Philippine rebels request UN vote

Philippine rebels request UN vote

MANILA (Reuters): The chief of the Philippines' biggest Islamic rebel group has called for a UN-organized independence vote for Muslims in the country's south, but President Joseph Estrada vowed never to bow to separatists.

Salamat Hashim, chairman of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), said in a taped interview aired on Sunday the vote could be "like what was done in East Timor", the former Indonesian- ruled territory which last year voted for independence in a UN- supervised referendum.

But Estrada, speaking to graduating cadets of the Philippine Military Academy, said he would not give in to any separatist demands.

Salamat's call comes just over a week after clashes in which the military said it killed more than 100 rebels. The MILF said it lost seven. A smaller rebel group, the Abu Sayyaf, last week abducted more than 70 students and teachers on Basilan island, near Mindanao.