Moslem rebels, RP make progress on tough issues<\/p>\n
ZAMBOANGA, Philippines (Reuter): Moslem rebel chief Nur
\nMisuari said yesterday he and government negotiators were making
\ngood progress in tackling tough issues standing in the way of a
\npeace accord in the southern Philippines.<\/p>\n
\"We are gaining momentum and I think we are becoming even much
\nmore upbeat in our work,\" Misuari said in an interview during a
\nbreak in the three-day talks in Zamboanga.<\/p>\n
\"We are still dealing on this, but somehow we are moving inch
\nby inch. There are many contentious issues.\"<\/p>\n
The talks began at the city's Royal Orchid Hotel on Sunday
\nafter Misuari arrived the day before with a force of 115 men from
\nhis Moro National Liberation front (MNLF).<\/p>\n
The 52-year-old guerrilla leader, who normally lives in Saudi
\nArabia, arrived in Mindanao island from the Malaysian state of
\nSabah via his MNLF stronghold in Jolo island.<\/p>\n
The talks, the fourth meeting of a joint rebel-government
\ncommittee created last year to settle the two decade Moslem
\ninsurgency in Mindanao, are focused on solving differences over
\nmerging MNLF forces with the military and police, and creating an
\nautonomous Moslem government in the south.<\/p>\n
They are aimed at paving the way for the third round of formal
\ntalks in Jakarta in June.<\/p>\n
The MNLF and government forces have maintained a cease-fire
\nfor more than a year, but smaller Moslem groups, particularly the
\nAbu Sayyaf, have continued to fight for an Islamic state in the
\nsouth where most Filipino Moslems live.<\/p>\n
Abu Sayyaf is a Moslem fundamentalist group made up of young
\nradicals that broke away from the MNLF, but Misuari insisted he
\nhad no control over them.<\/p>\n
\"Abu Sayyaf is an entirely different entity. They operate on
\ntheir own. They follow their own policies.\"<\/p>\n
President Fidel Ramos last week declared the small southern
\nisland of Basilan a calamity area because of the strife caused by
\nfighting between the government and Abu Sayyaf fighters who use
\nits forested hills as a stronghold.<\/p>\n
The government struck an accord on Sunday with another Moslem
\nsecessionist group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, in North
\nCotabato province.<\/p>\n
The accord is designed to end fighting at an irrigation
\nproject in Mindanao being carried out by a South Korean firm.<\/p>",
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