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.