EU envoys seek renewed talks over Southern RP crisis

KORONADAL CITY, Philippines — Ambassadors from the European Union (EU) have warned of a worsening humanitarian crisis in Mindanao and pressed for an end to civilian suffering by immediately resuming peace talks between the government and Moro rebels. The foreign embassy heads visited Central Mindanao on Monday to check on tens of thousands of individuals displaced by the war since August and see how the financial assistance from the 27-member group is implemented. Although the EU envoys noted that "living conditions now in evacuation camps have improved significantly from last month," the humanitarian crisis "would only come to an end if both sides will resume peace talks." The envoys noted the "extremely serious" problem with 320,000 internally displaced persons in refugee camps in Mindanao, many of whom come from Maguindanao province, said Alistair B. MacDonald, European Commission (EC) head of delegation to the Philippines, in a press conference on Tuesday. "Living under plastic sheets in school or government grounds is not a life that anybody would wish," he added. Fierce skirmishes between the government and the Moro rebels erupted in August after the Supreme Court stopped the signing of a controversial territory deal, called Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MoA-AD), which was eventually declared as unconstitutional. The botched agreement would have given the Moro rebels wider political and economic powers through the proposed Bangsamoro Juridical Entity, which seeks to include areas outside the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao that will still be subject to a plebiscite. The Moro rebels insisted the MoA-AD was a done deal, citing the initialing of the document by representatives of both parties before the high court issued the stay order. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has said the government will not sign the document after massive demonstrations against the MoA were staged in several parts of Mindanao in August. Mr. MacDonald reiterated the EU’s appeal for the government and Moro rebels to resume the peace process and allow the refugees’ return to their communities. In September, the Council of the European Union issued a statement that called on both the government and Moro rebels to immediately seek a lasting solution to the conflict. David Verboom, head of the European Commission’s humanitarian aid department, said the continued stay of evacuees in refugee camps will increase health risks. "The sanitation condition is already striking. A prolonged stay in evacuation centers will make us face more difficulties in addressing water-related diseases," he told reporters. Alghassim Wurie, the United Nation’s World Food Program (WFP) deputy director for the Philippines, assured the refugees’ rice requirements will be met. "Should there be shortage [because of a prolonged stay], we will request for more rice stocks to feed them," Mr. Wurie told BusinessWorld on the sidelines. He noted that WFP, in partnership with the International Committee of the Red Cross, has been giving 25 kilograms (kg) of rice to a family with six members every 15 days or a sack of 50-kg rice in a month. Mr. MacDonald said the EC will continue to assist in Mindanao, which is rich in natural resources. The EC’s humanitarian, rehabilitation and development assistance for Mindanao totaled €126 million or about P7.9 billion in the last two decades, the group said in a statement. Extra care In a related development, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has advised the government to be careful in issuing statements on the status of the peace process as it denied the two parties are now engaged in informal talks. In a statement, the Moro rebels questioned official statements on a schedule for the resumption of talks, a move that should be also endorsed by the Malaysian facilitator and Moro rebels, too. "If the government cannot be relied upon in the presence of third-party facilitator, how much more if the MILF talks with it directly and secretly?" asked Khaled Musa, deputy chairman of the MILF committee on information. "It is absolutely untrue that there is ongoing back-channeling talk with the Philippine government. There would be none. When MILF Vice-Chairman Alim Abdulaziz Mimbantas met Foreign Affairs undersecretary and now government chief peace negotiator Rafael Seguis, it was no more than a form of ’socialization’ sought for by the latter," he added. Moro rebels said Palace officials have reported that the resumption of talks will be on Dec. 22. Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Hermogenes C. Esperon, Jr. said the government is looking at holding the talks any time in December after the government has finished consultations with Mindanao stakeholders. Mr. Esperon was not immediately available for comment. The MILF said it has yet to receive an official communication from the Malaysian facilitator on the resumption of talks. — Romer S. Sarmiento, Elizabeth T. Marcelo and Darwin T. Wee, BusinessWorld