Philippine Muslim rebels plan to form party
28 May 2013 12:47 AM GMT
The Philippines’ main Muslim rebel group plans to set up a political party in preparation for the 2016 elections, the chief rebel peace negotiator said on Monday. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) signed a ceasefire in 2003, giving up its quest for an independent homeland in return for significant power in a proposed autonomous region in the nation’s south.
‘We have not yet officially formed a political party but we are conducting wide consultations among our members,’ MILF negotiator Mohagher Iqbal said. The proposed party would only seek office after the creation of a Muslim autonomous region, he stressed.
Chief government peace negotiator Teresita Deles praised the MILF’s moves, saying it was ‘consistent’ with the peace process and showed the group’s commitment to democracy. President Benigno Aquino’s spokeswoman Abigail Valte said the government also welcomed the MILF’s political plans for 2016.
This is part of the peace process aimed at creating an autonomous region for the Muslim minority in the southern third of the mainly Catholic nation of 100 million before Aquino’s term ends in 2016, she said.
However, both Valte and Iqbal said they did not know when peace talks would resume, even as the government’s deadline for creating the autonomous region draws closer. Valte said ‘both parties are determined to complete the implementation of the (agreement) within the term of the president so as not to leave any unfinished business for the next administration’.
‘We have not yet officially formed a political party but we are conducting wide consultations among our members,’ MILF negotiator Mohagher Iqbal said. The proposed party would only seek office after the creation of a Muslim autonomous region, he stressed.
Chief government peace negotiator Teresita Deles praised the MILF’s moves, saying it was ‘consistent’ with the peace process and showed the group’s commitment to democracy. President Benigno Aquino’s spokeswoman Abigail Valte said the government also welcomed the MILF’s political plans for 2016.
This is part of the peace process aimed at creating an autonomous region for the Muslim minority in the southern third of the mainly Catholic nation of 100 million before Aquino’s term ends in 2016, she said.
However, both Valte and Iqbal said they did not know when peace talks would resume, even as the government’s deadline for creating the autonomous region draws closer. Valte said ‘both parties are determined to complete the implementation of the (agreement) within the term of the president so as not to leave any unfinished business for the next administration’.
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