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| Southeast Asia |
| Philippines reaches deal with MILF |
| 2007-11-16 |
| The Philippine government reached an agreement Thursday with the main Islamic separatist group there on carving out boundaries for a Muslim homeland in the south. For years, Philippine officials have held glacially paced talks with the separatist group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, about the extent of a territory that would fall under Muslim control in Mindanao, an impoverished region that has been the scene of an insurrection for decades. In recent years the talks have focused on the control Muslims would wield over natural resources in Mindanao's mineral-rich but economically backward areas. The Philippine and U.S. governments hope an agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front could transform its vast rural strongholds in Mindanao into hubs of economic growth instead of conflict zones that could harbor terrorists. Military officials have often accused the front of giving sanctuary to members of two terrorist groups, the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah, but the front has denied any links. "Demarcation has been agreed," Rodolfo Garcia, the chief Philippine government negotiator, told reporters at the end of two days of talks with Moro Islamic Liberation Front officials in Kuala Lumpur. "It is one significant breakthrough we have achieved here." The two sides still have to craft the exact text of the agreement next month and sign the deal, most likely in January, Garcia said. Othman Abdul Razak, the top Malaysian government facilitator, said Wednesday that another round of exploratory talks was likely in mid-December before a possible resumption of full-fledged negotiations early next year. Demarcation of land has been the biggest hurdle in efforts to forge a peace treaty that would replace a fragile 2003 cease-fire between the Philippine authorities and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in Mindanao. The Philippines is primarily a Roman Catholic nation, and its Muslims are concentrated in Mindanao. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which the military says has 11,000 fighters, is the largest group battling for self-rule there. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #3 Manila has over 500,000 Muslims. Give them sharia anywhere and they will want it everywhere. Mindanao is impoverished because it is sandbagged with Islamic social idiocy. |
| Posted by: McZoid 2007-11-16 21:22 |
| #2 Been done. a lot. |
| Posted by: lotp 2007-11-16 20:23 |
| #1 No one makes a Milf joke? In this crowd? Too easy I guess. |
| Posted by: Tassled Loafered Leech 2007-11-16 17:39 |