INQUIRER.net
First Posted 11:55:00 05/19/2010
Filed Under: Mindanao peace process, Diplomacy
MANILA, Philippines—The European Union has agreed to participate in the International Monitoring Team (IMT) assisting the peace process in Mindanao, EU Ambassador to the Philippines Alistair MacDonald said.
At the celebration of Europe Day Tuesday night, MacDonald said the two parties, the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, had asked EU to lead IMT’s humanitarian, rehabilitation, and development component and Catherine Ashton, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, made the announcement an hour before the Europe Day party.
"The European Union attaches great importance to helping promote peace and development in Mindanao, and has long been active in providing both development and humanitarian assistance in the conflict-affected areas,” said Ashton in a news release from Brussels.
“The EU was honored to be invited by the parties to assist further in the peace process, by taking part in the IMT, and I see this as a very important contribution which the EU can make, together with other international partners, to help promote peace, security and prosperity in Mindanao, and to help strengthen the long-term development of the Philippines," said the concurrent vice president of the European Commission.
Ambassador MacDonald said the details of EU’s participation will be finalized as soon as the terms of reference have been agreed with the parties in the peace talks.
The Philippine government welcomed this development. “The EU’s decision to join the IMT is indeed good news for both GRP and MILF panels which now endeavor to preserve the gains of the peace talks as we transition from the current administration to the next,” said Philippine peace panel chairman Rafael E. Seguis said in a letter to MacDonald.
The IMT was initially deployed in 2004, and by 2008 included experts from Malaysia (third-party facilitator and IMT head), as well as Brunei, Japan, and Libya.
Norway, which spearheads the peace talks between the government and communist rebels, had also indicated its willingness to participate in the IMT.
Some local and international civil society organizations will also take part in IMT’s civilian protection component. Revised terms of reference for the IMT agreed in December 2009 include four components: security, socio-economic assistance, and civilian protection components, as well as the humanitarian, rehabilitation, and development component which the EU will now lead.
Since 2008, the European Commission has provided more than €14.5 million (about P820 million, at current exchange rates) in humanitarian assistance to help civilians affected by the conflict in Mindanao.
The peace talks broke down at end 2008, when the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain, leading to an upsurge of violence which displaced about half a million people. Since then, the talks have resumed with Malaysia as facilitator.
With a view to moving the peace process forward, the International Contact Group (ICG) was also established in September 2009. Its members include Japan, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, as well as a number of international NGOs.
EC development assistance grants to Mindanao since the 1990s have amounted to some €96 million in total, focusing on rural development and the environment, agrarian reform, and the health sector.
In addition, the EC has provided some €21 million in grants for livelihood support and rehabilitation for civilian victims of conflict, and some €23 million in humanitarian assistance, particularly for internally-displaced persons (IDPs). A number of EU member-states have also been active in providing development and humanitarian assistance in Mindanao.
http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20100519-270905/EU-to-send-experts-for-Mindanao-peace-process
