Palace appeals for calm after stalled talks with Moro rebels

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang on Sunday appealed to Filipinos to remain calm and avoid making unnecessary statements that may stoke anxiety and fear among the people as the Arroyo administration maintained its commitment to pursue the peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. “We will never stop waging peace in Mindanao. Without peace, there can be no progress," said Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye following allegations from MILF Secretariat chairman Muhammad Ameen that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has already reversed her all out peace policy to an all out war policy. Bunye stressed that pursuing and achieving peace in Mindanao, apart from being one of the 10-point agenda of the administration, is a key to the development and progress of the country’s southern provinces. Romeo Montenegro, spokesman of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) on the MILF peace talks, said such allegations is uncalled for and would not bode well for the peace efforts. “These times require sober calls for calm and restraint on the part of everybody and not feed on the public’s apprehensions. Statements that stoke the anxieties and fears of our people do not serve the interest of peace," Montenegro said. He added that the government is committed to upholding the primacy of the peace process and believes that squandering “the gains in the peace negotiations thus far achieved, is definitely not an option for the government." He believes that the MILF shares this view despite current “difficulties" faced in the negotiations. Deputy presidential spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo reiterated that the Arroyo administration would continue the peace talks but without reneging on its constitutional duty of protecting the state and its interests against its “enemies." Fajardo said that Mrs Arroyo firmly believes that “talk is better than war," denying that her administration had reverted to war. “It is the desire of this administration to pursue the path of peace. We are optimistic that this can still be achieved with the MILF. We caution, however, that such unfounded accusation will not help in attaining peace with the MILF," she said. Ameen, in a statement at the Web site Luwaran.com, had accused Mrs Arroyo of “deliberately reverting to war" by refusing to heed some 49-consensus points on the ancestral domain agenda that was initially agreed on by the government and MILF negotiating parties. “President Arroyo is reversing her policy from all-out peace policy to all-out war. This is a tragic decision. She has done an irreversible damage to the pacific ways of resolving conflicts, which the two Parties, the Malaysian government, Libya, Brunei and Japan, and other members of the international community, have nurtured for years," he said. He added that if this continues Mrs Arroyo would leave the presidency with blood on her hands and with her conscience hounded “for abandoning the peace talks in favor of a bloodbath in Mindanao." Ameen said that while MILF does not favor a war, which he described as a “menace" to everyone. “Those who want peace to prevail must prepare for war," he said. “Readiness and preparedness are normal tasks in a revolutionary struggle such as the MILF," he added. The MILF had blamed the administration for the delay in an agreement on the ancestral domain issue after the government that it would not negotiate and agree to anything that would violate the 1987 Constitution. The government also insisted that it is still reviewing the proposed agreement. The peace talks ended in an impasse last year after the government insisted on upholding the Constitution as term of reference for any agreements. The MILF questioned why the government just insisted on the Constitution now. This resulted in the downsizing of the Malaysian contingent in the International Monitoring Team, which the government insisted would not spell the end of the ceasefire in Mindanao or the talks with the MILF. Dureza, in a text message, said “with the local peace stakeholders demonstrating greater determination in sustaining the peace, the downsizing of Malaysian peace monitors will not result to a breakdown in ceasefire mechanism." - GMANews.TV