KEY PEACE DOCUMENT UNDER LEGAL REVIEW

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MANILA 000912 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/15/2018 TAGS: PREL PINS KISL RP SUBJECT: KEY PEACE DOCUMENT UNDER LEGAL REVIEW REF: A. MANILA 885 (LAYING GROUNDWORK FOR SUCCESSFUL MERCY DEPLOYMENT) ¶B. MANILA 836 (AMBASSADOR ENGAGES FOREIGN SECRETARY ON PEACE PROCESS) ¶C. MANILA 518 (GUARDED PROGRESS FOR MINDANAO PEACE PROCESS) ¶D. MANILA 455 (AMBASSADOR URGES MILF CHIEF TO EMBRACE PEACE) ¶E. MANILA 454 (PRESIDENT ARROYO COMMITTED TO PEACE PROCESS) ¶F. MANILA 238 (PRESIDENT ARROYO REVISES MILF PEACE PROPOSAL) Classified By: Ambassador Kristie A. Kenney for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: Peace talks between the Philippine government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front insurgents are expected to resume after government legal experts finish reviewing a key draft agreement. The legal review is currently focused on contentious issues related to governance, POLITICAL status, and control of natural resources, and a legal decision is expected mid-May. The unexpectedly long legal review reflects the complexity of the issues and the politics around them. The insurgents are anxious, but not yet alarmed at the delay, though the Malaysians continue to threaten to withdraw their ceasefire monitors. Negotiations continue, however, and in preparation for the legislative action and plebiscite needed to create a new Muslim POLITICAL entity, the government is planning a two-tier advocacy and public RELATIONS campaign targeting grassroots communities and POLITICAL figures at the local and national levels. End Summary. -------------- Legal Review Continues; Growing Impatience -------------- ¶2. (C) Philippine government legal experts are reviewing key provisions of a draft territorial agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Consequently, no date has been set for the resumption of peace talks in Kuala Lumpur. "We really do not have a clear timetable as long as legal deliberations continue over proposed text," commented government peace panel secretariat director Ryan Sullivan. ¶3. (C) Meanwhile, Malaysian peace negotiation facilitators have grown increasingly impatient with the standstill in the peace talks, and raised with the Office of the Presidential Advisor on the Peace Process (OPAPP) the possibility of withdrawing the International Monitoring Team from Mindanao. With Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi facing mounting pressure to resign in the wake of the March 8 national elections, it remains unclear exactly how Malaysian politics will ultimately affect the MILF peace process, noted Sullivan. -------------- Legal Recommendation Expected Mid-May -------------- ¶4. (C) In a discussion with DCM April 15, Government Peace Panel Chairman Rudy Garcia confirmed that President Arroyo had assigned a former cabinet member who is considered a constitutional expert to review the territorial agreement and ensure that all provisions adhere to the Constitution. The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process will brief the constitutional expert on the status of the review this week, and a legal recommendation is expected by mid-May, according to Garcia. Garcia also noted that there are conservative forces within the Cabinet who are wary of the agreement in its present form. -------------- Three Issues for Starters -------------- ¶5. (C) Sullivan said the legal review of the Philippine government's draft territorial agreement is currently focused on issues related to governance, POLITICAL status, and natural resources. According to Sullivan, the Philippine cabinet and MILF view these issues very differently, and bridging the divide will be a challenge. On the key issue of governance, Sullivan explained that the MILF wants the territorial agreement to contain a list of specific examples of administrative, judicial, educational, economic, and financial government institutions to be established within a new Muslim POLITICAL entity. In sharp contrast, Sullivan said the Philippine cabinet wants language of a very general nature in the text of the agreement, skirting any specific references to prospective government institutions. Regarding MANILA 00000912 002 OF 003 political status, Sullivan said cabinet members do not want the term "freedom" for the Bangsamoro people included in the text of a territorial agreement, since it could be interpreted to mean independence. But since the term "freedom" is already specified in a June 22, 2001, agreement between the government and MILF, deleting this term is not acceptable to MILF peace negotiators, noted Sullivan. ¶6. (C) Sullivan said that the MILF appears determined to have a firm hand in the exploitation and development of strategic resources, such as petroleum and natural gas. Since both parties have different concepts of the meaning of "ownership," this term was excluded from the draft territorial agreement. In place of "ownership," the MILF wants to use the phrase "jurisdiction and control," while the cabinet wants to limit the language in the text to the word "control." The phrase "jurisdiction and control" implies greater authority and a recognized right to control strategic resources within the territorial boundaries of a new Muslim political entity, explained Sullivan. By limiting the language to the term "control," Sullivan said the government would grant authority to the new Muslim POLITICAL entity to develop and exploit strategic resources, though such authority could be taken away under certain circumstances, such as a national emergency. The MILF is apparently concerned that the government could use a calamity or other event as a pretext to take over strategic resources indefinitely, according to Sullivan. -------------- Political Hurdles -------------- ¶7. (C) Sullivan expressed concern that "certain cabinet members" may raise additional issues after legal experts complete their review of governance, POLITICAL status, and natural resources. Such a development could lead to another legal review, delaying agreement on this document still further, Sullivan lamented. ¶8. (C) Separately, Philippine government peace panel legal consultant Jose Lorena said that the inclusion of an expanded Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) in a new Muslim political entity requires legislation to amend Republic Act No. 9054, the organizing statute of the ARMM, by both the House of Representatives and the Senate, followed by a plebiscite. Though President Arroyo could probably push through a simple majority vote in the House, Lorena said opposition figures in the Senate, including several who plan to run for president in the 2010 national elections, may block passage of such an amendment. -------------- Advocacy and Public RELATIONS Campaign -------------- ¶9. (C) Sullivan said OPAPP is planning a two-tier advocacy and public RELATIONS campaign to prepare for the Congressional action/plebiscite required after a territorial agreement is signed. As a first step, 600 volunteers from the Mindanao Peace Weavers and other civil society groups will open a dialogue with communities targeted for inclusion in a new Muslim POLITICAL entity. The objective of this dialogue is not to convert the general populace to accept the territorial agreement, but rather to open a venue through which views and concerns about such an agreement can be articulated, according to Sullivan. ¶10. (C) Sullivan said the focus of the second step -- a public RELATIONS campaign -- would depend on the views and concerns elicited during the community dialogue. Briefings on the MILF peace process and territorial agreement to key groups and individuals, including Representatives and Senators, will be part of this "soft" and "creative" public relations campaign, commented Sullivan. -------------- Keeping Negotiations on Front Burner -------------- ¶11. (C) To ensure that the parties stay focused and push the process forward, Mission officials continue to engage the parties at the most senior levels. The Ambassador recently raised the issue in separate meetings with Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo and Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief General Hermogenes Esperon, making clear that the U.S. strongly supports a peace agreement that will help bring prosperity to Mindanao and remove safe haven for terrorists (ref B). Similarly, during an April 9 trip to Cotabato (ref A),the DCM raised with MILF Vice-Chairman Ghazali Jaafar and MANILA 00000912 003 OF 003 newly-elected MNLF Chair Muslimin Sema the importance of progress toward a comprehensive agreement. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶12. (C) The slow, sometimes halting negotiation process reflects the complexity of the issues with which the parties are grappling, as well as the complex politics surrounding them. Our contacts continue to report that government and MILF negotiators are working diligently to craft a territorial agreement that not only meets with Cabinet and MILF approval, but passes constitutional muster. We continue to press both sides to come to agreement soon on the significant set of governance, territory, and natural resource issues currently under negotiation. Such an agreement would be a significant milestone and open the field for advocacy and increased attention to security issues in the next stage of negotiations. Visit Embassy Manila's Classified SIPRNET website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eap/manila/index. cfm You can also access this site through the State Department's Classified SIPRNET website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/ JONES