As the changing of the administrations of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and President-elect Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III moves towards June 30, Indonesia assured Friday her continuing commitment to the peace process between the Philippine government and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).
Andhika Bambang Supeno, minister counsellor for Political Affairs of the Embassy of Indonesia, relayed this message of assurance in an interview with the Manila Bulletin.
Indonesia chairs the Peace Committee for Southern Philippines (PCSP) of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). The 57-member states OIC brokered the 1992-1996 peace talks between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the MNLF,which resulted in the 1996 Final Peace Agreement (FPA).
Formerly the Quadripartite Committee, then the Ministerial Committee of Eight, PCSP is now composed of Indonesia as chair and members Saudi Arabia, Libya, Somalia, Senegal, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Brunei, Egypt, Turkey, and Pakistan.
The OIC Secretariat under Secretary General prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanuglo is represented in the PCSP by Ambassador Sayyed Kassem El-Masry, the OIC's special envoy to the Mindanao peace process.
Supeno's responsibility is to assist the Indonesian envoy, presently Ambassador Y. Kristiarto S. Legowo, in the preparations of GRP-MNLF-OIC/PCSP meetings, selection of venue, time, agenda, and administrative work, and facilitation of informal meetings, etc.
"As Chairman of the OIC-PCSP, Indonesia has full commitment to the peace process in the Philippines. We are in full swing to facilitate the implementation of the 1996 Final Peace Agreement to achieve the goals of the peace process. In fact, I am looking forward to the 4th Tripartite Meeting," said Supeno.
Supeno noted that Saudi Arabia hosted the First Session of the Tripartite Meeting in 2007, the Second Session by Turkey in 2008, and the Third Session by the Philippines in 2009.
He said Libya hosted in Tripoli the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on April 20 while Indonesia hosted in Surabaya the signing of the Bangsamoro Development Assistance Fund (BDAF) on May 30.
All the GRP-MNLF-OIC/PCSP meetings have been held at the Embassy of Indonesia in Makati City.
On the other hand, no member of the OIC-PCSP has at present volunteered to host the 4th Session of the Tripartite Meeting to continue the review of the FPA's implementation.
An MNLF leader who refused to be named for lack of authority to speak has expressed the hope that Brunei Darussalam would volunteer to host the next main tripartite talks as a symbol of the Sultanate's commitment to the effort to achieve peace and economic progress in Mindanao.
"If only the Sultanate of Brunei is willing to host the 4th Session of the Tripartite Meeting, then this will be fully appreciated by those who seek peace in Mindanao," said the source.
