marvic Leonen, the dean of the University of the Philippines College of Law.
Peace talks with the separatists have gone on intermittently since 1997. Various agreements have failed to quell the fighting in some areas in Mindanao, in the south, where the group is waging war against the government.
The insurgency has claimed 150,000 lives since 1971 and persisted despite a 1996 peace treaty signed by one of the Moro rebel groups that gave the big Islamic minority some self-rule in a few southern provinces.
The liberation front rejected that deal and negotiated bigger concessions from Mr Aquino's predecessor Gloria Arroyo, who in 2008 offered a draft agreement giving Muslims a share of mining taxes and expanding the self-rule area.
This was unpopular with officials in the Mindanao region, which has a Christian majority, and the Supreme Court later outlawed it.
The court ruling ended the talks and sparked new fighting that claimed nearly 400 lives and sent more than 700,000 people fleeing from their homes. Tens of thousands of the Mindanao evacuees have yet to return home two years later.
In a news briefing, Professor Leonen promised to remain faithful to the constitution. "We're committed to learning mistakes from the past," he said. "We are committed to finding a balance between negotiations and informing the public of the state of the negotiations."
Julkipli Wadi, a professor of Islamic studies at the University of the Philippines, said Filipino Muslims had reason to celebrate Professor Leonen's appointment. "We feel he has the grasp of the issue, and we hope he would be able to shepherd the peace process towards a fair and favourable resolution," Professor Wadi said.
A presidential adviser, Teresita Deles, said the panel would seek to contact the liberation front soon but gave few details. "Today we advance the process of picking up the pieces of a tattered peace process and resuming the quest for a just peace for the peoples of Mindanao," she said, but also referred to constitutional limits.
"During our watch we will be faithful to the constitution." The deputy chief of the liberation front, Mohagher Iqbal, was guarded about the government's announcement. "Our stand is clear. The peace talks should continue (from) where we stopped," he said from his base in the south.
Mr Iqbal, who headed the talks with the Arroyo government, was referring to the since-outlawed peace offer to share tax revenues on the use of Mindanao's natural resources and expand the self-rule area. (Agencies)
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