MNLF chairman sees hope in talks

MNLF chairman sees hope in talks

MANILA (AFP): Philippine Moslem rebel leader Nur Misuari said yesterday he was hopeful the rebels could reach a settlement with Manila to end 20 years of fighting, but warned against "unexpected developments" that could derail peace talks.

Misuari arrived in southern Zamboanga city from his exile home in the Middle East on Saturday for a meeting with Philippine negotiators to review the results of committee-level talks, which would lay the groundwork for formal discussions this June in Jakarta.

If the June talks are successful, both parties hope to sign an agreement granting autonomy to this largely Roman Catholic country's Moslem minority on southern Mindanao island.

Misuari is chairman of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), which waged a failed but bloody war for Moslem independence in Mindanao in the early 1970s. Fighting has continued despite the signing of a Libyan-brokered cease-fire in 1976.

He said he was hopeful that "even as we prepare for some unexpected developments, eventually we will be able to overcome all obstacles towards the restoration of peace in Mindanao," he said in a radio interview with station DZRH.

He did not identify these potential obstacles.

He said the Zamboanga talks will review the work prepared by committees on the implementation of an agreement reached between Manila and the MNLF in 1976 in Tripoli granting autonomy to 13 Mindanao provinces.

Both sides are also expected to discuss the process of transferring power as well as the "shape of the provisional government," Misuari said.