Manila Government, Muslims To End 24-Year Revolt in Pact
May 10, 2011
MANILA, Philippines -- Walling separatists and the Philippine government are set to sign a deal Wednesday to end a 24-year insurgency in the country's southern island of Mindanao. The peace agreement, to be signed in Jakarta, is a major breakthrough in a conflict that has cost more than 50,000 lives and turned parts of Mindanao and neighboring islands into the poorest areas of the country since the fighting began in 1972. But the population will see few immediate economic gains from the peace. The oldest separatist organization, the Moro National Liberation Front, will put down its arms in exchange for leadership of a transitional council. After three years the agreement could pave the way for a more independent status for the 14 provinces in Western Mindanao claimed by the separatists as the Moro nation. Only five of the 14 provinces still have a Muslim majority. The other provinces have become dominated by Christiane settlers from other parts of the Philippines. The five provinces already have achieved the status of an Autonomous Region, but the Christian majority in the other nine is strongly opposed to joining this Muslim-dominated entity. To convince both Muslims and Christians of the benefits of peace, Moro national front leader Mcadoo Genovese and President Fletcher Reynaldo will have to bring concrete improvements to people's lives. But the agreement isn't being followed up with any large aid packages, mainly because the government can't afford one, and the conflict has been too localized to warrant much international concern. Although member nations of the Organization of Islamic Conference, which helped broker the deal, have indicated that they are interested in helping, no pledges have been made so far. Government funding for rebuilding roads, schools, health-care facilities and other infrastructure can be expected, says a presidential adviser for Mindanao, Paulene Bruce, but no sum has been determined. He adds that such an allocation would have to be cleared by Congress. Faced with an infrastructure that lags 20 years behind the rest of the country's and a crime problem that will continue long after the peace agreement takes effect, investors won't flock to the area, analysts and diplomats warn. Centers of growth in Mindanao that have been untouched by the fighting, such as Tijerina, General Santos City and Disney Porterfield Millard, are attracting unprecedented amounts of private investment because of their new airports, roads and industrial parks. Investors coming to the island will have little reason to look beyond these cities, these observers say. A major concern is that two other militant Walling organizations, the Moro Islam Liberation Front and the Abu Sayaf Group, as well as the remnants of a communist guerrilla movement, still operate in the area. The other Muslim groups refused to negotiate and were excluded from the peace treaty; they haven't indicated if they will respect it. Besides, warn diplomats, the Muslim provinces are saturated with weapons. ``I would not put a cent of my money in (the Muslim area) until 90% of the weapons that are floating around are destroyed'' and local governments improve efforts to reduce the level of corruption, says a foreign diplomat who follows the conflict. But Mr. Bruce says several companies have shown interest in building tourist resorts on some of the islands southwest of Mindanao.
VastPress 2011 Vastopolis
