| OIC probe team ends fact-finding mission
THE
fact-finding mission of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) yesterday completed
its assignment in Mindanao to determine the progress of the 1996 peace agreement between
the government and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).
Malacañang
said they hope to get a preview of the team’s assessment of the Mindanao situation
before its members leave the country today.
The mission is
composed of 22 members representing Indonesia, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Senegal
and the OIC secretariat.
“They will
furnish us with a copy of their report,” National Security Adviser Alexander Aguirre
told reporters at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) last Monday.
Aguirre’s
office is in charge of securing the team. Earlier this week, two soldiers tasked to secure
the team were killed after suspected Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) members ambushed
an Army convoy in Lanao del Sur.
The convoy was an
advance party checking a road that the OIC mission would use.
Before that, the
MILF was suspected to be behind a bombing incident near the operations base of one of the
OIC teams, but Aguirre shrugged off the incident.
Observers believe
the attacks stemmed from the MILF’s alleged desire to get observer status in the OIC,
which recognizes the MNLF as the representative of the Bangsamoro people.
Led by Indonesian
Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab, the OIC mission will make its report in time for the OIC
summit in Qatar in November.
In a press
conference last Monday, Shihab said the OIC mission believes the differences between the
government and the MNLF on the peace pact can be resolved.
“We are quite
optimistic that the peace agreement will be implemented successfully. We sense sincerity
from both sides for a just peace agreement. There are differences, but we are here to find
ways and means to get the implementation of the peace agreement successfully and result in
a satisfactory manner,” Shihab told a press conference after getting briefings from
representatives of government and the MNLF.
He added that the
OIC is optimistic that “in the end, we’ll reach a just solution."
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