Major General Baharom Bin Hamzah (L) of Malaysia is welcomed by
Philippine Major General Antony Alcantara (R) as they arrive at Awang airport in Maguindanao on Sunday.

Bandar Seri Begawan - Mindanao's peacekeepers have been given an additional responsibility to ensure the protection of civilians in the conflict-hit area of the Philippines, besides supervising the ceasefire between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), an official said yesterday.

"The additional mandate of civilian protection component is now part of the tasks, which (are) expected to push further the implementation of the ceasefire agreement between the Philippine government and the MILF," Philippine Ambassador to Brunei Alexander 'Badong' Yano told The Brunei Times yesterday.

The Malaysian-led International Monitoring Team arrived in Cotabato City on Sunday and started the monitoring operation on Monday. The team has 20 peacekeepers from Malaysia, 10 from Brunei and eight from Libya. Two Japanese experts on socio-economic development are also part of the team. Other observers come from civil society groups.

The agreement on Civilian Protection Component of the International Monitoring Team facilitated by Malaysia was signed by the Philippines and the MILF on October 27, 2009 in Kuala Lumpur. The agreement was signed by Philippine panel chairman Rafael E Seguis, MILF panel chairman Mohagher Iqbal and witnessed by the Malaysian government facilitator Othman Abdul Razak.

Under the agreement, both parties agreed to refrain from attacking non-combatants, prevent suffering by the civilian population and avoid acts that would cause collateral damage to civilians. They also agreed to protect civilian facilities such as schools, hospitals, religious premises and relief operations.

The envoy said that the Philippine government hopes that with the help of the monitoring team, peace and development will take place in Mindanao and the Philippines soon. "We will exert our best effort, the Philippine President is really determined to forge a peace agreement, the peace panels and those who are directly involved in the peace process will exert all efforts to reach the deal as quickly as possible."

Bridget Welsh, a political science professor at the Singapore Management University, said that the help of International Monitoring Team, will add weight to the importance of moving the peace talks forward. "However, traction will not be likely until after the upcoming presidential election and with compromises on the thorny issues of land and financial support for the development in Mindanao," Welsh said.

Yulius Purwadi Hermawan, an International Relations expert of Parahyangan University, Indonesia, said Malaysia is highly accepted by the people in Mindanao. "With that, I hope that the peace deal will be reached soon and the first important step for Malaysia is to build good relations with the Philippines government," Purwadi said.

In an article published on the MILF website, MILF peace panel chairman Mohagher lqbal said that the prolonged negotiation was caused by some reasons since 1997.

It was the wars declared by the government against the MILF and Bangsamom communities , and the international sham with the aborted signing of the peace pact in 2008 which renewed armed confrontations in Mindanao. -- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

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