Muslim rebels waging an insurgency in the southern Philippines snubbed a new government peace offer as inadequate, but both sides said Tuesday the proposal was not yet entirely dead. Negotiators wrapped up two days of talks in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur with no apparent progress toward ending the decades-long insurgency by the 12,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
MILF vice chairman for political affairs Ghadzali Jaafar told Philippine television the rebels were inclined to reject the plan, saying it does not “address the true concerns” of Filipino Muslims. But he added the rejection “does not mean a collapse of the talks”.
“We are not saying the negotiations are over. We are studying their proposal but definitely we cannot accept any solution to the problem that we do not see as addressing the real problems of the Bangsamoro (Filipino Muslim) people,” he said. Chief Philippine government negotiator Marvic Leonen told reporters Manila was hopeful the two sides could build upon the proposal, whose full details remain under wraps. “It is important to note they did not walk out; they did not return the paper,” Leonen said.
“We will expect that the process will continue in the search for a common ground.” Leonen said the government plan calls for massive aid and economic development to Muslim conflict regions, a political settlement with the MILF and a mechanism for possible amendments to a law that created the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao in the 1990s.