Moro rebels ready for peace talks with govt
Moro rebels ready for peace talks with govt
COTABATO, Philippines (AFP): Moro guerrillas in the southern
Philippines yesterday said they were ready to begin formal peace
talks with the government, despite a weekend clash which left 10
dead near here.
Ruben Torres, chief aide of President Fidel Ramos, said in
Manila that an emissary from the Moslem guerrillas had explained
to him "that government should not worry so much about this
(fighting). This will not derail the discussion that we are
having."
Ten people were killed on Saturday and Sunday after an army
battalion repulsed two successive MILF raids on the military
detachment guarding the project site.
The military shelled neighboring villages in retaliation,
leaving 81 others injured.
Army spokesman Lt. Noel Detoyato said the MILF planned to
seize the dam project site and use it as leverage in the planned
peace talks.
The military reported sporadic small arms fire but no further
casualties yesterday around a Japan-funded irrigation dam project
near the town of Carmen, the bone of contention of the weekend
clash with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
"We have accepted the government's message of peace. We won't
ignite war," Al Haj Murad, the military affairs chief of the
10,000-member MILF guerrilla army said over Roman Catholic radio
station DXMS here.
Torres, who has helped facilitate previous peace talks with
Moslem guerrillas, said the MILF leadership promised they would
not let the violence prevent preliminary talks with Manila.
He added that they hoped to hold a meeting with the MILF by
next week.
Manila is seeking a peace settlement with the MILF to end 24
years of rebellion by the Moslem minority in the southern region
of Mindanao. The government last month signed a peace accord with
the Moro National Liberation Front, from which the MILF separated
in 1977.
The two sides have yet to set a timetable for the
negotiations.
"We are warning you to desist from advancing because we will
hit back and we will hit back really hard," he said.
However, Murad rejected the charge.