A long way still to go on the path to peace
Experts warn Aquino may not see resolution to Muslim rebellion before his term ends in 2016
A final resolution to a decades-long Muslim rebellion in the Philippines is a long way off with many tough issues yet to be resolved, experts cautioned yesterday, 24 hours after a roadmap for peace was unveiled.
President Benigno Aquino raised hopes of ending the conflict when he announced on Sunday that the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) had agreed a blueprint for achieving peace before his term ends in 2016.
Under the plan, the MILF's 12,000 soldiers are laying down their arms and giving up their claim for an independent homeland in southern Philippines, in return for the creation of a semi-autonomous Muslim region.
While both sides acknowledged that many of the most sensitive points of contention still needed to be addressed, experts questioned whether a final agreement could be implemented before Aquino stood down.
"There are real differences between the two parties that they need to thrash out," said Rommel Banlaoi, executive director of the Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research.
"Meeting the deadline of 2016 will be difficult … the hardest part of the negotiations has only begun."
The MILF and other Muslim organisations regard the southern region of Mindanao as their ancestral homeland, dating back to Islamic sultanates established before Spanish Christians arrived in the 1500s.
