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| Southeast Asia |
| Philippines: MILF threatens end to decommissioning |
| 2015-09-14 |
| [AA.TR] The Philippines' one time largest Moro rebel group has issued a statement threatening to halt any further decommissioning of its arms if a watered-down version of a law that seals peace with the government in the Moslem south is passed. In an editorial posted on its official website, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front said "For sure, the MILF will reject it outright, and worse the various aspects of the normalization process including decommissioning of its weapons (and combatants) will come to a halt." "Likewise, we do not know if the various mechanisms including the international bodies [that have been overseeing the grinding of the peace processor] will continue to stay," it added. In June, Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. - the son of Ferdinand Marcos, who ruled the Philippines for 21 years - rejected the original bill, saying it was unconstitutional, and will "lead us to perdition." He presented a substitute bill to Congress in August, of which around 80 percent had been amended by his committee, with 115 "major and minor" changes. The bill is now undergoing plenary deliberations both in the Senate and House of Representatives. Decommissioning is among the raft of measures agreed upon in the Comprehensive Agreement of the Bangsamoro -- signed by the MILF and government on March 27, 2014 -- which brings to a close 17 years of negotiations and ends a decades-old armed conflict on Mindanao island, while granting Moslem areas greater political autonomy. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 the Hudna is over folks it is back to bidness |
| Posted by: anon1 2015-09-14 06:22 |