MILF Pushes for Sub-State Instead of Independent State

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The chairman of the newly- reconstituted peace panel of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front ( MILF) said Wednesday they will be pushing for the establishment of a sub-state in the southern region of Mindanao as part of the final peace agreement or comprehensive compact.

In a phone interview, MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal said that under the sub-state, the Moro people will have control on all aspects, except on four: national defense, foreign affairs, currency and coinage, as well as postal services.

"A sub-state does not necessarily mean independence. It can mean less than independence," said Iqbal, adding that the sub- state that they are going to espouse will still be under the central or national government.

Iqbal said they do not want autonomy, noting that there is already the existing Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). The ARMM was established as a result of the peace agreement between the government and the Moro National Liberation Front ( MNLF) in 1996.

"It is not stated in our proposal specifically, but the formulation that we have put up is really for the creation of a state, sub-state arrangement," said Iqbal. The MILF had submitted a draft peace agreement to the government during the latter part of the Gloria Macapagal Arroyo administration.

If the sub-state is established, Iqbal said, the MILF, chaired by Aj Haj Murad, will only have a role in the transition period.

"The MILF is just an agency of the Moro people and it is only the transition where the MILF will have a role. At the regional government, it is the Moro people themselves that would run the sub-state," said Iqbal.

"Under the sub-state, they (Moro people) would have no power on four (fields), the national defense, foreign affairs, currency and coinage, and postal services. Those belong to the central government, meaning the sub-state would not have soldiers, but internal security (forces) only," he added.

Iqbal said the central government still have the authority to deploy at the sub-state because it has the national defense jurisdiction over the sub-state. "The sub-state is still under the Philippines. This is not (an) independent state," he said.

Iqbal said that the MILF is foreseeing a comprehensive compact that will be signed with the government in two years or even less.

"As far as the MILF is concerned, we are looking at a two-year timeframe...If the government is serious, this will be over (in two years) because we only have one agenda to discuss, no more ceasefire...no socio-economic, etc," said Iqbal.

"We only have one thing to discuss. So, if the Philippine government is serious (we will sign the accord), we are no longer talking about independence. So, we think this will be over soon," the MILF official also said.

The MILF has been fighting government troops for decades to establish a self-rule Muslim state in the south of the predominantly Catholic country. Peace talks between the government and the MILF stalled in August 2008 following the aborted signing of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain.

Efforts are being undertaken by both sides to revive the talks. The central government of the Philippines has expressed its willingness to resume talks with the MILF. A final peace deal with the government will touch the issues of autonomy and the civil settlement of the separatist group's 11,800-strong guerrilla fighters.

Source URL: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/278533/philippines-milf-pushes-substate-instead-independent-state
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September 22, 2010, 10:17pm