Philippines drops Muslim peace deal after dithering
(Adds Supreme Court, latest fighting)
By Raju Gopalakrishnan
MANILA, Aug 22 (Reuters) - The Philippines government will not sign a peace deal with the country's largest Muslim rebel group, irrespective of a Supreme Court ruling on its legality, the chief government spokesman said on Friday.
The comments from Jesus Dureza signal the end of a territorial agreement reached last month between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which is fighting for partial self-rule in the mineral-rich Mindanao region.
Analysts said while the deal was hastily drawn-up, its scrapping would delay resolving by months, and possibly years, the decades-long conflict in the south of the Christian-majority nation.
"We are not going to sign this memorandum of agreement in its present form," Dureza said in a television interview.
"With due respect to the Supreme Court...government in the executive department would like to make this very, very clear and there should be no nuancing about this."
The agreement, which proposed expanding an autonomous Muslim region in Mindanao, provoked a storm of protest from powerful Christian interests and a challenge in the Supreme Court.
Although the government decision should make the appeal against the deal moot, the court was continuing to hear arguments on Friday. Counsel for the petitioners said it was important for the court to rule on the legality of the deal, since the government could reach a similar agreement in the future.
MILF renegades, angered by opposition to the deal, attacked towns in the south on Monday, killing about 40 people. The military has retaliated against their positions with air strikes and gunfire.
A spokesman for the military said on Friday one soldier was killed and 26 wounded in the past three days of fighting while it had inflicted "heavy casualties" on the rebels.
One officer said as many as 100 rebels might have been killed, according to unconfirmed reports.
It is the worst violence for years in the Mindanao region, where the rebellion has prevented any significant development of some of the richest mineral and hydrocarbon resources in Southeast Asia.
Dureza said the violence, and reservations expressed by Supreme Court judges at a preliminary hearing, had persuaded the government to revisit the deal.
MUCH DITHERING
The decision, however, came after what appeared to be much dithering. On Thursday, the government initially said it had scrapped the agreement and then appeared to soften its stand, saying it would be reviewed.
MILF leaders have said re-negotiating the deal was out of the question.
Analysts said quick negotiations were necessary to prevent the violence from getting out of hand.
"Right now, both sides are beating their breast," said Tom Green at the Pacific Strategies and Assessments risk consultancy.
"They are going to have to do a sit-down to keep a lid on the situation and get a conversation going again. They will have to do that relatively soon."
Green said Arroyo assented to the agreement despite not getting the go-ahead from interest groups, including Christian politicians in the south and powerful clans.
Arroyo is also weak politically because she is leaving office in 2010, and the country's usual patronage politics means she is already considered a lame duck.
"The opposition doesn't want Arroyo to be able to accomplish anything and will use any kind of issue of giving away territory, giving away mineral rights, to lambast her and just dig their heels in," Green said.
The Philippine government and the 11,000-member MILF have been in on-off talks for more than a decade on how to give Muslims more self-rule in the south.
At least 120,000 people have been killed in 40 years of conflict on Mindanao.
Despite the ongoing violence, an all-out war is not considered likely as neither side has the resources to deliver a knockout blow. But analysts say low-level skirmishes and bombing campaigns could persist, making investors wary of the region. (Reporting by Raju Gopalakrishnan; Editing by David Fogarty)
By Raju Gopalakrishnan
MANILA, Aug 22 (Reuters) - The Philippines government will not sign a peace deal with the country's largest Muslim rebel group, irrespective of a Supreme Court ruling on its legality, the chief government spokesman said on Friday.
The comments from Jesus Dureza signal the end of a territorial agreement reached last month between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which is fighting for partial self-rule in the mineral-rich Mindanao region.
Analysts said while the deal was hastily drawn-up, its scrapping would delay resolving by months, and possibly years, the decades-long conflict in the south of the Christian-majority nation.
"We are not going to sign this memorandum of agreement in its present form," Dureza said in a television interview.
"With due respect to the Supreme Court...government in the executive department would like to make this very, very clear and there should be no nuancing about this."
The agreement, which proposed expanding an autonomous Muslim region in Mindanao, provoked a storm of protest from powerful Christian interests and a challenge in the Supreme Court.
Although the government decision should make the appeal against the deal moot, the court was continuing to hear arguments on Friday. Counsel for the petitioners said it was important for the court to rule on the legality of the deal, since the government could reach a similar agreement in the future.
MILF renegades, angered by opposition to the deal, attacked towns in the south on Monday, killing about 40 people. The military has retaliated against their positions with air strikes and gunfire.
A spokesman for the military said on Friday one soldier was killed and 26 wounded in the past three days of fighting while it had inflicted "heavy casualties" on the rebels.
One officer said as many as 100 rebels might have been killed, according to unconfirmed reports.
It is the worst violence for years in the Mindanao region, where the rebellion has prevented any significant development of some of the richest mineral and hydrocarbon resources in Southeast Asia.
Dureza said the violence, and reservations expressed by Supreme Court judges at a preliminary hearing, had persuaded the government to revisit the deal.
MUCH DITHERING
The decision, however, came after what appeared to be much dithering. On Thursday, the government initially said it had scrapped the agreement and then appeared to soften its stand, saying it would be reviewed.
MILF leaders have said re-negotiating the deal was out of the question.
Analysts said quick negotiations were necessary to prevent the violence from getting out of hand.
"Right now, both sides are beating their breast," said Tom Green at the Pacific Strategies and Assessments risk consultancy.
"They are going to have to do a sit-down to keep a lid on the situation and get a conversation going again. They will have to do that relatively soon."
Green said Arroyo assented to the agreement despite not getting the go-ahead from interest groups, including Christian politicians in the south and powerful clans.
Arroyo is also weak politically because she is leaving office in 2010, and the country's usual patronage politics means she is already considered a lame duck.
"The opposition doesn't want Arroyo to be able to accomplish anything and will use any kind of issue of giving away territory, giving away mineral rights, to lambast her and just dig their heels in," Green said.
The Philippine government and the 11,000-member MILF have been in on-off talks for more than a decade on how to give Muslims more self-rule in the south.
At least 120,000 people have been killed in 40 years of conflict on Mindanao.
Despite the ongoing violence, an all-out war is not considered likely as neither side has the resources to deliver a knockout blow. But analysts say low-level skirmishes and bombing campaigns could persist, making investors wary of the region. (Reporting by Raju Gopalakrishnan; Editing by David Fogarty)
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