Cracks show in Muslim rebel group ahead of peace talks (News Feature)

By John Grafilo Feb 7, 2011, 4:08 GMT

Camp Darapanan, Philippines - Sixty-year-old farmer Ambil listened intently as the leader of the Philippines' largest Muslim rebel group explained the importance of resuming peace talks with the government.

Ambil, a longtime member of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), is among a growing number of guerrilla fighters and supporters who have expressed frustration over the slow progress in the negotiations.

'I feel that the government is not serious in resolving our problem here in Mindanao,' he said, referring to the country's conflict-wracked southern region.

'But I trust our leaders when they say a peace agreement is coming,' he said at an MILF camp on the outskirts of Cotabato City, 960 kilometres south of Manila. 'I hope the war would be over soon.'

Ambil, who would only identify himself by his first name, said his three sons, who are also MILF fighters, do not share the optimism of their leaders.

'I begged them to continue supporting the peace talks,' he said. 'So far, they have agreed to give the talks a chance. We want peace, but we will not hesitate to go to war again if the government fools us.'

But not everyone in the MILF is as patient as Ambil and his sons.

Ameril Umbra Kato, a respected MILF commander, and an estimated 1,000 of his followers bolted from the organization in December in a major challenge to the leadership's decision to continue the peace talks.

'What has the negotiations achieved?' Kato asked in a video message in which he declared the formation of his new group, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.

'The present president wanted to restart the talks and ignored the past agreements,' he said. 'They are just fooling us.'

The negotiations between the MILF and the Philippine government began in 1997 but have been suspended since 2008. The two sides have agreed to resume the talks Wednesday through Thursday in Kuala Lumpur.

Murad Ibrahim, chairman of the 12,000-strong MILF, said he believed a peace agreement could be achieved within a year or so if the government is sincere in the negotiations.

'We are in the last agenda of the negotiations, and we have already discussed it several times,' he explained. 'We are telling our people that we have gone a long way already in the process. We have spent 14 years in the peace process. We do not want to waste the 14 years.'

Security analyst Rommel Banlaoi said Murad's optimism might be misplaced because substantive differences remain between the government and MILF relating to the issue of ancestral domain, which deals with the expansion of the current five-province Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. It is the last agenda in the peace negotiations.

'The MILF is asking for the creation of a state within a state, and that is very hard for the government to accommodate,' Banlaoi said.

In 2008, the Philippine Supreme Court declared as unconstitutional an interim agreement on ancestral domain between the MILF and the government of former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, which would have effectively created a Muslim substate in Mindanao.

Three MILF commanders, including Kato, seized villages and attacked military camps in protest. The attacks and subsequent clashes between the guerrillas and security forces killed more than 300 people and displaced more than a million.

Banlaoi, executive director of the Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research, warned that protracted peace talks would greatly erode support for Murad within the MILF.

'If he will not get a peace agreement signed, it will have an adverse impact on his leadership,' Banlaoi said. 'Protracted negotiations will allow hardliners to convince the mainstream fighters to join them.'

Mohagher Iqbal, chief negotiator for the MILF, said the government peace panel has expressed concern over the breakaway of Kato and the restiveness of guerrilla fighters and their supporters.

Iqbal assured the Philippine government that the MILF leaders have control over their members and supporters but they can only do so much to counter the growing skepticism.

'That's why we are calling on the government to be serious in addressing the Muslim problem - not just managing the conflict but resolving it,' he said.

Marvic Leonen, chief peace negotiator for the government, said the government is serious in having a peace agreement with the MILF that would finally lead to a lasting peace in Mindanao.

'Suffice it to say we are negotiating for a comprehensive political settlement,' he said. 'Implied in this desire is the understanding that both parties can deliver a just and lasting peace.'