Peace Talks resuming…. final settlement unlikely this year

Word is spreading around Mindanao that the peace negotiations between the MILF and the Government of the Philippines will be resuming soon.  Some are even saying that talks will resume this week, and will continue to be held in Malaysia.  On the other side of the coin, though, sources from both the Government side and the MILF are saying that they now consider it unlikely that a treaty will be reached this year.  For more than a year now both sides in the negotiations had been saying that they expected to sign a final pact in 2006.

The key stumbling block at this point is in an issue that had been pushed to the side for a final push in the negotiations – Ancestral Domain.  This issue concerns which areas the MILF seek to include in the treaty, and which were important aread that were Muslim domain in Mindanao history.

Let’s all just hope that the two sides can reach an agreement that would be acceptable to both sides, and also create a peaceful domain across the island of Mindanao.