2008-07-27 11:52:43 - Philippine gov't and Muslim rebels far apart as Kuala Lumpur talks end with walkout

By Lilybeth G. Ison

MANILA

www.balitapinoy.net

Palace confident on resumption of peace talks with MILF despite differences

Aggressive peace efforts continue to dominate Malacanang's agenda despite the reported collapse of the peace negotiations between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

At the same time, Malacanang expressed confidence that despite the

stalled peace accord, both parties would continue to look for ways to patch up their differences.

In a statement issued on Saturday, Press Secretary Jesus Dureza said "the peace process is a continuing effort."

Also, Secretary Dureza disclosed that over the past few days, both the GRP and the MILF panels have been trying to hammer out a final draft agreement specifically on the issue of ancestral domain.

While Dureza expressed optimism that a mutually beneficial compromise could soon be reached, he noted that "there remains some (unresolved) differences."

Reports say that the peace talks between the Philippine government and MILF had to be called-off without fixing a date on when it will resume, due to a misunderstanding over the issue of ancestral domain.

MILF Chief negotiator Mohaqer Iqbal said that the misunderstanding at the back-room talks caused the cancellation of the formal talks slated on August 5.

At the informal talks in Malaysia, a disagreement erupted between the two panels when the MILF panel insisted on annexing to the separatists' territory, the Provinces of Zamboanga-Sibugay, Sultan Kudarat, Lanao del Norte and Cotabato City as one of the conditions for the resumption of the formal peace parley.

Although the meeting did not immediately bring about progress on the ancestral domain issue, Dureza expressed confidence "that both parties will continue to look for ways to hurdle the difficulties and move the (peace) process forward."

It will be recalled that the GRP-MILF formal peace talks have been stalled for months due to disagreements over the nature of authority the MILF would exercise over areas they claim as their ancestral homeland.

However, about a week ago, it looked like the formal peace talks was bound to resume, as the government and MILF representatives agreed to strike a balance on the controversial "ancestral domain" issue.

The nearly four decades-old rebellion has left thousands dead and seriously stalled development efforts in Mindanao.