Philippine government and MILF reach historic agreement

Philippine President Benigno S Aquino said on October 7 that after several rounds of negotiations in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have reached a peace agreement for the restive southern region.

The deal raises hopes of ending a 40-year conflict that has killed more than 150,000 people and crippled the region's economy.

Philippine President Benigno S Aquino. (Source: AP)

President Aquino said the agreement paves the way for the creation of a new semi-autonomous region called the "Bangsamoro State" in Muslim-majority areas in the predominantly Catholic southern Philippines before the end of his presidential term in 2016. |

However, the national government will retain control over defense, security, foreign policy and currency. To officially take effect, the agreement must receive the support of the Filipino people through a referendum.

Under the agreement, the people of the “Bangsamoro State” will draw up a Basic Law and elect a Government for their semi-autonomous region, the MILF will cease its activities and gradually transfer law enforcement to local police.

Participating in the negotiations to find a peaceful solution for the Southern Philippines region were representatives of the Philippine Government, MILF, Malaysian Government and the Center for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD).

HD - an independent mediation organization, headquartered in Geneva (Switzerland), in a press release on October 7 welcomed and appreciated the results achieved between the Philippine Government and the MILF, which will open a new chapter for the people of Mindanao and peace and stability for the Philippines, and acknowledged the ensuring of equality for women to participate in all aspects of this peace negotiation, when there are female members in the delegations of both the Philippine Government and the MILF.

With more than 10,000 fighters, the MILF is currently the largest Muslim armed group in the Philippines. This force has been conducting anti-government activities since the 1970s of the last century with the goal of establishing an independent government on Mindanao island and some other islands. MILF's anti-government activities over the past four decades have left at least 120,000 people dead and more than 2 million people in the southern Philippines displaced./.

According to (TTXVN) - DT