The stalled peace negotiations between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front are expected to resume after the elections.
Assistant Secretary Evelyn Daplas of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process said the peace talks, which reached an impasse late last year, would resume ?as soon as possible, maybe within a month.?
Dr. Abbas Candao of the Bangsamoro Development Agency, MILF?s development arm, said the talks would resume after the ?gulo [mess]? of the elections were over. ?We?ll just let the elections pass,? he said.
The formal talks have been stalled over the issue of ancestral domain, particularly delineation of territories, but Candao said both parties have their separate proposals to resolve the issue. ?It?s just a matter of reconciling them,? he said.
Daplas said the government panel?s position to resolve the deadlock would be to offer the concept of self-determination. ?We elevated it to a higher plane,? she said.
She said the possibility of creating another political territory like the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao would depend on the negotiations. ?I would not want to pre-empt them,? she said.
Daplas also said the applications of Sweden and Canada to join the International Monitoring Team would also be discussed during the resumption of the talks in Kuala Lumpur.
Various countries are awaiting the signing of the peace pact, which is seen to accelerate the development of resource-rich Mindanao. (PIA Dispatch)
davaotoday.com
