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Saturday May 10, 4:16 PMMalaysia begins withdrawing truce team from southern Philippines(Kyodo) _ Malaysia on Saturday began pulling out its contingent in a 60-member international team that has been monitoring a ceasefire agreement between the Philippine government and Muslim separatist rebels on the southern island of Mindanao."Our mission is accomplished. We have laid down the foundation for peace," Malaysia's Maj. Gen. Yasin Mat Daud, who heads the team, told reporters in Cotabato after the first batch of 28 of the 41 Malaysian members of the truce team was flown out of the central Mindanao city earlier in the day. He said the remainder of the Malaysian truce monitors will be withdrawn by the end of August. The Muslim rebellion on Mindanao has rocked the southern Philippines since the 1970s. The truce body was formed by the Organization of the Islamic Conference in 2004 to ensure that no fresh fighting breaks out while peace talks are under way. It has played a crucial role in decreasing the number of armed encounters between government soldiers and guerillas of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which has at least 11,000 fighters and is the largest Muslim group battling for self-rule in the southern Philippines. But last week, Kuala Lumpur said it would not extend its participation in the mission when its mandate expires at the end of August. Yasin said peacekeepers from Libya and Brunei -- as well as Japanese development expert Masafumi Nagaishi, who is also a member of the truce monitoring team -- are likely to also pull out by then "unless their mandate is extended." However, Nagaishi voiced concern over the prospect of a total pullout, saying it might worsen the security situation in the region where the decades-long secessionist war has claimed thousands of lives, displaced millions of people and hindered development. He said poor security might hamper Japan-sponsored development projects in the region that have yet to be completed, including the building of schoolhouses and the paving of roads. Japan has so far completed 12 such projects, but Nagaishi said at least nine more remain uncompleted. He urged the Philippine government and the Muslim rebels to work out a plan to extend the stay of the truce team after Aug. 31. Gen. Abdul Aziz, the head of Malaysia's defense forces, visited the Philippines last week and assured Manila that his government has no intention of completely abandoning the peace process that is hoped to bring an end to nearly four decades of separatist war in the southern Philippines. "We have provided the platform for the peaceful process to continue, and we are looking into maybe a new format so as to hasten the peace process," Aziz told reporters then. He subsequently met with Muslim rebel leaders at their main camp in Mindanao. Malaysia has brokered the on-and-off talks that kicked off in 2001 but hit another snag last December over differences on the "Muslim ancestral domain" issue -- a vital point in sealing a comprehensive peace pact. Philippine government advisor Jesus Dureza voiced hope that Malaysia will continue to support "our peace and development efforts" despite of its decision to implement a phased pullout of its contingent. |
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