THE leadership of the secessionist group Moro Islamic Liberation Front yesterday asked the Bangsamoro people not to grow impatient with peace negotiations that bogged down anew on the issue of ancestral domain.

Peace negotiations hit a snag last November after government negotiators proposed that the creation of a Bangsamoro Juridical Entity be subjected to a plebiscite in accordance with the 1987 Constitution.

MILF chairman Al Haj Murad told Muslims "the road to freedom is always full of twists and turns."

The MILF website reported that a number of its commanders were displeased over the government proposal. The MILF quoted one of its commanders in Basilan as saying he would go against the talks with government if it were not obligatory in Islam to follow their leaders.

"Do we allow ourselves to be fooled forever?" the website quoted another MILF commander in Maguindanao.

The MILF said commanders from Sulu and Tawi-tawi "protested bitterly" the government’s insincerity in pursuing the peace talks.

The MILF, the largest secessionist group in the country, has Central Mindanao as its stronghold.

Peace negotiations between government and the MILF started in 1997. – Victor Reyes