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DAVAO
CITY—Signaling a breakthrough in the peace talks with
the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the National
Security Council has approved the draft proposal on the
contentious issue of ancestral domain that has brought
the negotiations to a standstill.
President Arroyo announced the approval of the draft at
Wednesday’s merger meeting between the Lakas-Christian
Muslim Democrats and Arroyo’s Kabalikat ng Malayang
Pilipino.
“Our
negotiators will present our position to the MILF to
quickly resume the negotiations and hopefully to hasten
the signing of the final peace agreement and propel
development,” she told Mindanao local government leaders
and the national leadership of both parties meeting at
the Apo View Hotel here.
She did
not give any details of the proposal, which last week
presidential chief peace adviser Hermogenes Esperon had
said will be discussed by the Cabinet Security Cluster.
The
issue of ancestral domain proved to be the most ticklish
and controversial in comparison with the other issues
that have now been resolved to the satisfaction of both
sides.
The MILF
had said in December last year, when the talks stopped,
that it was leaving the question of restarting
negotiations to the government and after the MILF and
Malacañang reached some consensus in backdoor meetings
in January and February.
In her
instructions Wednesday to the administration slate in
the August elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim
Mindanao, Mrs. Arroyo said she would like reelectionist
Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan to talk with the MILF to hasten the
peace process in Mindanao. “Peace is central to the
island’s future, and we would like to see the signing of
a final peace agreement with the MILF.” |
