Bangsamoro transition body tiptoes around Sabah issue
By Nikko Dizon
Should the ongoing conflict in Sabah be tackled by the Bangsamoro Transition Commission?
Should the ongoing conflict in Sabah be tackled by the Bangsamoro Transition Commission?
President Aquino ordered the postponement of talks with Moro rebels until next month even as he claimed that the talks were on track despite the Sabah crisis.
The head of the new contingent of Malaysian peace monitors in Mindanao is confident that the Sabah conflict will not affect peace negotiations between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, saying the talks and the standoff were unrelated.
The chief negotiator of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) said peace talks will resume this month even as he bared that “unscrupulous persons” were moving to delay the negotiations—purported attempts to stall the process by linking it to the crisis in Sabah.
Can the tack government adopted with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front be replicated in its peacemaking effort with communist rebels?
The Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front will resume peace talks next week in Malaysia, even as followers of the Sulu sultanate are embroiled in conflict with Malaysian security forces there.
Amid continuing talks with the Philippine government, a delegation from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front is set to fly to Japan next week for a visit seen to “help finalize the Mindanao peace process,” the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Monday.
The chief peace negotiator of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front said Tuesday that the standoff in Sabah between Malaysian security forces and elements of the so-called ‘royal army’ of the Sulu sultanate has “substantially no effect” on its negotiations with the government which is about to wrap up within the next two months.
After saying last year that forging a peace deal with the communist rebels appeared to be difficult, on Saturday President Benigno Aquino “spoke about his resolve” to resume the talks, according to spokeswoman Abigail Valte.
Senator Gregorio Honasan said the Philippines and Malaysia should talk to resolve the entry of 300 Filipino followers of the Sultanate of Sulu in the Sabah region to prevent an international incident involving armed skirmishes.
Malacañang was “disturbed’’ by the journey of an armed group from the Sultanate of Sulu to Sabah amid significant developments in the peace negotiations between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, but it vowed to uphold national interest in the country’s dormant claim to Malaysia’s eastern state.
Amid renewed optimism over peace and development in Mindanao, a seven-member delegation of parliamentarians from the European Union (EU) have announced they are going to the region this week to express their support for the Philippine peace process.
