1. AFP（http://www.afpbb.com）
Thousands rally against Philippine govt-Muslim land deal, 4 August 2008
ZAMBOANGA, Philippines (AFP) — Thousands of people protested in the southern Philippines on Monday against a land deal that could pave the way to peace between the government and Muslim separatist guerrillas.
In the southern port city of Zamboanga an estimated 15,000 people, many of them of other faiths, took to the streets expressing their opposition to the accord, due to be signed in Malaysia on Tuesday.
Two petitions have already been filed with the Supreme Court calling for a temporary restraining order against the government not to sign the treaty with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
Protesters carrying placards saying "MILF go home" blocked streets around Zamboanga's city hall voicing their anger over the deal. The rally was attended by a number of prominent Roman Catholic church leaders and local officials.
Under an agreement completed between the MILF and the government in Malaysia over the weekend, large swathes of Mindanao will become part of a Muslim state to be controlled and run by Muslims.
The autonomous region will have its own legal, banking and education systems, civil service and internal security force.
But many non-Muslims oppose the deal because their land could be included in the settlement hoped to put an end to the 30-year-old insurgency which has claimed more than 120,000 lives.
Congressman Erico Fabian, representing the predominately Christian city of Zamboanga, filed one of the petitions with the Supreme Court on Monday asking the court to block Tuesday's signing.
Although the city is located in Muslim Mindanao its Christian mayor, Celso Lobregat, is on record saying he will never allow the city to be incorporated into a Muslim state.
The agreement has also put a question mark over the future of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) which is due to hold elections later this month.
Established in 1996 after a peace agreement between the government and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), the semi-autonomous ARMM was to have solved the so-called Muslim problem in the southern Philippines but was seen by many Muslims as a "sell out".
The MILF, which split from the MNLF in 1981 after ideological disagreements over the future direction of the movement, continued to fight for a Muslim homeland.
"The MILF does not represent the Muslims in Mindanao," said Caloy Bandaying, a former Muslim rebel who has since joined sides with the government.
Copyright © 2008 AFP. All rights reserved.
2. Al Jazeera （http://www.english.aljazeera.net)
Court blocks Philippines accord , 4 August 2008
A Philippine court has blocked the signing of a preliminary accord that will grant minority Muslims an expanded homeland in the far south.
The ruling on Monday comes as thousands of Christians gathered in two southern Philippine cities to protest the signing of the deal in Malaysia.
Midas Marquez, a court spokesman, said the supreme court issued a temporary restraining order after Christian politicians from a southern province objected to the deal because the government failed to publicly disclose its contents.
Last week the Philippine government agreed to sign a key territorial accord with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to end decades of bloody insurgency in Mindanao.
But some 15,000 protesters, including a number of prominent Roman Catholic church leaders and local officials, blocked the streets around the city hall building in the port city of Zamboanga on Monday.
Carrying placards saying "MILF go home" and "Gloria, Don't Sell Us" the protesters also appealed to Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the Philippine president, to stop the signing of the deal.
The agreement was to be signed on Tuesday.
Non-Muslim concerns
Many non-Muslims oppose the deal saying their land could be included in the settlement aimed at ending the 30-year-old insurgency that has claimed more than 120,000 lives.
Some Catholic politicians say an enlarged Muslim region would lead to renewed sectarian violence and have vowed to obstruct the government's plan to conclude the peace accord.
Early last month both sides agreed to expand the existing Muslim autonomous region in the south to include 712 villages, subject to the agreement of residents of the area in a vote.
The agreement will see large swathes of Mindanao become an autonomous Muslim state with its own legal, banking and education systems, civil service and internal security force.
Philippine officials hope a peace accord will transform many areas of conflict in the south into bustling economic hubs instead of battlefields that could be a breeding ground of terrorism.
Hermogenes Esperon, the presidential peace process adviser and former military chief, denied the government was giving away territory to Muslim rebels.
"No sovereignty is given here. This is for the benefit of Mindanao and the country," he said, adding it is "better to talk than fight".
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