Devil Soul
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Philippines Eyes Peace With Muslim Rebels Within Six Years
MANILA, Aug 16, 2010 (AFP) - The Philippines said on Monday it was optimistic of signing a peace deal with Muslim rebels within six years, and indicated it was prepared to offer major concessions to achieve its goal.
Marvic Leonen, a lawyer who heads the government's panel negotiating with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, said a truce that had held in recent months had bolstered confidence ahead of peace talks set to resume next month.
"What we are bringing to the table is a hope that we can accomplish this within the next six years, or much earlier," Leonen said.
Leonen said the government was open to amending the constitution to accommodate a comprehensive political settlement with the 12,000-strong MILF.
"If necessary, and when acceptable to all sides, then perhaps an amendment might be possible," Leonen told foreign correspondents, without elaborating.
The MILF has been waging a rebellion since 1978 for the establishment of an independent Islamic state on the southern island of Mindanao, a mineral-rich region pushed to poverty by over three decades of fighting.
More than 150,000 people have died in the fighting.
However, the group has abandoned its quest for a separate Muslim homeland and is prepared to settle for the highest form of autonomy, Leonen said.
"The challenge to the current administration is whether it has the creativity and political will to effect the necessary changes," he said.
"The level of confidence is high," he said when asked whether President Benigno Aquino would be able to end the MILF insurgency before his term expires in 2016.
Aquino, who won presidential elections by a landslide in May, would have to use his tremendous popularity to get the backing of the nation's majority Christian population for any deal to prosper, Leonen said.
"(President Aquino) will have to use his political capital to be able to bring the talks forward," he said.
Talks collapsed in 2008 when rogue MILF commanders launched attacks across Mindanao after the Supreme Court said a proposed deal that would have given them control over large areas in the south was unconstitutional.
The fighting displaced over 700,000 people at its height, although most have since returned to their homes. Nearly 400 people were killed in those clashes.
MANILA, Aug 16, 2010 (AFP) - The Philippines said on Monday it was optimistic of signing a peace deal with Muslim rebels within six years, and indicated it was prepared to offer major concessions to achieve its goal.
Marvic Leonen, a lawyer who heads the government's panel negotiating with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, said a truce that had held in recent months had bolstered confidence ahead of peace talks set to resume next month.
"What we are bringing to the table is a hope that we can accomplish this within the next six years, or much earlier," Leonen said.
Leonen said the government was open to amending the constitution to accommodate a comprehensive political settlement with the 12,000-strong MILF.
"If necessary, and when acceptable to all sides, then perhaps an amendment might be possible," Leonen told foreign correspondents, without elaborating.
The MILF has been waging a rebellion since 1978 for the establishment of an independent Islamic state on the southern island of Mindanao, a mineral-rich region pushed to poverty by over three decades of fighting.
More than 150,000 people have died in the fighting.
However, the group has abandoned its quest for a separate Muslim homeland and is prepared to settle for the highest form of autonomy, Leonen said.
"The challenge to the current administration is whether it has the creativity and political will to effect the necessary changes," he said.
"The level of confidence is high," he said when asked whether President Benigno Aquino would be able to end the MILF insurgency before his term expires in 2016.
Aquino, who won presidential elections by a landslide in May, would have to use his tremendous popularity to get the backing of the nation's majority Christian population for any deal to prosper, Leonen said.
"(President Aquino) will have to use his political capital to be able to bring the talks forward," he said.
Talks collapsed in 2008 when rogue MILF commanders launched attacks across Mindanao after the Supreme Court said a proposed deal that would have given them control over large areas in the south was unconstitutional.
The fighting displaced over 700,000 people at its height, although most have since returned to their homes. Nearly 400 people were killed in those clashes.
