Christians fear Muslim land grab after deal with Manila, leader says

A Christian leader in the southern Philippines said his people feared a Muslim land grab after the government struck a significant deal with separatists last week to enlarge the territory of a Muslim homeland.

North Cotabato Vice-Governor Emmanuel Pinol warned that the deal with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front could result in bloodshed and chaos, and that Muslims could force Christians off their lands because of it.

The deal, widely hailed as a breakthrough, is to be formally signed soon. It would expand the present five-province Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) with the addition of up to 712 villages with predominantly Muslim populations.

The villages are in five Christian-dominated provinces. They are North Cotabato, Lanao del Norte, Sultan Kudarat, Zamboanga Sibugay and Palawan.

The national government and the rebels have agreed to meet on Thursday to decide when to sign the deal formally, which in turn would signal the resumption of formal peace talks, Hermogenes Esperon, the new presidential peace adviser, said on Friday.

Mr Pinol said he and local businessmen would petition the Supreme Court today to compel the government to consult them first and fully disclose the contents of the deal before it is signed.