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.