Islamic mission to war-torn southern Philippines accepted
Islamic mission to war-torn southern Philippines accepted
MANILA (Agencies): The Organization of Islamic Conference
(OIC) was welcome to send a fact-finding mission to the war-torn
southern Philippines, Manila said on Friday, provided it did not
interfere in the nation's sovereignty.
"So long as it is a fact-finding mission and not an
interference on our sovereignty and integrity of our territory
that's okay because basically, we are not hiding anything here,"
said President Joseph Estrada's spokesman Ricardo Puno.
Estrada's executive secretary Ronaldo Zamora said: "We are
willing to accept them, we are not afraid of the truth."
Foreign Minister Domingo Siazon said the mission was part of a
process for the monitoring of a landmark peace pact signed in
1996 between the Philippine government and the Moro National
Liberation Front (MNLF) after decades of war.
"There is a sincere effort on the part of the government of
the Philippines to implement the agreement," he told reporters.
"Of course, no implementation is perfect. Otherwise, we would all
be in heaven."
The 1996 pact led to the creation of the so-called Autonomous
Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) of which MNLF chief Nur Misuari
is governor.
The 56-member OIC decided at a meeting of its foreign
ministers in Kuala Lumpur to send the mission after hearing
conflicting versions of the situation in Mindanao from Misuari
and the Philippine government.
Manila said it was honoring development and autonomy pledges
made under the peace pact but MNLF officials accused the
government of lying about the sum it has provided to rebuild
Muslim provinces, and of dragging its feet on providing full
autonomy.
The OIC has drafted a resolution to help Muslim Mindanao and
called on the Islamic Development Bank and other agencies to
assist its development.
The main Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front
(MILF), ignored a deadline Friday to accept a peace agreement by
the government, raising the prospect of a protracted war in the
southern Philippines.
Thousands of families have been displaced and hundreds of
government soldiers and rebels have died as fighting escalated
over the past two months.
Meanwhile, Malaysia on Friday rejected a demand that it bypass
Manila and negotiate directly with Islamic rebels holding 20
mostly foreign hostages in the southern Philippines.
"You can't simply negotiate outside of the ambit of the
Philippine government because it is in the Philippines'
territory," Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar told reporters.
"So at the end of the day, it is the Philippines that has to be
involved."
He was commenting on the demand by a leader of Abu Sayyaf
separatist militants that the six governments of the foreign
captives hold talks with the rebels to resolve the 69-day hostage
ordeal.
Abu Sayyaf rebels have been holding eight Malaysians, three
Germans, two French, two South Africans, two Finns, two Filipinos
and one Lebanese since seizing them at Sipadan diving resort --
an island off Kalimantan which is being disputed by Malaysia and
Indonesia -- on April 23.
A team of Philippine negotiators had its first and only formal
meeting with the rebels on May 27. Two weeks later it suspended
talks after the rebels presented new demands but said informal
contacts through emissaries were continuing.
Abu Sayyaf chief Galib Andang, speaking to Filipino reporters
on Thursday, said the physical condition of the captives was "no
longer good", and stressed the need to end the saga.
But Syed Hamid said it would not be reasonable for so many
governments to get involved in talks.
"I think it will be problematical. Let us look at practical
solutions," he said.
Syed Hamid said Malaysia was now "cautious" as the Philippines
had accused it of meddling when Malaysian diplomats met
unilaterally with Abu Sayyaf leaders in May.