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Arroyo Attempts To Diffuse Destabilization Plans
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| Arroyo stretches out arms to diffuse tensions |
By IOL’s correspondent in South Asia, Kazi Mahmood
MANILA, Jan. 15 (IslamOnline) - Filipino President, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, is taking threats to destabilize her government seriously, inviting her opponents to discuss matters with her, says news reports from Manila.
“The Palace doors are open to friends and foes alike.” Arroyo said.
A week before completing a year in office, Arroyo extended a hand of reconciliation on Saturday not only to her estranged allies who helped put her in power, but also to her harshest critics.
Speaking over her weekly radio/TV program, Arroyo said she is willing to hold constructive dialogues with her critics in the run-up to the first anniversary of her reign as president on January 20, 2001.
"The doors of the Office of the President are open for serious discussions with various sectors, especially in the celebration of the anniversary of our people power coalition," Arroyo told her viewers and listeners.
"I extend my thanks to my allies and I extend my hand of peace and reconciliation to my detractors," she said.
“I invite the members of the administration... (and) the opposition to a non-partisan dialogue so that together, we can help uplift the quality of lives of the Filipinos," she added.
Reports of destabilization attempts against her government gained momentum two weeks ago with the killing of one of her detractors. He belonged to the military youth wing or the Young Officers Union (YOU) that has threatened to back opponents of Arroyo.
The YOU have also threatened to overthrow the president.
"Even if at times we don’t agree, the civil society believes in democracy." Arroyo said in her speech.
Earlier in the week, she had "invited” her critics from the People’s Consultative Assembly (PCA) headed by former Finance Secretary Salvador Enriquez to a dialogue.
The PCA was instrumental in joining the EDSA II forces in toppling the scandal-wracked administration of former President Joseph Estrada.
Meanwhile, news reports said on Monday, January 14, that a step forward has been reached in the Philippines when the government in Manila and Muslim separatists agreed to form panels to activate the Local Monitoring Teams (LMT).
The deal was struck in the Philippines itself since the negotiations took place in a local hotel in Mindanao. The agreement touches the monitoring of the implementation of the ceasefire agreements signed by the warring factions in Libya and Malaysia last year.
Col. Romeo Caliso represented the Philippines government while Mustapha Julhani sat for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
Both groups have also agreed to submit January 15 the respective names of those who would sit in the Provincial Monitoring Teams that would be composed of five members.
It will be composed of a representative from the MILF, the local government unit, a nominee each of both camps that would come from non-government organizations, and a commonly agreed religious leader.
Presidential Assistant for Mindanao Jesus Dureza, the government chief negotiator, told reporters that they would conduct local workshops to empower the monitoring teams.
It is a step forward in the peace process since the September 11 attacks on the US, which has sent both sides in a watching game.
The Philippines consolidated its army while the MILF felt the menace of being called a terror organization in case it breached the peace talks.
The agreement signed on Saturday, January 12, is to preempt possible armed encounters between Army soldiers and guerrillas of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF), the armed wing of the MILF.
The aim of the five-man committee could actually prevent a potential shooting war. “They (CCCH members) can immediately question any unusual troop movement before the tension escalates,” Dureza stressed.
The MILF also agreed to “conduct and education campaign among MILF field commanders and combatants to thoroughly explain to them the contents of the agreements we have forged with the government.”
The southern Philippines have been the theatre of a long war that has displaced thousands of people, sent the resourceful Mindanao province into poverty that has also dragged the Philippines into an economic slump.
Muslim separatists under the MILF are fighting for an independent Islamic state in Mindanao, with the stated aim of grouping the Muslims living in the region under one leadership.
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