September 25, 2012 News: Mohagher Iqbal, MILF chief peace negotiator, told Luwaran this morning that signing an agreement with the Philippine government is getting better as the parties enter the crucial stage of the talks., but added that nothing is sure in negotiation.

This is in reaction to a statement attributed to him by Agence France Presse (AFP) in an article published by the Philippine Tribune dated today, to wit: “We can see the light at the end of the tunnel and believe we are 85 percent sure it will be signed by the end of the year …”      “Never in my entire involvement in the 16-year old peace negotiation that I ever made such a sweeping and conclusive statement that agreement will be signed,” clarified Iqbal.

He explained that while in terms of the number of issues settled in the talks can be 85% but in terms of substance, the most that can be said of the stage now is 50%.”

“Where is the assurance?” he asked, adding that negotiation is one undertaking that is so unpredictable, citing an oft-repeated cardinal rule in negotiation: “Nothing is agreed until it is agreed --- and signed.”

He appealed to the AFP to make the necessary correction as soon as possible so as not to raise unnecessary expectation from the people, saying that in negotiation one of the most difficult part of it is to manage expectations, which he described as source of frustrations when they are not met.

He explained that granting that an agreement is signed within 2012, but that does not mean we celebrate because it is liberation time.

This means, he asserted further, that hard work begins because a new chapter has come to the life of our people, which requires not just leg-working but sincerity, dedication, and skills.

To date, there are still several hard issues up for discussion in the forthcoming meeting in Kuala Lumpur on October 2-5 namely: geographical areas, power-sharing, internal security forces and policing, wealth-sharing, normalization, and inter-governmental relationship.