A tripartite meeting of the Philippine government, the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) will be held in Indonesia on the issue of Mindanao peace accord, a senior official of the Philippine Foreign Affairs said Thursday.
Indonesia has agreed to host the meeting in August upon the request of the Philippine government, but the dates are yet to be finalized by the host, Philippine Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Special Concerns Rafael Seguis said at a press briefing.
"It will depend on the availability of Indonesian Foreign Minister Nur Hassan Wirajuda. Nothing has been finalized as of the moment, except the venue of the meeting which is in Indonesia," Seguis said, adding that Indonesia is a more suitable venue because of its proximity to the Philippines.
He said that Indonesia should have a lead role in the tripartite meeting because it is the chairman of the OIC Committee of the Eight, which is tasked to monitor the peace accord between the Philippine government and the MNLF.
The meeting was originally scheduled from July 17 to 19 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, according to the Philippine official.
The primary objective of the tripartite meeting, which was initiated by the OIC, is to conduct a review of the implementation of the second phase of the 1996 peace pact signed between Manila and the MNLF. It aims to overcome any obstacles impeding the full implementation of the accord.
Under the 1996 pact, a compromise was reached by the separatist MNLF and the government, giving autonomy to the southern area with Muslim majorities and making the MNLF as the ruling party there. The area is called the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao.
Source: Xinhua
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