Description:
"In January 2012, our Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies facilitate a visit of the
Karen National Union to visit the Moro Islamic Libera
tion Front in Cotobato
City, Mindanao. The KNU had asked about the experience of armed groups in
ceasefires, and there is no better place in the region today than to see how hard
the Philippine government and MILF have worked to sustain a ceasefire while there peace talks go on.
The Chairman of the MILF peace panel, Mohagher Iqbal,
chose carefully his
advice to the KNU. Number one he said: ?Prepare, prepare, prepare. And when
you think you are ready prepare some more.” He explained that as an armed
group you have been well trained to fight in the jungle, but negotiations is a
different arena, and requires training, preparation, knowledge, awareness,
tactics, strategies, skills. He understood that even when you think as the group
demanding your right you are
ready, there will some aspect of the negotiation
you have not
yet
considered.
Secondly, he said: Maintain military discipline. He said military discipline is not
just for fighting wars. He said when you sign a ceasefire agreement you need to
ensure that
your chain of command is in tact. A ceasefire does not mean disarm.
A ceasefire is the ceasing of hostilities so talks can go on.
If
you sign a peace
agreement you need to know that when you tell you troops to disarm they will
put down their guns and
they
will
go home. You can negotiate
confident
you
cannot
deliver on your own promise.
Thirdly he said: You will think negotiating with your opponent is hard, but
negotiating within your own group is even harder. Unifying and bringing your
people along with the negotiation is the most challenging aspect of peace talks.
At times you will feel closer to your negotiating counterpart, then you do to
your own stakeholders..."
Source/publisher:
Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies (CPCS)
Date of Publication:
2013-10-14
Date of entry:
2016-02-22
Grouping:
- Individual Documents
Category:
Language:
English
Local URL:
Format:
pdf
Size:
84.77 KB