RP urges rebels not to delay talks

RP urges rebels not to delay talks

MANILA (AP): Philippine Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado urged Muslim separatists on Sunday not to postpone the scheduled start of formal peace talks to keep the peace process going.

He said he could see no reason why the talks should be postponed, after a formal opening ceremony on Oct. 25.

He said President Joseph Estrada "wanted something substantive" from the peace talks by the end of this year, but the rebels "have been postponing and postponing for a long time."

On Saturday, Ghazali Jaafar, vice chairman of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and head of its negotiating panel, said the two sides should postpone the scheduled start of peace talks on Dec. 13 and instead formulate rules and procedures for the negotiations.

Recent clashes between the rebels and government troops have killed dozens of people and forced thousands of villagers to flee their homes in the southern Philippines.