Muslim separatists hail peace deal with Philippines
Muslim separatists hail peace deal with Philippines
MANILA (AFP): Muslim separatist rebels on Saturday hailed a landmark ceasefire signed with the Philippines government, saying it would kick-start desperately needed economic development in the war-ravaged south.
The accord, signed in Libya late Friday, would strengthen "the peace process," said Eid Kabalu, the spokesman for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) which has been waging a 23-year armed rebellion seeking an independent Islamic state.
Kabalu said the deal, signed in the Libyan capital of Tripoli, would lead to the "introduction of economic development in Mindanao," the impoverished Muslim southern third of predominantly Roman Catholic Philippines.
However Kabalu said the MILF had not given up its demand for independence, stressing that no "political issues were tackled during the talks."
The deal was brokered over two days under the supervision of Seif al-Islam, who heads a Libyan charity foundation.
It will allow hundreds of thousands of families displaced by the rebellion to return to their homes without fear of getting caught in crossfire.
President Gloria Arroyo's spokesman, Rigoberto Tiglao, said the ceasefire could be a prelude to a final political solution on the Muslim separatist problem.
The 12,500-strong MILF is the country's main Muslim separatist group. It splintered from the larger Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in 1978, and was left out of a 1996 peace accord between Manila and the MNLF.
A smaller group, the Abu Sayyaf, is holding more than two dozen US and Filipino hostages in southern Basilan province.
In a related development, the media reported on Saturday that the Abu Sayaff had executed two Filipino hostages on the outskirts of the Basilan island capital, Isabela, and left a mocking note for troops hunting them.
Two other headless bodies were also found near the town of Tuburan on the island's north coast, where the guerrillas said they executed American hostage Guillermo Sobero.
The remains near Tuburan were not immediately identified but police said they were also Filipinos.
The bodies dumped in a forested area near Isabela though were identified as Primitivo Falcasantos and Crisanto Suelo, who were among the 26 Filipino and US hostages held by the Abu Sayyaf.
"We recovered this morning the bodies believed to be those of Falcasantos and Suelo," Senior Inspector Jerry Bayabos of the Basilan police said.