VZCZCXRO9322
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHML #2013/01 1300847
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 100847Z MAY 06
FM AMEMBASSY MANILA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0941
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 MANILA 002013 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, INR/EAP, INR/TNC, S/CT 
NSC FOR MORROW 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/11/2016 
TAGS: PGOV PTER PREL MOPS PINS KISL MY RP
SUBJECT: GRP-MILF PEACE TALKS DEADLOCKED OVER TERRITORIAL 
CLAIMS 
 
REF: A. MANILA 1887 
     ¶B. MANILA 1747 
     ¶C. MANILA 1395 
 
Classified By: Acting Pol/C Joseph L. Novak for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
. 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary.  GRP and Moro Islamic Liberation Front 
(MILF) negotiators failed to reach an agreement on ancestral 
domain during their 12th Round of Exploratory Talks, but were 
successful in expanding the composition/mandate of the 
International Monitoring Team, and extending the Ad Hoc Joint 
Action Group until June 2007.  Additional exploratory talks 
and on-the-ground surveys are being planned by the GRP-MILF 
Peace Panels to break their deadlock over territorial claims. 
 End Summary. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
Control of Territory Remains Stumbling Block 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The GRP and MILF Peace Panels held their 12th Round 
of Exploratory Talks in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on May 2-4. 
Secretary Silvestre C. Afable chaired the GRP delegation, 
 
SIPDIS 
which included retired Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) 
Vice-Chief of Staff Rodolfo Garcia, Sultan Kudurat Provincial 
Governor Pax Mangudadatu, Western Mindanao University 
professor Rudy Rodil, and Indigenous Peoples representative 
and chairman of the Mindanao Coalition of Development NGOs 
Sylvia Paraguya.  The MILF delegation was composed of Peace 
Panel Chairman Mohager Iqbal, Technical Working Group Head 
Musib Buat, Maulana Robert Alonto, and legal advisors Michael 
Mastura and Lanang Ali. 
 
¶3.  (C) Executive Director of the GRP Peace Negotiations 
Panel Secretariat Ryan Sullivan told poloff on May 8 that the 
MILF claimed ancestral domain (i.e. hereditary land rights) 
over eighty-four municipalities outside of the Autonomous 
Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) that have communities of 
Muslims and/or Lumads (indigenous peoples).  An MILF proposal 
to have a Bangsamoro Juridical Entity control two-thirds of 
Mindanao -- the five-province ARMM (Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, 
Maguindanao, and Lanao Del Sur Provinces), one-half of the 
Zamboanga Peninsula, most of North Cotabato, South Cotabato, 
Sultan Kudurat and Lanao Del Norte Provinces, and parts of 
Palawan, Sarangani, Bukidnon, Davao Del Norte, and Davao 
Oriental Provinces -- was unacceptable to the GRP Peace 
Panel.  Consequently, the 12th Exploratory Talks in Kuala 
Lumpur concluded on May 4 without an ancestral domain 
agreement between the two parties, according to Sullivan. 
 
------------------------------ 
Joint Validation Survey Needed 
------------------------------ 
 
¶4.  (C) Sullivan commented that the MILF's inclusion of at 
least 18 tribes of Lumads in its ancestral domain claim 
significantly expanded the territory to be placed under a 
Bangsamoro Juridical Entity.  An on-the-ground joint 
validation survey will be necessary to determine the number 
of Lumads in Mindanao that actually support being part of a 
Bangsamoro Homeland. 
 
--------------------------- 
The Devil Is In the Details 
--------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (C) Details regarding revenue sharing from natural 
resources (petroleum, natural gas, and minerals) will be 
discussed during formal talks after the signing of an 
ancestral domain agreement.  The consensus points reached 
thus far on this key issue have been conceptual, according to 
Sullivan. 
 
¶6.  (C) Sullivan said the MILF wanted mining companies in a 
"Bangsamoro Homeland" to be socially and environmentally 
responsible.  Existing mining contracts would be honored 
until expiration, at which time new contracts would have to 
be negotiated with the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity. 
 
------------------------------------------ 
Expansion of International Monitoring Team 
------------------------------------------ 
 
MANILA 00002013  002 OF 004 
 
 
 
¶7.  (C) GRP and MILF negotiators agreed to request a one-year 
extension for the Malaysia-led International Monitoring Team 
(IMT) and to expand the membership of this effective 
peacekeeping force.  Since the deployment of the IMT in 
October 2004, ceasefire violations significantly decreased 
from 500 during 2002-2004 to only 37 in calendar year 2005, 
according to GRP data. 
 
¶8.  (C) The GRP-MILF Peace Panels requested Malaysia, Brunei, 
and Libya to extend the IMT's mandate and expand its 
membership to include other nations.  Sullivan noted that 
discussions were already underway between the GRP, MILF, and 
Japanese Government regarding the latter's potential 
monitoring of the socio-economic and development aspects of 
the peace process.  (Note:  Based on local press reporting, 
the Director of the Second Southeast Asia Division of Japan's 
Foreign Ministry, Shigeo Yamada, and the First Secretary of 
the Political Section of the Japanese Embassy in Manila, 
Yoshihisa Yamada, met with MILF leaders in Sultan Kudurat, 
Maguindanao Province on May 7 to discuss Japan's role in the 
GRP-MILF peace process.  End Note.) 
 
-------------------------------------- 
Extension of Ad Hoc Joint Action Group 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶9.  (C) The GRP-MILF Peace Panels also agreed to extend the 
mandate of the Ad Hoc Joint Action Group (AHJAG) until June 
¶2007.  AHJAG Chairman/Armed Forces of the Philippines 
Brigadier-General Ben D. Dolorfino told poloff on April 18 
that the GRP-MILF AHJAG was composed of five teams.  Each 
team has at least four members -- two GRP and two MILF -- who 
report to an AHJAG Core Leadership Group. 
 
--- Team 1 covers Maguindanao, North Cotabato, and Bukidnon 
Provinces.  The MILF members are Professor Tahir S. Kanakan 
and George Kasim. 
 
--- Team 2 covers Lanao Del Sur, Lanao Del Norte, Misamis 
Oriental, and Misamis Occidental Provinces.  The MILF members 
are Engineer Aliodin S. Sangcopan and Ameruding P. Usman. 
 
--- Team 3 covers the Zamboanga Del Sur, Zamboanga Del Norte, 
and Zamboanga Sibugay Provinces.  The MILF members are Amsid 
Sanson and Bonnie Salih. 
 
--- Team 4 covers Socsargen (South Cotabato-Sultan 
Kudurat-Sarangani-General Santos).  The MILF members are 
Hadji Salem M. Abu and Ustadz Ansar A. Kudanding. 
 
--- Team 5 covers Davao Del Norte, Davao Del Sur, Davao 
Oriental, and Compostela Valley Provinces.  The MILF members 
are Jebreil Arafat and Abidin S. Arip. 
 
--- The MILF representatives on the AHJAG Core Leadership 
Group are Attorney Abdul M. Dataya, Dr. Saffrullah M. 
Dipatuan, Mohammad Nasif, and Bashir L. Takasan. 
 
¶9.  (C) According to Dolorfino, during calendar year 2005, 
the GRP-MILF AHJAG conducted 21 operations that resulted in 
the killing of 8 members of the Abu Sayyaf Group and Jemaah 
Islamiya; arrest of 6 criminals operating in MILF 
communities; rescue of 14 kidnap victims; recovery of 2 
stolen vehicles, 12 high-powered firearms, and one .45 
pistol; the burning of 2,500 fully grown marijuana plants 
with an estimated street value of 2.5 million pesos ($46,476 
US); and the prevention of misunderstandings/armed encounters 
between GRP and MILF forces. 
 
¶10.  (C) Dolorfino commented that the AHJAG is setting its 
sights on the methamphetamine trade that now threatens the 
moral fiber of Muslim society in Mindanao.  According to 
Dolorfino, "narco-politics" has been on the rise.  At least 
seven "drug lords" are currently serving as mayors in Lanao 
Del Sur Province alone.  The AHJAG's Core Leadership Group is 
planning to begin operations against traffickers in Marawi 
City -- a location described by Dolorfino as one of the 
centers of the drug business.  (Further details on the drug 
situation in Muslim Mindanao will follow in a separate 
message.) 
 
------- 
 
MANILA 00002013  003 OF 004 
 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶11.  (C) GRP and MILF negotiators have their work cut out to 
break the deadlock over the issue of ancestral domain.  The 
extension/expansion of the IMT and AHJAG -- which have been 
instrumental in sustaining the ceasefire in Mindanao -- bodes 
well for the peace process.  The cooperative relationships 
developed between the AFP/PNP and MILF since the AHJAG was 
first activated in January 2005 will be critical for AHJAG 
operations against powerful Muslim drug trafficking 
syndicates. 
 
----------------------- 
Text of Joint Statement 
----------------------- 
 
¶12.  (SBU) The text of the Joint Statement from the 12th 
Round of GRP-MILF Exploratory Talks on May 2-4 follows. 
 
Begin text: 
 
The Peace Panels of the Government of the Republic of the 
Philippines (GRP) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front 
(MILF) wrapped up the 3-day 12th Round of GRP-MILF 
Exploratory Talks in Kuala Lumpur today by declaring 
substantive gains in the Ancestral Domain agenda while 
acknowledging that more work had to be done on the strand of 
territory, particularly in the determination and delimitation 
of areas to be placed under a prospective Bangsamoro 
Juridical Entity (BJE). 
 
The Panels achieved significant progress in defining the 
concept, sharing the resources and establishing governance in 
the BJE but were held back from reaching full consensus by 
the highly technical nature of discussions on the delineation 
and demarcation of territory.  For this purpose, they agreed 
to conduct further ground validation and collection of 
additional data to guide them in the resolution of remaining 
items. 
 
The talks were held under an atmosphere of frankness, 
cordiality, goodwill marking the commitment of both sides to 
uphold and advance the gains already achieved in the 
ancestral domain agenda. 
 
The Panels decided to extend the mandate of the AHJAG Interim 
Guidelines for a period of one (1) year once its mandate ends 
on June 21, 2006. 
 
The Panels committed to move forward the establishment of the 
Bangsamoro Leadership and Management Institute (BLMI), which 
is envisioned as an agent of change in the social and 
political environment of the Bangsamoro people.  Both Panels 
decided to continue availing of the training programs 
organized by the Malaysian Government under the Malaysian 
Technical Cooperation Program (MTCP).  In this regard, they 
will also seek the assistance of the Development Academy of 
the Philippines (DAP) to compliment the current Malaysian 
capacity-building efforts. 
 
The Panels reached a consensus to immediately activate a 
joint advocacy team in order to formulate and undertake a 
program of public information aimed at raising broad 
awareness of, and support for, the peace process. 
 
The Panels welcomed the entry of the United Nations World 
Food Program and other organizations in Mindanao in support 
of the peace process prior to the signing of the 
comprehensive agreement.  The Panels agreed that such a 
mission should be done in coordination with the Bangsamoro 
Development Agency (BDA). 
 
The Panels expressed their gratitude to Malaysian Prime 
Minister Dato Seri Abdullah Bin Haji Ahmad Badawi and to 
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, for their unstinting 
support for the Mindanao peace process. 
 
End Text. 
 
Visit Embassy Manila's Classified SIPRNET website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eap/manila/index. cfm 
 
 
MANILA 00002013  004 OF 004 
 
 
You can also access this site through the State Department's 
Classified SIPRNET website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/ 
 
 
Kenney