Manila says peace talks with rebels must continue<\/p>\n
MANILA (AFP): Clashes between the army and Moslem rebels in
\nthe southern Philippines must not derail peace talks this month
\nbetween the government and separatist leaders, Defense Secretary
\nRenato de Villa said yesterday.<\/p>\n
De Villa said in a radio interview that two years of
\nnegotiations on how to establish a Moslem autonomous region in
\nsouthern Mindanao island, home to the Islamic minority in the
\nlargely Roman Catholic nation, must proceed.<\/p>\n
The third formal round of talks between Manila and the Moro
\nNational Liberation Front (MNLF) are to be held in Jakarta from
\nNov. 27 to Dec. 1 in an effort to end more than 20 years of
\nstrife on Mindanao.<\/p>\n
The MNLF staged a violent campaign for a separate Islamic
\nstate during the early 1970s that left more than 50,000 people
\ndead.<\/p>\n
But the negotiations, sponsored by the Organization of the
\nIslamic Conference, appeared threatened when the MNLF accused
\ngovernment troops of encroaching on their territory as they
\npursued 50 Moslem gunmen who took two hostages last week in
\nsouthern island of Basilan.<\/p>\n
At least five persons, including three MNLF regulars, were
\nkilled when two army battalions pounded their camp in Tuburan
\ntown. De Villa said the gunmen could be bandits or members of the
\nextremist Abu Sayyaf group.<\/p>\n
The MNLF charged that troops violated a cease-fire signed in
\n1993 to coincide with the autonomy talks.<\/p>\n
\"This has always happened,\" De Villa said in a radio
\ninterview, referring to previous incidents in which bandits and
\nother armed Moslem groups sought refuge in MNLF camps.<\/p>\n
\"This is a gray area (under the cease-fire) because while we
\nwant to recover the hostages and while we must relentlessly
\npursue the perpetrators of this kidnapping, every now and then we
\nget into the problem of confrontation on the ground,\" he added.<\/p>\n
But he said that \"first of all we need to continue the peace
\ntalks and our panel and the panel of the MNLF are ready.\"<\/p>\n
He clarified that the Jakarta meeting will not be the final
\nround if both sides fail to reach an agreement. Government
\nnegotiators earlier said they hoped the Jakarta talks would be
\nthe third and final round, leading to a peace accord.<\/p>\n
De Villa said the talks would focus on resolving \"contentious
\nissues,\" including the holding of a plebiscite to determine the
\narea of autonomy and creation of a regional security force that
\nwould group MNLF fighters with their former enemies.<\/p>\n
MNLF chairman Nur Misuari has insisted that Manila grant
\nautonomy for 13 provinces in the south to comprise a Moslem
\nautonomous region as provided for in a 1976 agreement brokered by
\nLibya that formally ended the MNLF's separatist bid.<\/p>\n
But government negotiators want to hold a plebiscite to ask
\npeople if they want to be part of such a region under the MNLF.
\nMost residents in these provinces are Christians and Misuari
\nfears they would reject a Moslem region.<\/p>\n
The two sides have reached agreement on minor issues, such as
\nthe application of the Islamic shariah law to Moslem residents of
\nthe proposed region.<\/p>",
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