Date: June 2003

Progress in Mindanao - Ceasefire Extended

This past week the Philippines celebrated its national day holiday. It was also the week that the President of Philippines decided on an extended working visit to Mindanao. In fact the official "vin d' honneur" given for the national day celebration with the diplomatic corps and other dignitaries was this year held aboard the presidential yacht anchored off Zamboanga City. It marked the first time the reception had been held outside of Manila.

It was also the week in which the MILF - which announced a 10-day unilateral ceasefire from June 2, extended the ceasefire by another 10 days. Apparently, this was done at the request of Malaysia, which is seeking to broker new talks designed to bring an end to the Mindanao conflict. Yet while welcoming the gesture, President Arroyo appears to have rejected the extended truce offer as being meaningful and again warned that it was likely a "tactical measure" intended to buy time for the separatist forces. There are fears expressed by some that this hard-line position may signify a back-tracking from the agreement reached last week with the Malaysian Prime Minister in Tokyo to resume peace talks without preconditions. The government is seeking to draw a line between the MILF as a whole and those cells within it that have perpetrated the terrorist acts and which the government has pledged to pursue to the end. For the time being, the government was looking for signs of "good faith" that would inform its future attitudes. Many are perplexed at the mixed signals coming from the Administration.

The government has at least reactivated the government peace panel for Mindanao. Presidential advisor and former general, Eduardo Ermita is to take over as head of the panel and chief negotiator in future talks with the MILF. The governor of Sultan Kudarat, himself a Muslim, Pax Mangudadatu, has also bee asked to join the panel.

One small sign of progress was the announcement this past weekend that the government and the MILF rebel group had agreed to open "peace sanctuaries." MILF chair, Salamat Hashim has reportedly ordered his forces to withdraw from four towns in Maguindanao and one in North Cotabato, including the area around Pikit that has been the center of much of the fighting in recent months. The declaration of withdrawal was made in a letter read out by a relative of the wanted leader at the rites associated with the return of displaced villagers to their homes. Some have questioned whether the announcement was genuine or a forgery although for the present, it appears that the President and the military are prepared to take it at face value.

 

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