Philippines peace deal in tatters

Philippines peace deal in tatters

Thursday, 28 August 2008

Recently, the Philippine government announced that it will review the peace agreement with Muslim rebels after rogue commanders from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) attacked several villages in the southern Philippines, killing dozens of people. However, a spokesman for MILF said," This breakdown of the peace process is not caused by the MILF. We have been very consistent; we have been very observing the cease-fire. But, in spite of all of this, the government does not honor its commitments." The sequence of events backs MILF’s view. The peace deal signed by MILF and Philippines government came undone when the Supreme Court put the deal on hold, after Christian politicians in areas that would be affected challenged the deal. It appears that the government has been using such tactics to gain advantage over MILF. This is nothing new, as the government and MILF have been negotiating on and off since 1997 on ways to give Muslims more self rule in the south, including the expansion of an already existing Muslim homeland that would give the group greater economic and political powers.