Strike while the iron is hot.
Urging quick action, visiting US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the government and the secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front should not waste the opportunity to strike a peace deal before President Macapagal-Arroyo steps down next June.
Saying that the negotiating environment could change under a new administration, she said “the conditions for peace are ripe” and Ms Arroyo was “very committed” and “fully prepared” to make the difficult decisions needed to achieve peace with the MILF.
“What I have often found is that it is easier to make the difficult decisions when you are on the way out of office. Because you know what is at stake and you are willing to brave the political fires,” she told a nationally televised special forum at the University of Santo Tomas yesterday.
Clinton recalled that her husband, Bill Clinton, was close to sealing a Middle East peace agreement near the end of his time as US president.
But she said then-Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat had put this off, thinking he could get a better deal from Bill Clinton’s successor. None came.
“So strike while the iron is hot, when people are in the mood and willing to make peace. Do not sleep, do not rest until we finally get there,” she told a crowd of about 800 college students from various Manila colleges and universities.
Told that Ms Arroyo may not have the popularity or political will to forge a peace pact before her term ends, Clinton said: “President Arroyo is very committed and I think that making difficult decisions by nature cannot be popular.”
“I really believe that negotiations to end the conflict and not being discouraged are really important,” she said.
Asked about the role of US troops in the Philippines’ antiterrorism campaign, Clinton reiterated that the US troops were “noncombat but a facilitating and supportive role to fight those who would disrupt communities and engage in terrorist activities.”
Clinton recommitted the United States’ support in helping negotiate a deal with the MILF, the country’s largest Muslim insurgency, which has been waging a separatist rebellion in southern Philippines since 1978.
US support
The government and the MILF signed a new ceasefire in July, 11 months after peace talks were derailed by a series of deadly attacks by so-called rogue elements of the MILF against Christian communities following the Supreme Court’s rejection of a deal to extend a Muslim autonomous region that would have given the MILF control of a wider territory.
Both sides have said that peace talks could resume soon, but this has not eventuated.
In her meeting with Ms Arroyo late Thursday, the former US first lady and senator cautioned, however, against reaching an agreement outside the Constitution and laws of the country because “that will be creating more problems.”
Washington to help in talks
Even if an agreement were forged, the situation could remain fragile because some “rogue elements” of the MILF could eventually join the Abu Sayyaf bandits, Clinton was quoted as saying by presidential economic spokesperson Gary Olivar.
She said it is important to isolate the rogue elements who do not support the peace process, recalling lessons learned from the experience of Bill Clinton in the Camp David talks in the Middle East and the Good Friday agreement to settle the conflict in Northern Ireland.
She said Washington would help facilitate the talks by talking to both sides and providing social and economic aid to improve the lives of people in Mindanao and “isolate those who are not interested in peace at all and are only interested in conflict an terrorism.”
Since 2002, about 300 US troops have been deployed to help train, assist and advise the Philippines on how to counter the Abu Sayyaf, the bandit group which has ties to the al-Qaida international terror group and the regional terror network Jemaah Islamiyah. The troops are forbidden from actual combat.
VFA not discussed
Clinton sat down for talks with Ms Arroyo late Thursday. She was conferred the Order of Sikatuna and feted at an official dinner in Malacañang’s Bahay Pangarap.
According to Olivar, Ms Arroyo and Clinton discussed various issues, including the resilience of the economy, the reconstruction of areas devastated by recent typhoons.
But they did not tackle the Visiting Forces Agreement, the treaty governing the conduct of visiting US troops, which senators have threatened to abrogate, he said.
But he said he believed Clinton had separately made statements about the importance of the VFA.
At the UST forum, Clinton said she and Ms Arroyo talked about human rights in their official meeting, “and, as the State Department has pointed out, that we believe could be improved.”
According to Clinton, the US would “continue to raise questions, but we will also continue as a friend does, to offer whatever assistance we can.”
Human rights
“It is very important that we constantly work toward protecting human rights. It is difficult even in my own country. We are not perfect and we’ll be the first to say that,” she said.
“I know there has been some questions here in the Philippines, but I also know there’s been important efforts to deal with human rights problems. It’s not perfect here as it’s not perfect anywhere. And it’s up to civil society to constantly be making human rights an issue inside of your own country,” said Clinton.
She reiterated that Washington was “committed to the people of the Philippines and the democracy of the Philippines.”
“The Philippines and the US have a long history, partnership and friendship and we want to continue to be a good friend and partner,” she said.
Fighting corruption
On corruption, Clinton said “the biggest tool against corruption in any society is public exposure and citizens standing up and saying they’re not going to accept it to be an issue in the political system.”
She said Filipinos could help government fight corruption by using technology.
“I know this is one of the most texting nations in the world. So there’s a way of communicating and exposing and holding up to the bright light of public exposure of corruption at any time,” she said.
Remembering war dead
After the forum, Clinton presided over wreath-laying rites at the American Cemetery and Memorial in Fort Bonifacio in honor of the thousands of US and Filipino soldiers who fought and died together during World War II.
She later flew back to Singapore for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum where US President Barack Obama, Ms Arroyo and other Apec heads of state and government would be convening a two-day summit.
Print Article 
Email Article 
