Indonesia to join IMT-6

CAGAYA N DE ORO CITY, March 11, 2011—The Indonesian government has announced that it be will be 
the seventh , member of an international peace monitor in Mindanao, the International Monitoring Team (IMT), that is tasked to oversee the peace process between the government (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
                The IMT, which monitors the ceasefire, civilian protection component, rehabilitation and development, and soci0-economic agreements between the government and MILF, is presently composed of peace monitors fromMalaysian, Brunei, Libya, Japan, Norway and European Union (EU).
                The IMT’s tour of duty ended on February 28, but the government and the MILF negotiating panels agreed to renew its mandate for another year during their 20th formal exploratory talks on Feb. 9 and 10 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
                Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos-Deles confirmed the pronouncement of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono that Indonesia will be participating in the present IMT, which is headed Malaysian Head of Mission (HOM), Major Gen. Dato Mahdi bin Yusof of the Malaysian Armed Forces.
                Deles said Yudhoyono made the announcement during a press conference with President Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” C. Aquino III during their bilateral meeting in Jakarta last Tuesday.
                “At the bilateral meeting, Pres. Yudyohono told P-Noy that Indonesia will join IMT to reciprocate the Philippine peacekeeping assistance in Aceh,” Deles said in a statement emailed to TIGBALITA.
                However, she said that the Indonesian government has yet to send its official communication to the GPH about this development.
                The Philippines, along with European Union, Norway, Switzerland, Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore, has been monitoring the implementation of the peace agreement set out in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by the Government of Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) on August 15, 
2005 in Helsinki, Finland. 
                Indonesia, on the other hand, has been committed to support of the peace process between the government and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). 
                Indonesia currently chairs the Organization of Islamic Conference- Peace Committee for Southern Philippines (OIC-PCSP), which brokered the 1992-1996 GPH-MNLF peace talks that led to the signing of the Final Peace Agreement (FPA) on September 2, 1996.
                Presently, the OIC is actively helping the implementation of the 1996 FPA. (Bong D.Fabe)