June 3rd, 2010 marked the end of the last GHP (Government of the the Philippines) and MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front) "sit down"under the Arroyo Administration,with President Benigno"Nonoy"Aquino III taking office on July 1st. The meeting which took place in Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia was a 2 day"no brainer'"and yet what could go wrong did go wrong.
Even before leaving Manila the GHP Peace Panel Chairman,Undersecretary Rafael Seguis,announced to the media that the meeting was merely a formality to mark the end of President Arroyo's effort to achieve peace with at least 1 of the 3 Islamic insurgencies in the Philippines.Asked if he expected the meeting to produce any tangible results,Chairman Seguis offered that he expected the talks to produce a"Closure Statement,"whatever THAT may be.What he and his MILF counterpart,Peace Panel Chairman Moagher Iqbal ended up producing though was a 2 page document containing 6 points.
Entitled,"Declaration on Continuity for Peace Negotiations,"the document basically offered nothing substantiative except for the 6th and final point and even that is pure"fluff."The"Points"are as follows (paraphrased):
I) Both sides will continue to seek out new formulas that permanantly respond to the legitimate aspirations of the Bangsamoro (as the MILF refers to all Filipino Muslims) for a just peace,freedom built upon parity,esteem,equal treatment,ethos,civil and human rights and the right to exercise self determination,with consent,per the agreed upon framework created by both parties (GHP and MILF).
II) In good faith and building upon prior consensual points,negotiations will continue without imposition as a reflection of each parties ongoing commitment to peace (in layman's terms there will be no requirement upon either side to pay attention to past agreements and progress made).
III) The ultimate goal of these continued talks being a permanant cessation of hostilities while at the same time addressing Bangsamoro grievances and concerns.
IV) The issue of Ancestral Domain* will be reframed to take into consideration the rights and issues of effected Lumad (the generic term used to refer to all Animist Hill Tribes on Mindanao) in accordance with the UN "Declaration on the Roghts of Indigenous Peoples."
V) Rehashing of the deficiencies in Ancestral Domain with regard to Lumad,and vowing to remedy these failings (in layman's terms,both this and the preceeding point are basically admitting that in past talks neither side paid much attention to the Lumad,the indigenous animist tribes on Mindanao).
VI) All previous Agreements and Texts will be collated into a compendium for easy frame of reference in future negotiations (all this is saying is that they will spend alot of money to produce a nicely bounc collection of all past agreements and memorandums,things both sides should have each time they meet in any regard,but that is how it is played).
* "Ancestral Domain"is the phrase used to describe land rights for Lumad and Bangsamoro though crafted primarily to address Bangsamoro concerns.
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