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.