| SPACE WAR | SPACE DAILY | TERRA DAILY | MARS DAILY | SPACE MART | SPACE TRAVEL | GPS DAILY | ENERGY DAILY |
 |
The Philippine government on Monday welcomed reconciliation talks between a former Muslim rebel group and its breakaway faction and expressed hope it would spur peace efforts in the troubled south. Leaders of the 12,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the former separatist rebel group the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) on Saturday began talks, 28 years after they split. The talks focused on efforts to iron out their differences and to push for a negotiated settlement to the rebellion in Mindanao, the country's southern third where both factions launched their armed struggle. Presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye said both the MILF and the MNLF would "play a key role" in bringing peace to the south, where smaller Al-Qaeda-linked groups also operate. "We laud and welcome the support of both the MILF and the MNLF for the peace process. We need all hands on deck for peace and development in Mindanao, and in the fight against terrorism," Bunye said in a statement. MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu confirmed that some 80 MILF and MNLF leaders met in the south over the weekend. "We have opened up lines of communication with the MNLF. This will have a big impact on the peace process," Kabalu told AFP. The MNLF launched its rebellion for a separatist Islamic state in Mindanao in the early 1970s. In 1978 several leaders splintered to form the MILF. The MNLF in 1996 signed a peace deal with Manila, dropping its independence bid in return for limited autonomy. The MILF, as well as the smaller Abu Sayyaf group, were left out of the talks. Thousands of MNLF fighters were integrated into the armed forces as part of the deal but the others returned to the hills with their guns and joined Muslim armed gangs. President Gloria Arroyo's government has signed a ceasefire deal with the MILF and opened peace negotiations which last week she said should be completed within the year. She has called on both the MILF and the MNLF to help in her fight against terrorists, including foreign militants believed training in jungle camps in the south. All rights reserved. © 2005 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.
|
|
