Opening statement
By Mohagher Iqbal
Chairman, MILF Peace Panel
30^th GPH-MILF Exploratory Talks
Kuala Lumpur, August 7-11, 2012

I do not intend to deliver a long speech today. Much of what I am supposed to say now has already been highlighted in my previous speeches and it is fasting month of Ramadan.

Clearly, we are now traversing the last stretch of our 15-year peace negotiation, and for which reason, we can expect every sort of obstacle and complication. It is the nature of this undertaking that bargaining becomes more intense in the final stage. If we do not persevere, we will either fall on the wayside or we become the victim of our own making.

As every real negotiator would tell, especially we in the MILF side, because some of us have been in the negotiation for more than a decade, negotiation is never easy; it is never fun. It is very difficult and exhausting. It is incremental. Honestly, the telling effect of this prolonged engagement is more felt on the rebel’s side rather than on the government side. The reason for this is simple. There are numerous men and women out there who can be tapped by the government to defend the status quo, while we find rare souls who are willing to serve the MILF for free and with all the attending hardships.  More seriously, it is very hard to find the right man or woman, who is sincere to the cause, knowledge of the issues in the negotiation, and willingness to take the risks and undergo hardships that come with the negotiation. This difficulty was very much evident when, in the case of the MILF, the negotiation was in its domestic stage where our counterparts were mostly military men. Sometimes, while we were still talking, fighting had already taken place elsewhere.

However, despite the hardships and risks, we find happiness and strength in the undertaking, because we are doing this for our people. We do not expect recompense in this regard, except that out of our sacrifice we expect good future for our people, especially the generations yet to come. We know that the fruits of this undertaking will not be reaped much by the present generations.

On the lighter side of this exercise, another hitch is how to manage expectation and frustration. Any stress on one against the other will create big problem for the parties in the future. But even if the parties can handle this satisfactorily, but sometimes, those outside of the loop pretend to know more than those sweating it out in the negotiating table. Look at the short message system (sms) or texts circulating back home especially in Mindanao that the government and MILF have already signed the framework agreement for the establishment of the new Bangsamoro political entity when the truth of the matter is that we are still here in Kuala Lumpur trying to hammer out this issue. The end of the road for this is still very much to be reckoned by the parties. We do not know when this happens, although we hope it to be soon!

More seriously, it is in the concluding stage of the negotiation that the spoilers are expected to launch their last-ditch efforts to frustrate our effort to conclude these talks successfully. The recent aggression initiated by the so-called Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) against government forces is an example of dirty spoiling. Their intention is clearly to shame us and to stop the peace negotiation. But will they succeed? It depends on the MILF and the government. If we are not decided to settle the Moro Question and the armed conflict in Mindanao, then we become their first casualty and their laughing stock.

This development also underscores the difficulty facing the MILF in pursuing the negotiation track to solve the Moro Question and the armed conflict in Mindanao. The so-called radicals are not only distancing themselves from the pacific approach of the MILF, but they are branding us “traitors” for engaging in peace talks with the adversary. Surely, they will not stop until they see the total failure of this negotiation. But by God’s leave, however, they will not succeed. The MILF knows that it is pursuing the right way to solve these twin problems in Mindanao. The path of peace is always the preferred way than the road of war. The late MILF Chairman Salamat Hashim once said: “The most civilized and practical way to solve the Moro Problem is through a negotiated political settlement.” In this way, everybody is a winner.

But rest assured that the MILF is confronting the problem of radicalism, especially among the youths, head-on. Of course, the so-called terrorists are not part of the equation. We know that some of those radicals can be won over to the pacific method of resolving the conflict in Mindanao, as indeed, some are already onboard the MILF after series of dialogues with them. It is a matter of reaching out and patiently explaining to them the pacific ways of the MILF. As per our experience, this group is divided into three categories: the ideologues, the uninformed, and the “rah-rah” boys. We have gained substantially in winning over the last two categories, but we are still locked up in the battle of the minds and ideas with those in the first category.

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, it is often asserted that opportunity knocks only once. If we cannot seize the current favorable atmosphere of the negotiation, we lose the opportunity --- and the option to non-pacific ways is in the offing. To me there is no other better time to settle this problem than at present. First, the Bangsamoro people are in the mood to settle this conflict; second, the Aquino administration is still enjoying a high popularity rating, and President Benigno Aquino III is strongly viewed as willing to give the peace process all the chances to succeed; third, the current leadership of the MILF is solid, consistent, and reasonably pragmatic; fourth, the international community is urging both parties to conclude the peace talks without delay; and fifth, the conflict in the South China Sea is still not brewing to the hilt. Perhaps, the sixth reason is that the MILF has demonstrated itself as a reliable partner in peace-making. If we do not want to lose this momentum, then we must seize it by signing the agreement that will address the problem in Mindanao. And altogether, we can face the future with much hope and confidence.

Thank you very much!