The leader of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Eid Kabalu told participants at the first Global Peace Convention last Saturday (Dec.12) in the Philippines to support a peaceful settlement of the Mindanao conflict in the Philippines.

This conflict has lasted since almost 40 years and cost an estimated 120,000 lives. The parties, MILF and the Government, resumed talks last Tuesday (Dec.8) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, after a 16-month hiatus in what has been a 13-year peace process. Some Muslim participants couldn’t find hope for a successful outcome. “After four decades we decided to try a new approach to peace in Mindanao,” Estrella Babano, Department of Education director for the northern Mindanao region, told the conference. “The focus has to be on future generations.”

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