RP confident for peace with Moros

RP confident for peace with Moros

MANILA (AFP): Philippine government negotiators expressed
confidence yesterday that an agreement to end Moslem insurgency
in the country's south would be reached later this month despite
the threat of Moslem extremist factions.

"We are aware of their existence but they are just small
groups," said Ambassador Manuel Yan, head of the government peace
panel.

Rebel factions such as the Abu Sayyaf and the Islamic Command
Council are not part of peace negotiations between the government
and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) which are scheduled
to resume on July 27.

Defense Secretary Renato De Villa warned earlier that the
growth of the breakaway groups "complicates the problem" of peace
and order in the restive southern island of Mindanao.

But Yan said the support of the Organization of the Islamic
Conference (OIC) for the talks would hasten the restoration of
peace in Mindanao.

He also cited MNLF chairman Nur Misuari, head of the main
Moslem insurgent group in the Philippines, saying "if he will be
given full responsibility, I have no doubt that he can be able to
control these groups."

The Abu Sayyaf, a Moslem fundamentalist group believed linked
to foreign terrorists, including the bombers of the World Trade
Center in New York, has launched various attacks in Mindanao.

Both the Abu Sayyaf and the Islamic Command Council are being
blamed for the pillaging of the town of Ipil last April that left
more than 50 civilians dead.

In last month's round of talks, Manila and the MNLF made
breakthroughs on political and security issues, including the
proposed establishment of a provisional government in Mindanao
and the integration of MNLF forces into the armed forces and
police.

But several members of congress have objected to Misuari's
request that President Fidel Ramos be granted emergency powers to
set up a provisional government for Moslem-populated areas in
Mindanao. They said this was unconstitutional.

The MNLF waged a bloody campaign for a separate state in
Mindanao in the 1970s but they have since signed a cease-fire with
the government and are negotiating for autonomy for Moslem-
populated regions instead.