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Manila: The Philippines government will not sign a peace deal with the country's largest Muslim rebel group, irrespective of a Supreme Court ruling on its legality, the chief government spokesman said on Friday.
The comments from Jesus Dureza signal the end of a territorial agreement reached last month between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which is fighting for some amount of self-rule in the mineral-rich Mindanao region.
Analysts said while the deal was hastily drawn-up, its scrapping would delay resolving by months, and possibly years, the decades-long conflict in the south of the Christian-majority nation.
"We are not going to sign this memorandum of agreement in its present form," Dureza said.
"With due respect to the Supreme Court ... the government in the executive department would like to make this very, very clear and there should be no nuancing about this."
Storm of protest
The agreement, which proposed expanding an autonomous Muslim region in Mindanao, provoked a storm of protest from powerful Christian interests and a challenge in the Supreme Court.
Although the government decision should make the appeal against the deal moot, the court was continuing to hear arguments yesterday.
MILF renegades, angered by opposition to the deal, attacked towns in the south this week, killing about 40 people. The military has retaliated against their positions with heavy bombardment.
It is the worst violence for years in the Mindanao region, where the rebellion has prevented any significant development of some of the richest mineral and hydrocarbon resources in Southeast Asia.
Dureza said the violence, and reservations expressed by Supreme Court judges at a preliminary hearing, had persuaded the government to revisit the deal.
The decision, however, came after what appeared to be much dithering. On Thursday, the government initially said it had scrapped the agreement and then appeared to soften its stand, saying it would be reviewed.
MILF leaders have said re-negotiating the deal was out of the question.
Analysts said quick negotiations were necessary to prevent the violence from getting out of hand.
"Right now, both sides are beating their breast," said Tom Green at the Pacific Strategies and Assessments risk consultancy.
"They are going to have to do a sit-down to keep a lid on the situation and get a conversation going again. They will have to do that relatively soon."
At least 120,000 people dies in 40 years of conflict on Mindanao.
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