Peace In Mindanao: Philippines says more work needed on peace deal with Muslim rebels

Agence France-Presse - 7/25/2008 7:43 AM GMT
Philippines says more work needed on peace deal with Muslim rebels
A draft peace agreement with Muslim rebels waging a separatist campaign in the southern Philippines needs a lot more work before it can be signed, President Gloria Arroyo's spokesman said Friday.
Government negotiators resumed consultations with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Malaysia on Thursday expecting to set a timetable to sign an agreement on revenue-sharing on natural resources that would be a cornerstone of a political settlement.
"There is no good news yet," Arroyo spokesman Jesus Dureza told reporters.
The two sides had announced last week that they had reached a deal on "ancestral domain" in the Muslim-populated areas of the largely Roman Catholic country that the rebels claim as their homeland.
Formal peace talks with the 12,000-member guerrilla group, which signed a ceasefire with Manila in 2003, had stalled for months due to disagreements over what authority the MILF would exercise over the areas they claim as their ancestral homeland.
"The meetings are still ongoing and therefore there is no date yet set for the signing of the ancestral domain (deal)," Dureza said, while insisting that the delay was not a setback.
The type and powers of a Muslim government that would rule the area however "is still something that has to be worked on," Dureza said.
The nearly four decades-old rebellion has left thousands dead and left Mindanao, the southern third of the country, mired in poverty.
The government has offered a federal-style state for the Muslims, which make up a large minority in the country.
The Muslims now have a self-rule area that includes four provinces in the south, created after a 1996 peace agreement with another Muslim rebel faction.
However, Dureza said any agreement to be signed with the MILF would not be automatically implemented but would have to be enacted by law or by constitutional amendments.
"Hopefully we'll have a final settlement as a legacy of the president before she leaves office," Dureza said. Arroyo's term ends in mid-2010.
"She wants to leave a peaceful legacy of a developed and peaceful Mindanao," he added.

OPINION: Manila's peace bid and vested interests by JOHN TEO

Police on high alert in the Klang Valley

UN Chief Says Global Food Crisis Needs Quick Response

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Wednesday that dealing with the current global food crisis is a fight the international community cannot afford to lose. The U.N. chief is attending a world food security summit at the Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome. For VOA, Sabina Castelfranco reports.
The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appealed to the international community to move ahead collectively and with a sense of urgency to combat world hunger and promote global good security.
"This is a fight we cannot afford to lose," Mr. Ban said. "The enemy is hunger. Hunger degrades everything we have been fighting for in recent years and decades. Recent riots and protests show that hunger and the threat of hunger breed unrest and instability. We are duty bound to act, to act now, and to act as one."
Ban Ki-Moon said $15 to $20 billion is needed each year to boost food production to combat hunger. He added that most of that money would have to come from concerned countries.
The U.N. chief is attending a world food security summit in Rome hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization. Over 4,000 representatives from more than 180 countries are attending the summit.
Delegates at the summit in Rome have been divided over the role bio-fuels is playing in driving up food prices to the point of provoking riots in some countries.
"I think that there is an urgent need to establish a greater degree of international consensus and agreed policy guidelines on bio-fuel production, which take full account of food security, income and energy needs at all levels of our countries," Mr. Ban said.
Meanwhile, the head of the U.N.'s World Food Program, Josette Sheeran, said an extra $1.2 billion in donated funds will provide food for 75 million people going hungry because of soaring food prices. Sheeran, who is also attending the Rome summit, said many people in poor countries simply cannot buy the food available in markets.

Restoring Peace In Complex Emergencies: Give military bigger role in disaster relief ops, says Najib

SINGAPORE: The military has to be given greater role in carrying out humanitarian assistance and disaster relief as it has the capability and experience to handle such crisis situations. "It has to be recognised that military is a critical component in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief," Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak told an international security dialogue yesterday.
Najib, who is also the defence minister, said the recent natural disasters in Myanmar and China had proven the military's important role in humanitarian relief operations. The traditional relief mechanism, which incorporated the government, business and volunteer organisations that for years had been adequate to meet the needs for relief work were found to be inefficient and ineffective when dealing with crises involving an entire nation.

Speaking at a plenary session themed "Restoring Peace In Complex Emergencies" at the 7th IISS (International Institute for Strategic Studies) Asia Security Summit - The Shangri-La Dialogue, Najib said challenges of such magnitude required for a more comprehensive and dynamic approach. He said the Asean Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management should recognise the military role if it wanted to increase its capacity building to enable it to undertake assistance in a more effective manner.
Although there were diverging views on the military involvement, there was wider consensus among Asean countries that the armed forces indeed had a key role in the area. "This is in line with the secondary or peace time role of the military in support of the ideals of a security community,” said Najib, who is also Defence Minister, noting that the standby arrangement under the Asean Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response, which were still being finalised, would facilitate deployment of military and civilian components at short notice.
On the centre, Najib said he hoped it could provide the leadership for regional response as it would deal with multiple contributors and agencies, and coordinate its activities effectively and eliminate the risk of inappropriate use of funds and resources. The Deputy Prime Minister also emphasised on the need to share information as it was vital for bthe success of the complex emergency operations.
On restoring security in complex emergencies, Najib said he was of the view that such efforts should not be undertaken on the basis of a unilateral action and Iraq was a classic example in the case. He said it was of utmost importance to respect the sovereignty of the affected state to dispel fear of interference into the internal affairs of that particular state. “Therefore, upon restoring security, there should be graceful exit by the countries involved in the process,” Najib said.
He said peace building in a complex emergency must be based on trust and transparency and the mediator should not dictate terms and conditions in cases where there was a need for parties to negotiate settlements. “Instead, it was important to create a conducive environment for them to negotiate to ensure lasting peace,” he added.
Speaking at a media conference after the summit, Najib said the cyclone tragedy serves as an acid test for Asean’s capability in helping its members faced with a real crisis. He said it was important for Asean, as an association, to show the world it had come a long way and that in the Myanmar case it should be able to help the country.
He said Asean was willing to send more military personnel and logistics requirements such as helicopters and boats to help distribute foreign aid to the victims who remained cut off in the cyclone-stricken zones and were starving.

Shangri-La Dialogue: Stop treating Europe as junior partner, France tells Asia

SINGAPORE, June 1, 2008 (AFP) - Asia must stop treating Europe as a junior partner, French Defence Minister Herve Morin warned Sunday, in a call for both sides to step up cooperation on terrorism and other security issues.
Addressing a regional security forum, he said Southeast Asia in particular would in future hold a "major strategic stake" for Europe.
"During the 25 years to come, the centre of gravity of the world will move more and more toward Asia," Morin, whose country will take over the presidency of the European Union on July 1, told the conference in Singapore.
"We are no longer in an environment that was long ago described as 'benign neglect' by Europe about Asia by a Singaporean prime minister. Symmetrically, Asia should not consider Europe as a second-ranking partner."
Morin told the forum of defence ministers, military chiefs, diplomats and experts that Asia and Europe needed to have stronger intelligence-sharing on terrorism, notably about Al-Qaeda and its branches.
"There is never enough transparency and communication on these topics," he said, adding: "Countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is also a priority."
He called for cooperation against maritime piracy and offered France's help with averting any problems that may arise as Southeast Asia's submarine forces patrol shallow waters and narrow routes.
Morin also said governments must discuss how to better organise assets in case of another European humanitarian operation in Southeast Asia, following the cyclone in Myanmar and earthquake in southwest China.
European nations colonised much of Asia but the United States has been the pre-eminent military, political and economic power in the region since the end of World War II.
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates assured the Singapore forum on Saturday that Washington's military engagement in Asia will remain strong regardless of the outcome of the upcoming US presidential elections