"The recent agreement reached between the Government of the Philippines and the MILF, as well as the previous peace agreement signed between the Government of the Philippines and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in 1996, reflect the strong commitment of the Philippine Government to fostering comprehensive peace in the southern Philippines. In this regard, Indonesia is ready to provide support and share its experience," the statement said.
The Philippine government's peace agreements with the MNLF and the MILF from the Moro community would be instrumental in resolving a four-decade-long conflict that claimed many lives and caused much material loss.
"Indonesia is strongly committed to the establishment of peace, particularly in the South East Asian region. As a close neighbour of the Philippines, Indonesia has always supported the efforts made by the government of the Philippines to make peace with the Moro community in the southern Philippines," the press release stated.
Over the past two decades, Indonesia has been making efforts to broker peace between the Philippine government and the MNLF. From 1994 through 2002, Indonesia deployed its Garuda Contingent (Konga XVII) in the region, under the framework of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) peace process.
There is also an Indonesian observer team, as part of the International Monitoring Team, to monitor the implementation of the peace agreement between the Philippine government and the MILF.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2012
