RP group endorses More peace plan

RP group endorses More peace plan

MANILA (AFP): A group of Roman Catholic, Protestant and
Islamic religious leaders yesterday endorsed an interim peace
deal with Moro guerrillas, as gunmen wiped out a militia post in
the south of the country.

The endorsement also came as residents of a southern city
planned a general strike against the peace agreement.

The National Ecumenical Consultative Committee (NECCOM), after
a meeting with President Fidel Ramos, said they supported the
creation of a regional council that will supervise development
projects in 14 mainly Christian provinces in the south.

Under the peace agreement, the Moslem insurgent Moro National
Liberation Front (MNLF) would lead the Southern Philippines
Council for Peace and Development (SPCPD) for three years, paving
the way for the creation of a wider Moslem autonomous region.

The Christians have protested against the agreement, saying it
will lead to Moslem rule.

But the Christian leaders said they decided to support the
SPCPD "in order to give peace a chance to work."

However, in a position paper, the NECCOM urged Manila to
ensure that members of an 81-strong Consultative Assembly, which
will help the SPCPD are appointed "on the basis of proportional
representation in accordance with population."

This would conflict with the proposed agreement which gives 54
seats in the assembly to the MNLF and their allies with the rest
coming from local officials.

The religious leaders also called on Manila to decide on what
to do with the firearms of an estimated 15,000 MNLF guerrillas
and to make sure that the SPCPD will "respect the separation of
Church and State."

A proposed Islamic body to advise the council "should be
outside the formal government structure," they added.

Religious biases are strong in the main southern island of
Mindanao, which this largely Roman Catholic country's Moslem
minority considers their ancestral homeland. Waves of Christian
migrants have relegated the Moslems to a minority.

Ramos's chief aide said yesterday that Manila has made headway
in its efforts to gain popular support for the council.

Executive Secretary Ruben Torres said opponents of the SPCPD
were only "misinformed," after Christians had told him they would
be barred from eating pork or that their lands would be taken
away from them and given to Moslems once the SPCPD is
established.

Torres added that Ramos's ruling party was reworking the image
of MNLF chief Nur Misuari in preparation for his running in
September elections for governor of a smaller existing Moslem
autonomous area as part of the peace initiative.

This included even working on Misuari's "leaflets, posters and
campaign materials," Torres said.

Torres's statements came as residents of the mainly-Christian
city of Dipolog prepared for a general strike today to protest
the inclusion of their province of Zamboanga del Norte in the
SPCPD.

Leaders of the strike vowed to paralyze transportation,
government offices and schools.

Police in Mindanao reported that suspected MNLF guerrillas
turned bandit, raided a militia outpost in Siocon town, hacking
the army soldier in charge to death.

Four militiamen at the outpost, along with 14 weapons, were
missing and believed taken by the raiders.

It could not be determined if this incident was related to the
interim peace agreement. Although the MNLF has signed a cease-
fire with the government, other armed Moslem factions are not
covered by the agreement.