RP govt and rebels move closer to talks

RP govt and rebels move closer to talks

PHILIPPINES: The Philippine government and Muslim rebels will hold talks in Malaysia next month in an attempt to remove remaining obstacles to the resumption of formal peace negotiations, a senior presidential adviser said on Friday.

Teresita Deles, the presidential adviser on the peace process, said that technical teams from both sides would meet April 16-18 in Kuala Lumpur to try to harmonize conflicting positions on the issue of Muslim ancestral domain.

"We are taking it one step at a time," Deles told Reuters, saying formal talks should be held after an initial agreement is reached during the technical panels' meeting.

"This meeting will settle once and for all the outstanding issues."

Silvestre Afable, head of the Philippine government's peace panel, said the rebels agreed to the talks after he held a four- hour meeting with the leader of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on Thursday.

Afable met with Ebrahim Murad, chairman of the largest Muslim rebel group in the Philippines, at a guerrilla base in southern Mindanao island. -- Reuters