RP reopens peace talks with Moro rebels

RP reopens peace talks with Moro rebels

Agence France-Presse, Kuala Lumpur

Philippine government negotiators reopened talks in Kuala Lumpur
on Thursday with the country's biggest Moro rebel group in the
hope of reviving a stalled peace process.

Jesus Dureza, who is leading a four-member government peace
panel, said Manila hoped to put negotiations with the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) "back on track again" despite
recent fighting.

Dureza said the two-day talks, facilitated by Malaysian
officials, would be "exploratory" in mapping out plans for the
peace process.

But the fact that other armed groups and "terror elements"
were operating in areas dominated by the MILF in the Southern
Philippines complicated the negotiations, he said.

Both sides would have to thrash out this problem and the
government hoped to enlist the MILF's cooperation in "running
after these criminal elements," he said.

Dureza said there were many tracks to the peace process apart
from the negotiations, such as tackling the root cause of the
rebellion, improving the livelihood of the people and addressing
social inequities.

It would be a long road toward a peace agreement, he added.

Malaysia has long hosted formal negotiations between Manila
and the 12,500-strong MILF, which has been waging a 25-year
insurgency to establish an independent Islamic state in the
southern Philippines.

The MILF will be represented at the talks by lawyer Lanang
Ali, former congressman Michael Mastura and Musid Buat, a member
of the MILF technical committee.

MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu told AFP on Wednesday that they
expected the government to present its proposal to resume formal
peace talks but warned against hopes for an early peace.

Kabalu said he expected the two sides to discuss issues
related to the implementation of a cease-fire agreement signed in
2001, economic and human rehabilitation programs and cooperation
in fighting crime.