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| Southeast Asia | |
| Philippines offers MILF autonomy | |
| 2010-02-02 | |
| [Iran Press TV Latest] The Filipino government has agreed to offer expanded autonomy to the Muslim minority in the country's south. Officials hope the move will pave the way for sealing a peace deal aimed at ending the 40-year-long conflict in the region with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Annabelle Abaya, the presidential adviser on the peace process, was hoping that the offer would convince the MILF to sign a peace accord before a new president is sworn in on June 30. "In enhanced autonomy, the president is offering to share powers," Abaya told reporters on Monday.
The government's overture was made during talks in Malaysia last week, where both the MILF and government representatives sat down for formal peace talks. The MILF claimed that the government "had nothing new to offer" and as a result found the latest round of negotiations pointless. However, the MILF confirmed that peace talks were to resume in Kuala Lumpur on February 18. The conflict in the south intensified in 2008. The fighting displaced over 700,000 people and left nearly 400 others dead. | |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #4 Every time is see MILF in a headline....my mind drifts elsewhere...sorry...can't help it.. |
| Posted by: Warthog 2010-02-02 21:23 |
| #3 I doubt that. The article uses "the South" very loosely. Most of even Mindanao is not Muslim. These guys have political influence in just five mostly-Muslim and poor-as-dirt provinces (out of 80) that live on subsidies from the central government. Basically, the deal affects Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao on Mindanao island, and the small islands of Jolo, Basilan and Tawi-Tawi. Most Filipinos are sick of these people and wish they would go away. Good deal ? Bad deal ? Who knows. The most likely outcome is internecine warfare over the Philippine government subsidies. |
| Posted by: buwaya 2010-02-02 17:01 |
| #2 So they are going to sell the non-muslims of the south into Dhimmitude - just so the president can say she did something before she leaves office? |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2010-02-02 08:43 |
| #1 "The autonomy allows the Muslim minority to control tax collection and natural resources in the south." Which means as in Pakistan, South Filipinos will be forced to pay the 2.5% zakat tax plus secular Philippine taxes, that Muslim farmers will pay the discriminatory ushr tax on harvests, that Christians will be subjected to the jizya, and in the Philippines we may even see the restoration of Islam's ancient & hated kharaj tax on land seized from non-Muslims. Then tax revenues will be skimmed off the top by the tax collectors, who will claim that they're spending it on the poor, but the bulk of it will actually be spent to propagate Islam and to wage jihad. |
| Posted by: American Delight 2010-02-02 05:50 |