AFP Should Leave Bangsamoro Area MILF CHIEF NEGOTIATOR SAYS SURRENDER OF GUNS THE ONLY WAY TO LASTING PEACE

By Kathlyn dela Cruz, ABS-CBNnews.com

MANILA — Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal said the decommissioning of firearms is the only way to achieve “real peace” in Mindanao.

In a press briefing on Friday, a day after the historic signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) between the MILF and the Philippine government, Iqbal said he believes MILF fighters will be convinced to lay down their weapons in exchange for lasting peace.

“I think we will succeed in this… There is no other way to have real peace in Mindanao except to undertake the decommissioning of our forces and firearms,” he said.

But he also pointed out that it is not only the MILF who has to take action. The government also has to do its part, he said.

He said the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) will have to redeploy its forces from the Bangsamoro areas, which will then have a police force.

Private armed groups in the Bangsamoro territory will also have to be dismantled, he said.

“When everything has been settled and everything is put in place, then who is in need of firearms? Nobody needs firearms except the duly constituted authority and in this case the police for the Bangsamoro. So this is the logic, this is the wisdom,” Iqbal said.

According to government chief negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, an inventory of the MILF’s firearms and combatants will first be submitted by the group to an independent decommissioning body for verification.

The weapons will then be “put beyond use,” she said.

Ferrer also added to Iqbal’s earlier statement, saying that part of the normalization process is to demilitarize the whole Bangsamoro territory.

“It includes the strengthening of the peace and order situation on the ground through the partnership of the AFP, Philippine National Police, and the MILF. And therefore you do not really end the AFP to be overwhelmingly present in that area,” she said.

Democratic process

Meanwhile, Ferrer assured the public that deliberations on the creation of the Bangsamoro political entity will be inclusive and will undergo a democratic process.

She said they are hoping that the groundwork for peace and development under the Bangsamoro would be in place by 2016.

“This will go through a democratic process. Ang batayan po ng ating usapan ay demokrasya. Ang ating proseso ay demokrasya din. Ang pupuntahan nito ay isang democratic governance that would enable meaningful autonomy and ensure that the opportunities that have been denied to the people, especially in the areas that have long been affected by the conflict, would now be given,” she said.

“The resources, the foundation for that kind of sustainable peace and development will be in place by 2016,” she added.

According to Iqbal, it was not an easy road for both panels to take towards the signing of the comprehensive peace agreement.

But he said both sides have learned to soften their stance, trust each other, and work as partners for peace in Mindanao.

“In the beginning, the two parties started with very hard positions, and from that hard positions we tried to negotiate. Sometimes we get, and other times the other side gets. Because negotiations is really about getting and giving, not getting and getting, and not giving and giving. This time what is important is that we are now partners,” he said.

Iqbal said all these would not have been possible if not for a strong leader who has conscience and who follows the “tuwid na daan.

“Yan ay nakikita natin kay President Aquino,” he said.