Zarvan
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Zeenews Bureau
Manila: Ahead of signing of a peace pact with the government, Philippine Muslim rebels appeared jubilant as hundreds of them on Monday staged a support rally outside the palace, welcoming the agreement.
The peace pact between the Phillipine government and the Muslim rebels comes after marathon negotiations and is expected to put an end to a 40-year conflict that has claimed 120,000 lives.
About 300 Muslims from Manila and southern provinces held a noisy rally outside the palace today in support of the preliminary accord, yelling "Allahu Akbar," or "God is great." They called for more development in the resource-rich but impoverished southern Mindanao region, the homeland of minority Muslims in the predominantly Roman Catholic nation.
The preliminary peace pact aimed at ending one of Asia's longest-running insurgencies will be signed today by government negotiator Marvic Leonen and his rebel counterpart, Mohagher Iqbal. The pact enlists general agreements on major issues, including the extent of power, revenues and also outlines territory of a new Muslim autonomous region to be called Bangsamoro.
It calls for the establishment of a 15-member Transition Commission to draft a law creating the new Muslim-administered region. Rebel forces will be deactivated gradually "beyond use," the agreement says, without specifying a timetable.
The new Muslim region is to include an existing autonomous territory made of five of the country's poorest and most violent provinces. The Moro rebels earlier dropped a demand for a separate Muslim state and renounced terrorism.
The signing will be witnessed by Aquino, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and rebel chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim, who will set foot for the first time in Manila's Malacanang presidential palace, where officials prepared a red-carpet welcome.
The deal is the most significant progress in years of tough bargaining with the 11,000-strong Moro group to end an uprising that has left more than 120,000 people dead and displaced about 2 million others. Western governments have worried over the presence of small numbers of al Qaeda-linked militants from the Middle East and Southeast Asia seeking combat training and collaboration with the Filipino insurgents.
Security has been tightened in the capital, although no disruptions were expected.
With Agency Inputs
Manila: Ahead of signing of a peace pact with the government, Philippine Muslim rebels appeared jubilant as hundreds of them on Monday staged a support rally outside the palace, welcoming the agreement.
The peace pact between the Phillipine government and the Muslim rebels comes after marathon negotiations and is expected to put an end to a 40-year conflict that has claimed 120,000 lives.
About 300 Muslims from Manila and southern provinces held a noisy rally outside the palace today in support of the preliminary accord, yelling "Allahu Akbar," or "God is great." They called for more development in the resource-rich but impoverished southern Mindanao region, the homeland of minority Muslims in the predominantly Roman Catholic nation.
The preliminary peace pact aimed at ending one of Asia's longest-running insurgencies will be signed today by government negotiator Marvic Leonen and his rebel counterpart, Mohagher Iqbal. The pact enlists general agreements on major issues, including the extent of power, revenues and also outlines territory of a new Muslim autonomous region to be called Bangsamoro.
It calls for the establishment of a 15-member Transition Commission to draft a law creating the new Muslim-administered region. Rebel forces will be deactivated gradually "beyond use," the agreement says, without specifying a timetable.
The new Muslim region is to include an existing autonomous territory made of five of the country's poorest and most violent provinces. The Moro rebels earlier dropped a demand for a separate Muslim state and renounced terrorism.
The signing will be witnessed by Aquino, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and rebel chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim, who will set foot for the first time in Manila's Malacanang presidential palace, where officials prepared a red-carpet welcome.
The deal is the most significant progress in years of tough bargaining with the 11,000-strong Moro group to end an uprising that has left more than 120,000 people dead and displaced about 2 million others. Western governments have worried over the presence of small numbers of al Qaeda-linked militants from the Middle East and Southeast Asia seeking combat training and collaboration with the Filipino insurgents.
Security has been tightened in the capital, although no disruptions were expected.
With Agency Inputs
