Self-rule: UN welcomes accord between Philippine govt, Moro front

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomes peace accord to end 4 decades of conflicts which have claimed a lot of lives

NEW YORK:

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed the conclusion of a peace accord between the Philippine government and the country’s Moro militants to end four decades of conflicts which have claimed tens of thousands of lives.

The peace accord paves way for Muslim self-rule in parts of the poor but resource-rich southern Philippines. In exchange, the weapons of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front will be decommissioned.

According to the accord, a new autonomous region named Bangsamoro will replace the existing five-province Muslim autonomous region. Bangsamoro will have a larger territory and enjoy more power.

“The secretary-general welcomes the signing today of the last of the four Annexes to the ‘Government of the Philippines-Moro Islamic Liberation Front Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro’ of 2012,” a statement issued by Ban’s spokesperson said.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 27^th, 2014.