PHILIPPINES/JAPAN: President Benigno Aquino holds talks with the leader of the Philippines' largest Muslim rebel group in Japan

Record ID: 465132

  • Title: PHILIPPINES/JAPAN: President Benigno Aquino holds talks with the leader of the Philippines' largest Muslim rebel group in Japan
  • Date: 6th August 2011
  • Summary: MANILA, PHILIPPINES (AUGUST 5, 2011) (REUTERS) CHAIRMAN OF THE GOVERNMENT PEACE PANEL, MARVIC LEONEN, SPEAKING TO REPORTERS CAMERAMEN FILMING (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHAIRMAN OF THE GOVERNMENT PEACE PANEL, MARVIC LEONEN, SAYING: "The president last night met with the chair of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, Al Haj Murad Ibrahim, for about two hours. The meeting was cordial, but consisted of a frank and candid exchange of their views about the frames of the continuing peace talks that the parties can take to bring about a peaceful settlement."
  • Embargoed: 21st August 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Philippines, Japan
  • City:
  • Country: Philippines Japan
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA2ZHDNKG7KHUTUC7ZZU5J04OQ9
  • Story Text: Philippine President Benigno Aquino met the leader of the country's largest Muslim separatist rebel group at a Tokyo hotel in a push to accelerate peace talks, the government and rebels said on Friday (August 5).
    Aquino met Al Haj Murad Ibrahim of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) for two hours at a hotel near Narita airport on Thursday (August 4) evening. They were joined by the heads of the negotiating teams, cabinet members and MILF leaders.
    "The president last night met with the chair of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, Al Haj Murad Ibrahim, for about two hours. The meeting was cordial, but consisted of a frank and candid exchange of their views about the frames of the continuing peace talks that the parties can take to bring about a peaceful settlement," Marvic Leonen, head of the government's negotiating panel, told a news conference in Manila, confirming an earlier Reuters story.
    He added that both sides agreed to fast track the negotiations, and that the implementation of any agreement should happen within the current administration.
    "It assists the process. I think it jump starts the process. It boosts it, in order that the parties are able to come up with their fundamental agreements within the soonest possible time," Leonen said, adding that the meeting was a show of Aquino's sincerity to achieve peace in the restive region.
    Leonen said the high-level informal meeting involving the president did not undermine the government's position, for it no longer considered the MILF separatist.
    "We are not considering this as a separatist movement because the agenda on the table no longer includes independence, and they have said it so," Leonen said, adding that the the rebels were instead seeking a form of autonomy and recognition of their Muslim identity.
    Aquino had sought the meeting with the rebel leaders, choosing Japan for its observer role in the peace process. Other observer countries - Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Kingdom - were also considered as venues.
    "And Japan was chosen because it is close, because of its commitment to having assisted Mindanao, to having assisted the peace process, for the longest time," Leonen said.
    This was the first time a Philippine president had met with the MILF since the peace process started in 1997.
    The rebels gave few details about the meeting, but described it as "fruitful".
    Japan's foreign ministry, which hosted the meeting, issued a statement expressing support for the peace process, hoping the two sides will reach the final peace agreement at an early stage. It also pledged support for development assistance in conflict-affected areas.
    The two sides will hold another round of talks on Aug. 20-22 in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur. The government is due to issue a counter-proposal to rebels demands to set up a "state within a state" structure in Muslim provinces in the south of the Philippines, a predominantly Roman Catholic country.
    Aquino has vowed to strike a political deal to end the twin insurgencies from Maoist guerrillas and Muslim separatists that have killed 160,000 people and displaced 2 million in the last 40 years.
    The rebellions have scared potential investors away from putting money into poor rural communities believed to be sitting on deposits of minerals, oil and natural gas.
    Analysts said the secret meeting in Tokyo could be part of a strategy to move the peace talks forward after initial delays and rebels' suspicion that Manila was insincere in negotiating.
    Aquino may be following the policy practised by his late mother, former President Corazon Aquino, who met another Muslim leader, Nur Misuari, in 1986. Those talks led to the resumption of negotiations with his group, the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), the biggest rebel movement at the time.
    In 1996, the government of her successor, Fidel Ramos, concluded a peace deal with the MNLF, creating an autonomous government for the Muslim region in the southern Philippines.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register