Philippine Muslim Rebels Start Difficult Disarming Process

Kuala Lumpur (Antara/AFP) - The difficult process of disarming Philippine Muslim rebels after a decades-long insurgency has started, negotiators said Sunday, with the decommissioning of a first batch of firearms expected before year-end. Philippine government and Muslim rebel negotiators started meeting in Malaysia on Saturday to discuss the disarmament process, key to ending the insurgency in the country's south and sealing a peace deal. The two sides have appointed three foreign experts -- from Brunei, Turkey and Norway -- to join an independent body that will oversee the decommissioning process, together with four local experts who are yet to be nominated. "Decommissioning is a delicate and difficult component of any peace settlement. It must be done effectively and sensitively," chief Philippine government negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer said in a statement. The meeting will continue until Monday. Chief rebel negotiator Mohagher Iqbal had said earlier that 75 assorted firearms, including high-powered rifles, would be stored and padlocked in a warehouse as part of the "normalisation" process that will see the rebels trade their weapons for a chance to join mainstream society. "Decommissioning firearms is really very difficult, but you have to undertake the ultimate sacrifice just to have the Bangsamoro," Iqbal said.(*)