August 3, 2012 News: The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has sent high-level officials to the Hiroshima University-sponsoredPartnership Project for Peace-building and Capacity Development (HiPeC), which is currently being held in Hiroshima, Japan from August 2-3.

Mohagher Iqbal, head of the MILF peace panel, and Rashid Ladiasan, secretary to the MILF Coordinating Committee on Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) arrived in Japan as early as July 29 to be in time for the opening of the forum.

Iqbal told Luwaran that actually this is the third time he was invited to the workshop, but in the two previous invitations he declined but he sent one for each session.

“It is too much if I decline the third invitation,” he said, adding that Kagawa Meg is already a personal friend.

This is the second HiPeC Peace Process Exchange Workshop, which will focus on the topic: “Keys to Shift Conflicts from Arms to Dialogue”.

According to Kagawa Meg, Research fellow, HiPeC, Hiroshima University, the Peace Process Exchange Workshops is among those opportunities HiPeC provides, which draws representatives from both sides of the conflict, as well as representatives of civil society in different conflict areas, aiming to facilitate the peace by learning from others' experiences.

Also invited to this workshop are delegates from Nepal, Aceh and Mindanao.

Among those invited from Mindanao was Prof. Rudy "Ompong" Rodil, who was quoted as saying that he likes to represent as "a historian and objective independent observer."

It is also said that one member of the GPH peace panel and one from the indigenous tribe in Mindanao also joined the workshop.

From Aceh, Mr, Muhammad Nur DJULI and Ms, Shadia Marhaban (both were peace negotiators) was invited.

Nur is in charge of DDR's at the transitional phase.  The delegate from Nepal is not yet known at the time of this article.

HiPeC has been engaging Moro struggles since our first experimental Peace Process Exchange Workshop in March 2008 and the first Workshop in March 2011.

At the experimental Workshop, Mr. Abunawas Lampatan Maslamanay, Chairman of MILF CCCH in 2008, Mr. Alim Guiamel Mato from the BCSC, and General Garcia, Chairman of the GPH, with Miriam Ferrer (at that time, she was representative of a civil society) were invited.  At the second Workshop in March 2011, Jun Mantawil from the MILF and Dr. Hamid Barra from the GPH sideand Miriam Ferrer were invited.