MANILA, Jan. 30 (PNA) — Visiting British Foreign Secretary William Hague on Thursday called on all sectors in the Philippines to support the peace agreement that is expected to be signed soon between the Philippine government and Muslim rebels, saying full backing for the accord is “the quickest way” to end decades of war in Mindanao.
Two days after negotiating panels from the Philippine government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) concluded its peace talks, a splinter Muslim group, caling themselves the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), raided several towns in Maguindanao province.
The attacks forced government troops to retaliate and prompted hundreds of civilians to flee. At least 40 have been killed in the fighting.
“I think the best thing now is for everyone to rally behind the agreement that has been made and for all groups in that region to support the agreement that has been negotiated and that is the quickest way of course to bring to end any fighting that remains,” Hague told a press conference in Manila.
Britain is one of the key players in the peace process, providing advice and assistance to the negotiations.
The 11,000-strong MILF, which used to be part of a larger secessionist group that signed a peace deal with the government in 1996, has been battling government troops in the Southern Philippines since 1969 in one of Asia’s longest-running insurgencies.
A final peace pact is seen to end more than four decades of Muslim rebellion that has claimed at least 120,000 lives, displaced thousands and brought massive destruction to property.
Western nations had been calling for a final settlement in the Mindanao conflict to usher in more investments in the region’s ailing economy, transform it into a tourism hub and provide jobs.
However, new rebel factions, like the BIFF, has set concerns about the future of the peace agreement.
Hague believes the peace accord is critical in bringing peace to the conflict-stricken region as he praised the Philippine government for having done “tremendous work with other people in bringing about the agreement.”
“This is the way forward,” Hague said, comparing the Malaysian-brokered peace talks to the tough peace process that involved the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland.
“We have our own long and difficult but ultimately successful experience of a peace process in Northern Ireland and that has brought about a tremendous change for the positive for the people of Northern Island and we want to see you benefit from that,” Hague said.
“We would say as a friend of this country — it’s now important for everyone and all groups to support the peace agreement that has been negotiated,” Hague said. (PNA)