Wahid arranging talks with Moro: Estrada<\/p>\n
MANILA (AP): Indonesia's president has contacted a Moro rebel
\nleader and is arranging talks between him and Philippine
\nPresident Joseph Estrada, Estrada said on Monday.<\/p>\n
Estrada said Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid offered
\nlast week at a summit of Asian Rim leaders in Brunei to serve as
\na go-between in arranging talks between the Philippine president
\nand Salamat Hashim, head of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.<\/p>\n
Estrada said he received a telephone call on Monday saying
\nAbdurrahman had already contacted Salamat and that a meeting was
\nbeing arranged.<\/p>\n
A meeting between Estrada and Salamat would give a significant
\npolitical boost to Estrada, who is facing an impeachment trial on
\ncharges he pocketed millions of dollars in payoffs from illegal
\ngambling operators and from tobacco taxes.<\/p>\n
Estrada suspended peace talks with the MILF in June after it
\nrefused to abandon its secessionist goal and its armed struggle.<\/p>\n
Estrada's government launched an offensive to overrun MILF
\ncamps in the southern Mindanao region earlier this year,
\nprompting Salamat to declare a jihad or holy war against the
\ngovernment.<\/p>\n
Since then, rebel attacks on government forces and targets
\nhave increased and Estrada's government has sought to restart the
\npeace talks.<\/p>\n
Many guerrillas have also surrendered to accept amnesty from
\nthe government. In the latest surrenders, an MILF commander and
\n16 of his followers surrendered Saturday to military officers in
\nsouthern Lanao del Sur province, army spokesman Col. Hilario
\nAtendido said.<\/p>\n
The MILF is the larger of two groups fighting for an
\nindependent Islamic state in the southern Philippines. The other,
\nthe Abu Sayyaf, is holding an American and a Filipino hostage in
\nthe southern Philippines.<\/p>\n
Indonesia earlier helped broker peace talks between the
\nPhilippine government and another Muslim rebel group, the Moro
\nNational Liberation Front, that led to a peace agreement in 1996.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/wahid-arranging-talks-with-moro-estrada-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}