Government, MILF panels agree to pursue peace talks

The government and the country’s biggest Muslim separatist group have agreed to pursue peace talks shelved due to reported ceasefire violations, the government said yesterday.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and government representatives will hold consultations next week to decide when to resume formal negotiations to end the 24-year separatist rebellion, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Gen. Eduardo Ermita said.

Due to the sensitiveness of the topic, the reported ceasefire violations will not be taken up in backdoor talks with the rebel group, he said.

Ermita told reporters at Camp Aguinaldo that the back-channeling efforts are focused mainly on the issues of rehabilitation and development of Mindanao and ancestral domains in the region.

"The ceasefire (committee) has local monitoring committees. In fact, they would be having a workshop starting March 18 to March 21 in Mindanao so the coordination would be very smooth," he said.

If contentious issues on the matter are not sorted out by the technical panels, both sides might not be able to accomplish anything when formal negotiations resume in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, he said.

"We have a group of 12 to 15 people going there (Kuala Lumpur), now if the agenda items are not yet ironed out then they might stay there for one week, 10 days, two weeks without being able to accomplish anything," he said.

"So the technical working level thought it would be better to discuss these first so that the chances of success will be better," he added.

Ermita noted the Joint Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities is the one reviewing the complaints from both parties with regard to the recent series of encounters in Central Mindanao.

President Arroyo suspended formal talks earlier this month after the military accused MILF forces of making unprovoked attacks and of giving sanctuary to Abu Sayyaf Muslim guerrillas, who hold hostage two US Christian missionaries and a Filipina nurse in Basilan.

The leadership of the 12,500-member MILF group rejected the charges and in turn accused the ArmedForces of provoking fighting to torpedo the peace talks.

The MILF negotiators confirmed at a meeting Wednesday "their commitment to pursue a peaceful solution to the conflict in Mindanao," Ermita told dzRH radio.

A government negotiator, Jesus Dureza, "affirmed the government’s commitment to pursue the peace talks."

Both sides also disavowed that they are girding for renewed hostilities, he added, and the MILF negotiators repeated the rebel leadership’s previous pronouncement that "guerrillas on the field are barred from taking part" in kidnappings.

In its initial findings, the committee said personal feuds and political rivalry triggered the sporadic clashes between the MILF and the Armed Forces.

Despite these incidents, Ermita expressed belief that the MILF is still sincere in talking peace with the government since they know that the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) is actively monitoring the peace efforts of both sides.

"Both sides affirmed that there have been no violations" of the truce, he added.

Ermita said the two sides have yet to agree on a date for resuming formal talks.

"When they reach agreement, we will seek representations with Kuala Lumpur and ask them if they are interested" in hosting the continuation of the negotiations, he said.

"We just have to give them (MILF) the benefit of the doubt because that is the very reason why we are in negotiations," the peace adviser said.

Meanwhile, AFP Civil Relations Services chief Brig. Gen. Edilberto Adan said during the 51st anniversary celebration of the CRS that the AFP has officially launched its own website in response to the MILF’s website.

The Armed Forces’ afp.mil.ph "is our answer to Morojihad.com," Adan said.– AFP, Paolo Romero