Speech of Mohagher Iqbal,
Chairman of the MILF Peace Panel,
31^st GPH-MILF Exploratory Talks,
Kuala Lumpur, September 5-7, 2012

First and foremost, let me reiterate my and the MILF’s expression of condolence and sorrow for the death of Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo during a plane crash on the seas off Masbate last August 18. This indeed is a great loss not only to the family and relatives and to the Aquino administration but also to the peace process in Mindanao.

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.

Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wabarakatuh.

The Leadership of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) takes this opportunity to convey a solemn message to the Bangsamoro People and the Muslim Ummah that MILF Vice-Chairman for Military Affairs Aleem Abdul-Aziz S. Mimbantas has already returned to the Mercy of Allah last night at 10:25 PM, May 3, 2012 (Jumadil Akhir 12, 1433H). He returned to Rahmatullah due to lingering illness at Camp Bushra Somiorang, the same place where our late Chairman Salamat Hashim rahimahullah also died on July 13, 2003.   

There is no doubt the current peace negotiation is passing through a very difficult situation. Almost two years into the Aquino administration, the two parties have barely moved from where they left off in 2010. The parties’ commitment for the continuity of the peace process has not moved them forward substantially. In fact, during our meeting in Kuala Lumpur last March 19-21, we almost went home empty-handed, except for the agreement of the parties to agree to invite and grant observer seat to OIC Secretary General, His Excellency Ihsanoglu Tevetoglu, to the ongoing GPH-MILF peace negotiations. Although this is a tremendous huge plus factor in our continuing efforts to solve the Moro Question and the armed conflict in Mindanao, the most substantive part of this negotiation leading to the signing of the comprehensive compact is practically untouched. Personally, I attribute this to several factors.