Talks with rebels may resume July 1: RP<\/p>\n
Agencies, Manila\/Putra Jaya, Malaysia<\/p>\n
The Philippines said on Thursday it may resume peace talks with
\nMoro rebels by July 1 but warned their hoarding of explosives
\ncould imperil efforts to end three decades of violence that has
\nkilled at least 125,000 people.<\/p>\n
Foreign Secretary Blas Ople said the military might match a
\n24-day-old cease-fire by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)
\nin support of the negotiations to be held in Malaysia, which will
\nreprise its role as broker between Manila and the rebels.<\/p>\n
President Gloria Arroyo challenged the rebels to name the
\nsource of the explosives, identify the intended targets and
\nclarify whether foreigners were involved in smuggling them in.<\/p>\n
Arroyo said soldiers seized two huge caches of bomb-making
\ningredients in MILF-controlled areas of Mindanao in recent days,
\nincluding piles of C-4 plastic explosive \"larger than the entire
\nC-4 inventory of the armed forces\".<\/p>\n
\"Whether the peace process will move forward or lag behind is
\nlargely in the hands of the MILF,\" she told reporters. \"We are
\npreparing for the start of peace talks but this does not mean we
\nare being tactically blind to events.\"<\/p>\n
The United States, a key ally of the Philippines that has
\ngiven funding and training for counter-terrorism operations, will
\nplay \"a consultative role\" in the peace process, Ople said.<\/p>\n
The last round of formal talks between Manila and the MILF,
\nthe largest group fighting for an Islamic homeland in the south
\nof the overwhelmingly Roman Catholic nation, broke down in 2001.<\/p>\n
Ople said Malaysia would have the \"central role of
\nfacilitating and mediating the talks\" -- the same part it played
\nin previous rounds of peace negotiations.<\/p>\n
\"The talks are supposed to resume in Kuala Lumpur, if possible
\nbefore July 1,\" Ople told reporters after attending a meeting on
\nsecurity issues chaired by Arroyo. \"The cease-fire ought to be in
\nplace on or about that date.\"<\/p>\n
Malaysia has not yet decided whether to send a cease-fire
\nobserver team to the Philippines as requested by Arroyo, the
\nforeign minister said on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Syed Hamid Albar said the Philippines had asked Malaysia to
\ntake the lead in sending a team to monitor a cease-fire between
\nMILF and the Philippines.<\/p>\n
\"I will be responding to the Philippines request once I get
\nthe mandate from the government,\" he said. He declined to reveal
\nwhen the government would make an announcement.<\/p>",
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