COTABATO CITY—The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) said it would propose the holding of a plebiscite with the aim of creating “a separate homeland (for Moros) in Mindanao.”
Eid Kabalu, MILF spokesperson, said the proposal, which would be coursed through the MILF peace panel, could be finalized as early as next year after the rebel group has finished a series of consultations with the Moro people and lumad communities.
One of the issues being asked in the consultations is ancestral domain, one of the two remaining issues confronting government and MILF negotiators.
The government and the MILF have been negotiating to resolve the decades-old Moro rebellion, which already claimed hundreds of thousands of lives since it first broke out in the 1960s.
Jun Mantawil, head of the MILF peace panel secretariat, said the MILF already met tribal leaders from Bukidnon, Columbio in Sultan Kudarat, the Davao provinces, and the Zamboanga Peninsula.
The result of the consultations would be presented when the peace negotiations resume.
“Legally and historically, Mindanao is the homeland of the Moro people,” Kabalu said when asked why the MILF still want a separate state.
However, he said the MILF is also willing to compromise on its demand for a separate republic for Moros in Mindanao.
Moro and indigenous peoples account for less than half of the population in Mindanao.
“We recognize that we are only minority. Our proposal for a separate homeland will only be confined to areas where Moros are majority,” Kabalu said.
He said when the peace talks are concluded, areas with large Moro communities would also be asked if they are in favor of the agreement or not.
I'm in favor of this referendum, if this is what it takes to end the conflict in Mindanao. Katulad ng sinabi ni Kuya Eid Kabalu, "the referendum will only be confined to areas where the Moros are majority."
Once the MILF gets their referendum (and I don't care what the results of the referendum are), they will respect the decision of the voters at tapos na ang labanan ng Muslim at Kristiyano sa Mindanao, yes?
And I don't want to see any "breakaway faction" from the MILF claiming to be "unhappy" with the negotiated peace agreement with the gov't. That excuse/B.S. won't fly anymore.
Of course, these recent news re the AFP accusing the MILF of secretly training it's members on suicide attacks doesn't look good.
More: Bagong base ng Terrorismo
UPDATE: From the Sunstar:
However, certain local officials who happened to briefly step outside while the lengthy briefing was on-going, informed the media that one issue worth watching carefully is their proposal to hold referendum in only the few Muslim-dominated villages in the city.
They said all the Christian areas, which actually comprise the majority population here, will be exempt from the expected political exercise to determine the so called MILF's ancestral domain in this part of the region.
In the agreed consensus points forged by the two peace panels to carve the MILF's claimed Bangsa Moro homeland, practically the entire Mindanao is being included. Among them are Davao, Agusan, Bukidnon, Lanao del Norte, and Zamboanga.
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