MNLF-govt talks end with optimism

MNLF-govt talks end with optimism

ZAMBOANGA, Philippines (AFP): Three days of talks between ad hoc panels representing the government and the Moslem insurgent Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) ended with optimism yesterday in this southern city.

However, it remained unclear how conflicting positions between the MNLF and the Philippine government regarding the creation of a Moslem autonomous region would be settled.

Susanto Ismodirdjo from Indonesia, who acted as an observer for the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) in the talks, said that "the meeting gives fresh light to the issues under discussion for common benefit for all."

He said the MNLF, which waged a bloody war for a separate state in the southern Philippines in the 1970s, "was able to put forward and clarify important points relative to their positions," but did not say what those points were.