Philippines warns against rebel aid

Philippines warns against rebel aid

MANILA (AFP): A Philippines official warned foreign governments on Wednesday against helping separatists on Mindanao Island.

"Let me stress that the government's peace talks with the MILF is purely an internal affair of the Philippines," President Joseph Estrada's spokesman, Fernando Barican, said, referring to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

"Therefore, any foreign government that supports the MILF will be interfering with the internal affairs of the Philippine government," he added.

Barican stressed that the Organization of the Islamic Conference, which groups more than 40 countries, "does not recognize" the 12,000-member MILF, which seeks to set up an Islamic state in Mindanao, which comprises the southern third of the archipelago.