RP, Moro peace getting closer

RP, Moro peace getting closer

ZAMBOANGA, Philippines (AFP): The Philippines government and the country's main Moro rebel group are closer to a full peace accord after agreeing on the size of an autonomous Moslem region, a source said yesterday.

The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) will settle for self-rule over seven provinces in the southern Philippines, instead of the 13 provinces and nine cities they had initially asked, said a source from the joint cease-fire committee who is involved in the peace talks.

Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Lanao del Norte, Cotabato, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Basilan provinces will be under the MNLF's autonomous provisional government for three years without a referendum, the source said.

He added that the agreement was reached by MNLF and Manila during talks in November in Jakarta, but that it had not been made public. The talks are being supervised by the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), of which Indonesia is a member and the MNLF is an observer.