RP rebels say peace talks need more time<\/p>\n
CYBERJAYA, Malaysia (Reuters): Philippine government and Moro
\nrebels said unresolved issues prevented them from signing a
\nceasefire in Malaysia as planned on Monday, the eve of a visit by
\nPhilippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.<\/p>\n
\"There are still issues to be resolved,\" Moro Islamic
\nLiberation Front (MILF) chief negotiator Murad Ebrahim told
\nreporters in Cyberjaya, the venue for the talks just outside
\nKuala Lumpur.<\/p>\n
The Malaysian Foreign Ministry, which is hosting the talks,
\nhad earlier said a pact would be signed on Monday.<\/p>\n
\"There is no fixed schedule in the first place. We are still
\ndiscussing. We continue discussions tomorrow,\" Ebrahim said,
\nadding he was unsure whether the pact to end nearly 30 years of
\nrebellion on the southern island of Mindanao would be signed
\nduring Arroyo's visit.<\/p>\n
\"We have an agreement in principle, we are working out details
\nof the agreement,\" Ebrahim said.<\/p>\n
His opposite number on the government side said the talks were
\ncomplex but both sides were pulling together.<\/p>\n
\"There is a lot of goodwill, a lot of trust and a lot of
\nsincerity,\" Jesus Dureza, Manila's chief negotiator, said.<\/p>\n
If MILF does lay down its arms it will mean the only organized
\nguerrilla movement still fighting in the southern Philippines is
\nthe Abu Sayyaf -- a group currently holding 21 hostages including
\ntwo American missionaries.<\/p>\n
The ceasefire was agreed by the government and the MILF at
\ntalks in Libya in June, and negotiations resumed in Malaysia late
\nlast month but skirmishes continue.<\/p>\n
The Philippine military accused the MILF of killing an army
\nofficer and wounding four others in the Mindanao province of
\nNorth Cotabato on Monday.<\/p>\n
Colonel Danilo Servando, a spokesman for the military, said in
\nZamboanga City 25 MILF guerrillas attacked a contingent of
\nsoldiers leading to a 30-minute gunbattle.<\/p>\n
Dureza said talks were now focused on how to monitor any
\nceasefire and how to define hostile or provocative acts.
\n\"It's not a simple task. We want a ceasefire that really works on
\nthe ground,\" Dureza said.<\/p>\n
Once the ceasefire is in place the two sides will work towards
\na final peace agreement.<\/p>\n
A previous ceasefire between the government and MILF had held
\nfrom 1997 to 2000, until Arroyo's predecessor, Joseph Estrada,
\ndecided the rebels were consolidating their position and ordered
\na fresh offensive.<\/p>\n
Last week, the MILF and the Moro National Liberation Front
\n(MNLF) agreed to reunite, bringing together the two main Muslim
\nseparatist groups in the mostly Roman Catholic country. The two
\nsplit in 1978.<\/p>\n
The MNLF has already struck a peace deal with the Philippine
\ngovernment.<\/p>\n
In an interview with the Malaysian New Straits Times on
\nMonday, Arroyo said she did not expect the unification of the
\nMindanao rebels to help Manila's efforts to combat the self-
\nstyled Abu Sayyaf.<\/p>\n
The Abu Sayyaf, who operate from the small southern island of
\nBasilan, have made a business out of kidnapping foreigners and
\nFilipinos.<\/p>\n
Arroyo said she was undeterred in the fight against the Abu
\nSayyaf after they beheaded 10 villagers last Thursday.<\/p>\n
In another development, Arroyo has described Malaysian Prime
\nMinister Mahathir Mohamad as her \"model of a leader\" ahead of a
\nvisit here, a report said on Monday.<\/p>\n
Arroyo, who will arrive on Tuesday on her first overseas foray
\nsince taking office in January, praised Mahathir's stand against
\ncurrency speculators and Malaysia's efforts to forge peace in
\nsouthern Philippines, the New Straits Times said.<\/p>\n
\"He is my model of a leader... my main reason to visit Kuala
\nLumpur is to convey my government's gratitude to (Mahathir) for
\nMalaysia's efforts in promoting peace and development in
\nMindanao,\" she was quoted as telling the newspaper in an
\ninterview.<\/p>\n
The Philippines would invite Malaysian businessmen to invest
\nin oil palm cultivation in Mindanao, she added.<\/p>\n
Predominantly-Muslim Malaysia is hosting talks between Manila
\nand the separatist MILF<\/p>",
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