>> . >> >> if you just joined us you are listening to a landmark agreement between the philippine government and rebels in the southern philippines. we are expecting to see the agreement signed momentarily. we'd like to welcome viewers from the united states, on al jazeera america. this agreement the result of years of negotiation and

conflict between philippines government. you are hearing from the malaysian prime minister najib razak, a principal broker of the agreement. he's in the philippines capital to witness the sign. we heard from the islamist chairman. let's go back to the malaysian prime minister najib razak. >>..piece and prosperity for brothers and sisters in the philippines. that peace process what is strengthened our countries as we look ahead to a brighter future

in m ago, -- mindanao. we'll remain as a mediator and continue our work. ladies and gentlemen, i wish to conclude by paying tribute to the efforts that made the agreement possible. throughout the peace process both sides give their all, so that the people here may enjoy the boundless dividend of peace, that they may work, learn and live again. 40 years ago darkness name to minedanao. in a struggle that reached a generation, 150 lives were lost.

today we turn to face the light. today belongs to the philippines and the people of the bangsamoro. thank you. >> we have lost the connection to manila. ut signing of that landmark deal in the philippines capital between the philippine government and the moro islamic liberation front. we'll try to rectify that as soon as possible. to bring you up to speed op what we are hearing, this is, of course, a landmark deal as we have been reporting between the two sides in a war that has gone on for decades in the southern philippines and killed hundreds of thousands of people. the moro islamic liberation

front and the philippine government to give the people the greater status in the renalo, the bangsamoro, not the full independence. it's a muslim region. we have been reporting from mindanao on that, and hope to get more rehabilitation from there later. we want to let you know that we are expecting to hear from the philippine president as well, benigno aqino. a few moments ago we heard from the malaysian prime minister, he's about in the papers over the malaysia airlines, but he is

here as a principal broker. as and when we do get things fixed up. we'll come back to that. he was the general who toppled egypt's freely elected government. now he's asked voter to become president. abdul fatah al-sisi declared his candidacy after resigning as army chief and minister of defence. caroline malone reports. >> after briefing a council in cairo, chaired by president adly mansour, sabdul fatah al-sisi made the announcement. he went into the meeting as defense minister and head of the armed forces. >> i have spent all my life as a soldier for the sake of my country and will continue in this role. it's an important moment. the first time i put on my

military uniform i was 15 years old and i was wearing it for 45 years. it's my honour to have this uniform. i announce my will to run for egyptian presidency, and i will be honoured to have your is support. >> after the announcement opposition demonstrations were supported in other cities. abdul fatah al-sisi played a leading role in the july 2013 overthrow of the president, who won egypt's first democratic election. mohamed morsi supporters say there'll be no stability in egypt. a representative for the brotherhood said: >> abdul fatah al-sisi has the support of millions of other egyptians, not least of which in the district where he grew up.

>> translation: i'm happy he is running much it's his right to be president and in charge. nation. he moved egypt to the right state. we support abdul fatah al-sisi, and god willing, he will be successful. >> many are weary of the political uncertainty, ever since an uprising against the leader in 2011. others realise it looks bad for a coup leader to reinvent himself. i think he should remain defence minister and support someone else, otherwise they'll say it's a coup. if he runs for the presidency, we expect trouble. >> egypt is a deeply divided society. polarized between those that want to return to democracy, and those who think stability should remain the natural priority. >> three al jazeera english journalists have been held in a cairo prison for 89 address, and

are due to make a fourth appearance in court on monday. mohamed fadel fahmy, mohammed badr, and peter greste are accused of having links with a terrorist organization and spreading false news. abdullah al-shami from al jazeera arabic has been in custody for six months. al jazeera rejects charges and continues to demand the release of their staff. >> osama bin laden's son-in-law intends to appeal after being convicted of charges that include conspiring to kill americans. jurors in new york took a day to reach their verdict against suleiman abu ghaith, who is facing life in prison. >> the setting is afghanistan. the date, september 12th, 2001. osama bin laden wanted to deliver a message to the world and he asked this man, suleiman abu ghaith, to do most of the talking for him. >> translation: america must

know that what happened to it is a direct result of the policy. if america continues to implement this policy, muslim sons will not stop under any circumstances. this and other speeches, praising the 9/11 attacks, warning of more to come, provided the back bone of the u.s. government's case. prosecutors argue that by agreeing to make them, he agreed to be part of al qaeda's conspiracy to kill americans, and providing support to a terrorist network, charges that are not successful in military commissions. >> in terms of having law that applies to the cases. the federal law is stronger. suleiman abu ghaith took the stand and described being summoned to osama bin laden's compound on assistant the 11th. there -- on september the is 11 11th. osama bin laden took credit for the attack.

suleiman abu ghaith testified that he spoke on behalf of muslims, not al qaeda. and they were not able to link suleiman abu ghaith with a plot to kill minister. lawyers for suleiman abu ghaith argued that the evidence in this case amounted to little more than word or association. that was enough to convict him. the trial wrapped up in under three weeks with little fan fair and disruption to the neighbour hood. blocks away. >> the defence will appeal the conviction. the case was wrapped in a shroud of secrecy. and the inability to access people. it continued throughout. >> suleiman abu ghaith could face life in prison when sentenced in september. >> now, the world's chemical weapons watchdog said more

progress has been made. the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons says half the materials for the pich gas and nerve agent program have been shipped. the rest is expected to be moved by april. a lebanese soldier has been killed by a drive by shooting. tension between pro and anti-syrian groups has been high in lebanon's biggest city. a syrian rebels captured a government command city in latakia. fighters joined forces to attack the base. its seizure is expected to provide rebels with important supply lines to turkey. back to one of our top stories. the peace agreement being signed in manila. the philippines capital between

the moro islamic front and the philippine government in the philippines, nelsomindanao. we were hearing from the malaysian prime minister a few minutes ago, because malaysia is a principal broker of the agreement. it gives you an idea of how significant this agreement is regionally. >> yes, indeed. they played an important role since 2001. we have been brokering relationships between the moro and the philippine government. a lot of analysts say it may have something to do with the contested disputed territory. right now what people here,

soldiers are saying is that malaysia continues to support them. it helps them to negotiate and find agreement. now, prime minister, we talk about the importance of our second part of the engines providing social services neglected by the government. the area of central mindanao to the peninsula and the southern islands are one of the poorest arse in southern philippines. >> i have with me here, an officer of the moro islamic front. thanks for talking to us. you have been a child soldier sips 12. you grew up in a camp, trained to fight against the philippines government and you are way into your 30, and are told you'll have to go back to civilian life. are you prepared to lay down your weapons now?

>> actually, we are prepared. what is the command from the higher ranks, we have to follow it. it's not easy for us ta lay down the arms. >> the culture, this culture of rebelling against the government is going to be difficult. you grew up with arms, weapons, and fighting against the philippines soldiers. how do you feel about that, and now you are going to be a father, children who are not going to be raised for the same environment. we didn't experience a lot of things. things that normal people experience - going to school, university, going to the mall ordinary people are experiencing

it. for us. we see the future for our child. we can't the child to experience what we experience. we want them in a peaceful country, area. that is the things we didn't experience. >> are you aware that it is going take time, you and others aware that it might take years. i spoke to the chief negotiator, and he said the biggest concern is tempering the expectations of his fighters. what do you think would be the scenario if such expectations are not met. optimism right now is high. >> actually we are aware it won't happen faster. it will take gradually, longer

to lease it. we are aware, but other people on the ground, the elements and other people are not fully aware of this and we have to extend a lot of effort for them to understand that the government is not as easy as that, we have to take time. >> thank you. the mood here in the camp with thousands of fighters expect the signing to happen any time soon is festive. we have a lot of fighters here with us. we have spoken to here. they have grown up in the life of war and a protracted war. they have not been given the same opportunities. that's optimism, it's a worrying factor, even from the hierarchy. they want to temper that, control that that is not going

to be. we have spoken to it by the chief negotiators. he said the agreement is not a perfect agreement. there's no such thing as a perfect agreement. the sin sterty of the president. it's enough really to get it to this point. the implementation are optimistic and are aware that the bigger commence will just about happen. let's go live to a philippine capital where the president is speaking. >>..status quo. our mission is to draft the fastest war.

our goal to have the bangsamoro authority in place by 2015, when it will serve us, the interim bangsamoro government until the elections in 2016. in this manner the people themselves that turned the strive into an era, they, themselves will prove that the democratic space is fast enough to address every phil peepo grievance and concern. we call on everyone to woiden the avenues for trust and buffed engage. let's cast aside past prejudices, and think of optimism. it should be the paramount of all concern of goodwill to do their part. let us exchange our bull its,

our future for peace and harmony. for so long we have been left in the margins. this broken system was exploited by the powerful few who lauded it over everyone else. four generations. fellow filipinos were embroiled in a cycle of poverty, justice and violence. the huge imbalance tweeg them and the rest of the country served to breed resentment and insurgency. when they felt they had no redress within the system, they tried to address their grievances from outside the system. we must, therefore, give them a significant boost up so that they can catch up. [ clapping ] >> if we are to truly address

the root causes of conflict we must close the gap between the region and the rest of filipino society. i have to state i have empathize with your muslim brothers. how impossible it was to achieve address of legitimate grievances as we were oppressed. what is presented for us is a path that can lead to change in the status quo in mindanao. it will change. success depends on the vigilance. we must admit that there are those that will champion the status quo. to preserve themselves in positions of power and wealth. maintaining this means holding back the majority. maintaining fear and insecurity allows them to pray on success which is rewarded by kidd naming, the father that improved

the rough land to have it grabbed. the student whose future is cut short by a bomb, the pensioner seeking security falls prey to a pyramid scammer. and those in desperate times who fall victim to false prove et cetera from either side. these people abbing and have been ask -- people ask and have been asking a legitimate question - what did we do to deserve this. the simple answer is you don't. no one does. my father taught me. if you tolerate the abuse of one. the only action is to stand up for your brother whose rights have been abused orders we will be condemning each other to suffer the same fate. (clapping)

>> the majority who take the opportunity to improve their lot in life stand at the crossroads with us. on one hand will we be held back by an untenable status quo or together will we as an entire nation rise and pros appear. for those that will not join us. i ask - are you really that confident that we'll have a singular opportunity like the one we have today. will the confluence of factors will happen again. will the filipino people and government address historical justice. will the international community throw their support behind the achievement of pass, and when will we fix an electoral system. may this stand as a warning to those who wish to derail the path to final lasting piece. >> these that wish to solve

decisiveness, to pursue their own agendas, so many people have suffered for so long. so many of the stakeholders worked so hard. i will not let peace be matched from my people amine. not now. not now. when we have already undertaken the most difficult and significant substance to achieve it. those that want to test will be met with a firm response based op righteousness and justice. i have always said being president is not the easiest of jobsment the fight to change the status quo is daunting. i don't want to just take my

turn on a merry go round that goes nowhere but round or round or exacerbate problems. i would rather ride the horse that leads to an end of the journey. there'll be obstacles, and always be those that seek to disrupt any sort of momentum that we have gained. at times it seems as if a selfish few can hamper so many. there are days like this. days when our fill os pi concern cess yields the enduring the response. days when we can be filled with the fight, despite the challenges that have been made. it's what we have achieved. in this case, the end to decades of conflict and the end of development and prosperity.

we have proven that not only can our people move, but we are beginning to achieve our dreams. we have exhibited trust and commitment. it has gotten us this far. today lettize commit to be more energetic. in the coming months and years, let us ex-cert greater effort to make the path of piece more ipp cluesive. and contribute to the peaceful and progressive future we are envisoning. if the goals are fulfilled, we can look forward to one day in the not so near future when we'll sit back and enjoy a quiet sunset. perhaps with the company of friends. friends such as the prime

minister. that day we'll look back to 27th march, 2014, and allow a little pride. for now, more work needs to be done. thank you. good afternoon. [ clapping ] >> very helpful remarks given by philippine president benigno aquino between the philippine government and the moro islamic liberation front, the rebel group in the southern philippines. all the parties there to witness the deal which will see the mindanao become a self rule region, if you like, not full

independence, what is called on a bangsamoro, an autonomous knitty for the -- entity for the region, predominantly muslim region, a result of a decades long fight between moro islamic liberation, moro islamic liberation front rebels and forces from the philippine government. that deal has been signed. the deal being brokered by the malaysian government. you have seen the prime minister. let's go live to mindanao, where our correspondent is standing by with reaction. >> the mood here in the camp, it's festive. they say they are looking

forward - they have been looking forward to the day to the day their children will not have to go through the same issue. the problem with evacuation, laws of loved ones that they did. again, in manila high ranking officials, 500 delegates of the moro islamic front are there, to witness the signing, together with high-ranking diplomats, from different embassies, but the impact of this peace agreement is here. those that bear the brunt, the benefits and changes are here in mindanao, and those that will experience the quick changes are people - fighters like misrala. you have been willing after being a fighter for so long, you are willing to lay down the lesson.

are they aware, that the government - they talked about - the spoilers of the peace. local government officials, groups that have long-profited from war. they'll lose this power, the hold over power and armed groups now. are you aware that this is a serious problem for your group? >> the leadership of mlis is aware that the spoilers are a problem for them. we have to deal with them, you know. we have to let them know that our government is inclusive. everyone is invited. they are included in this. >> we have to let them know that thing. >> bigger challenges ahead for the fighters, for the groups, for the supporters, and the family of those who are going to be affected of this one. >> just before we let our

viewers in the united states go joining us on al jazeera america, the latest picture of president obama meeting the pope in the vatican. this happened moments ago. this has been a ninth meeting between a u.s. president and a pope.