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.