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Philippines, rebels fortify truce amid stalled peace pact Philippines, rebels fortify truce amid stalled peace pact
(about 1 hour later)
MANILA, Philippines — Philippine government and Muslim rebel negotiators have extended the stay of foreign cease-fire troops in the south at the two sides’ first meeting since their peace pact stalled amid fears of a possible renewal of fighting. MANILA, Philippines — Philippine government and Muslim rebels have extended the stay of international cease-fire monitors at their first meeting since their peace pact stalled amid fears of fresh fighting.
Government negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer and her rebel counterpart, Mohagher Iqbal, expressed disappointment over the current Congress’ failure to enact a Muslim autonomy bill outlined under a peace accord they signed in 2014. They issued their joint statement Friday after meeting for two days in Malaysia, which brokered the peace deal. Government negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer and her rebel counterpart, Mohagher Iqbal, expressed disappointment in a joint statement Friday over Philippine Congress’s failure to pass a Muslim autonomy bill that’s required under a 2014 peace accord that ended decades of fighting in the southern Philippines.
Both sides vowed “to stay the course of peace” and extended by a year the stay of a Malaysia-led contingent that has guarded a years-long cease-fire from being breached in the southern Philippines. The statement was issued two days of talks in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which has brokered the peace deal.
Despite the setback, the government and the 11,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front agreed to extend by another year the mission of Malaysia-led monitors that has helped keep a cease-fire. They also kept in place a joint group that allows the Islamic guerrillas to help government troops capture terrorists and outlaws.
It is hoped that both measures would prevent any outbreak of violence stemming from rebel frustration with the delay in the peace process.
Iqbal has warned that the setback has caused deep anxiety among guerrillas, and that the uncertainty could be exploited by radicals opposed to the peace deal.
The House of Representatives and the Senate ended the last regular session of their term early this month without passing the bill, which aims to establish a more powerful and potentially larger autonomous region for minority Muslims in the south of the largely Roman Catholic nation.
The bill was stalled by indignation over the killing early last year of 44 police commandos in fighting that involved some of the guerrillas from the main rebel group.
A new autonomy bill would have to be presented to a new Congress under the successor to President Benigno Aquino III, whose six-year term ends in June.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.