The Philippine government denied Sunday that the peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have collapsed, saying the disagreements were merely “humps and bumps” expected in the course of the negotiations. Press Secretary Jesus Dureza said President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo remains optimistic that both panels would come to some kind of settlement in order to move the peace process forward. “We look at milestones. Our negotiations go through humps and bumps. This is one of the bumps that we will have to resolve. But the peace process continues in many ways, in various forms,” said Dureza, a former Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process. The talks in Malaysia were earlier reported to have collapsed after negotiators from the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) attempted to make changes on an earlier agreement on ancestral domain that would grant the MILF a Bangsamoro homeland carved out of Central Mindanao . Dureza conceded there were differences on the issue of the GRP's insistence that an enabling law enacted by Congress should authorize the implementation of the agreement. “Maybe, that's the breakaway point in their negotiations,” Dureza said. “So when you are facing certain obstacles, for as long as the objectives of both sides remain the same, there are always ways on how you are able to resolve them. It may take a little time,” he added. For their part, the MILF said its negotiators walked out of the peace talks in protest after the GRP allegedly reneged on a previous agreement. Sources said the initial agreement stated the territories that will fall under the jurisdiction of the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE) as proposed by the MILF. A plebiscite would then be held in areas slated to be covered by the BJE to determine if the residents concerned wanted to join the expanded Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). While both panels have agreed to the extension of the holding of the plebiscite within six months to one year, the MILF panel accused the government of “watering down” the original draft agreement. “The original version was watered down and worse, the new draft omitted the timeframe of six months (for the conduct of plebiscite),” the MILF panel reported. The MILF said the GRP had changed its position and now wanted to delay the plebiscite until after the signing of a final peace pact, instead of after the agreement on ancestral domain as they had agreed upon. “The talks collapsed because the government was undoing already settled issues on ancestral domain,” chief MILF peace negotiator Mohagher Iqbal said. MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu explained a final peace accord would take longer to complete and would cover not just ancestral domain but other details, such as the powers of the BJE and its relations to the national government. “We have conceded much and (got) nothing in return from the government. Under these circumstances, the MILF sees it illogical and unreasonable to continue with the talks,” Iqbal added. Mindanao leaders, meanwhile, warned any postponement of the ARMM elections on the behest of the MILF will only make the Muslim renegade group virtually “exempt” from the Constitution. Muslim religious leaders said the setback in the peace negotiations with the MILF is more reason for the regional elections to push through. Sulu Gov. Hadji Sakur Tan said postponing the elections in the ARMM is like “kissing goodbye” to peace and development in Mindanao . “We have to live (and abide) by the law. Without the rule of law, we can never have peace and development. We in Sulu support the peace agenda for Mindanao but we are against any postponement of the regional elections,” Tan said. __
