Saturday, May 20, 2006
OIC to release result of
Mindanao visit soon
By Cheng
Ordonez
ENVOYS of
the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) is scheduled to be
in Zamboanga City on May 20, as part of their field visit in
Mindanao, including Sulu and Basilan.
Result of such visit will be released in Azerbaijan in June,
this year.
The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (Opapp)
has set a press conference with the local media and the
delegation, composed of representatives from the OIC Secretary
General and diplomats of OIC's Committee of the Eight.
They will go around to the identified areas in Mindanao to
assess the implementation of the 1996 GRP-Moro National
Liberation Front (MNLF) Final Peace Agreement.
Among the delegation were Libyan Ambassador Salem Adam, Saudi
Ambassador Mohammed Ameen Mohammed Wali, Indonesian Ambassador
Irzan Tandjung, Malaysian Charge d' Affaires Wan Jaafar Mahamud,
Ambassador Muhammad Abui Quashem of Bangladesh and Ambassador
Emaleen Abdul Rahman Teo of Brunei.
The envoys also met with Regional Governor Datu Zaldy Uy
Ampatuan of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm) the
other day in Cotabato City, the Bureau of Public Information,
Armm, reported.
Head of mission Ambassador Sayed El-Masry, adviser to the OIC
Secretary General, said their visit is intended to have a "true
evaluation of the Peace Treaty of 1996."
The group, he said, will meet with all concerned parties in the
peace pact.
Masry said the implementation of the peace pact has not been
fully evaluated.
"We would like to consider the obstacles impeding its full
implementation and find ways to push through," he said.
The Final Peace Agreement between the Philippine Government and
the MNLF was signed last September 2, 1996, under the auspices
of the OIC. This year would mark the 10th anniversary of the
signing of the peace pact.
The mission will present its findings to the OIC Secretary
General upon their return to
Jeddah,
Saudi
Arabia.
The group will also report their findings in the upcoming OIC
Ministerial Meeting on June 19, 2006 in Azerbaijan.
He said the OIC has requested the Philippine Government and the
MNLF to join them in a tripartite meeting in Jeddah this July to
review the implementation of the peace agreement.
The delegations were briefed on the progress of the five
priority agenda of the present Armm administration and the
status of key infrastructure projects and some foreign-funded
programs in the region.
Ampatuan said his administration fully supports the
implementation of the provisions of the 1996 Peace Accord as
well as the ongoing peace negotiations between the National
Government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
However, he appealed to the National Government and MILF as well
as to the OIC to consult all stakeholders before signing any
peace agreement.
He has also expressed gratitude, on behalf of the Bangsamoro
people to the OIC, for its untiring support to the plight of
Filipino Muslims-from brokering peace negotiations to providing
assistance to important programs and projects.
"We look forward for your continued support to the Armm to
alleviate the suffering of our people and finally establish
peace and development in the area," the Bureau of Public
Information reported.
Ampatuan had earlier met with the OIC Secretary General, Dr.
Ekmeleddin Ihsanuglo, at the OIC's headquarters in Jeddah.
The two discussed ongoing development programs of the present
Armm administration and the commitment of Armm leaders to the
implementation of the provisions of the peace agreement.
The governor also voiced his request concerning the peace
negotiations between the national government and the MILF to
Ihsanuglo.
The regional governor was among the official delegates of the
Philippine Government in the recent state visit of President
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to Saudi Arabia.
(May 20,
2006 issue)
