The United States rebuffed appeals to become more involved in the Philippine peace process by Muslim rebels who warned their homeland could be fractured like the Balkans, leaked Wikileaks cables show.
A US embassy cable said an unnamed political officer from the mission met two Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) negotiators last year while the group were weighing up a resumption of peace talks with then president Gloria Arroyo.
“Post aims to to explore the MILF’s concept for ‘parallel’ dialogue although we believe the timing is not right to establish any new mechanism,” said the cable. The 12,000-strong MILF has been waging an insurgency for more than three decades that initially aimed for an independent Muslim state in the mostly Catholic country’s south, but is now focused on autonomy.
The conflict has killed more than 150,000 people and stunted economic growth in the mineral rich but impoverished southern region.
The cable said the Mohagher Iqbal and Michael Mastura told the US political officer they were concerned about Arroyo’s ability to negotiate an accord that would satisfy the MILF, and asked to engage with the US on a more formal basis. “We can still make trouble and Balkanise the area,” it quoted Mastura as saying. “Please do not allow us to do that.” The cable described the MILF negotiators’ comments as part of an apparent effort to put pressure on Arroyo. The meeting at Mastura’s southern Philippine home ahead of the May 2010 presidential election also reported him dismissing Benigno Aquino, who was later elected president.
“It’s too complicated for Senator Aquino to understand,” the cable quoted Mastura as saying about the MILF’s peace proposal.