Manila: Norway has reiterated its commitment to ensuring that weapons used in the Moro conflict in the South are brought to a minimum.

“Norway remains fully committed to support efforts and keep the path of peace in the Philippines on track. I commend the efforts of the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to undertake the decommissioning process,” Norwegian Ambassador to the Philippines Erik Forner said in a statement.

The assurance from the Norwegian government is crucial amid fears that the more than a decade old peace negotiations between the government and the MILF are faltering in the aftermath of the January 25 incident in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, where police serving an arrest warrant against two international terrorists, figured in a bloody gun battle with MILF members and other armed Moro groups including the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).

Reports said that 44 members of the police Special Action Force died in the gun battle and at least 16 died from MILF’s side. The incident had placed in peril the peace process as Filipino lawmakers took back their earlier commitments to support the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).

The BBL provides for the creation of a self-governing and self-supporting governance entity that would replace the failed Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

The decommissioning of weapons had been agreed upon by the government and the MILF long before the Mamasapano incident, it is part of the “normalisation” annex of the Bangsamoro Framework Agreement that was signed by the MILF and President Benigno Aquino III last year.

“The decommissioning is an important component of the whole normalisation process as laid out in the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro,” Forner said.

Forner said Norway takes an active role in the decommissioning of MILF weapons and combatants through the deployment of expert and establishment of the Independent Decommissioning Body (IDB), and fielding of additional experts in charge of verification of the decommissioned weapons and its storage is a safe area.

“Lasting peace is fundamental in bringing development and stability in Mindanao, for the benefit of the entire population of the Philippines. The alternative to peace is continued conflict,” Forner said.

The proliferation of weapons in the hands of the MILF and other armed groups in the area had been blamed for the difficult peace and order situation in the south. The Norwegian Ambassador said both the government and MILF have realised this and taken steps towards peace.

“Armed conflicts not only takes lives it also creates and intensifies poverty. It is our wish that the Philippines overcomes the Mamasapano tragedy and unite[s] to support the peaceful resolution of the armed conflict in Mindanao,” he said.

Norway has for several years been a part of the International Monitoring Team supervising the ceasefire in Mindanao.