Morocco to help RP on MILF problem

MARRAKESH — The Moroccan government assured President Arroyo yesterday that it will help the Philippines solve the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) secessionist problem in Mindanao.

Moroccan officials gave this assurance to Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. who is here for the 107th conference of the International Parliamentary Union (IPU).

"Our government supports the Philippine request for assistance (on the Mindanao problem)," Ambassador Abdelsalam Jaidi, special envoy and adviser to King Mohammed VI, quoted the king as telling De Venecia.

"We are friends with the Filipinos forever," he said.

Another official, Abdel Wahad Radi, Speaker of the Moroccan parliament, informed his Philippine counterpart that "we will support you all the way."

The Philippine request for assistance is contained in a letter President Arroyo sent to the Moroccan king this week. The letter was personally handed by De Venecia to this kingdom’s leader on Wednesday in the presence of the king’s adviser.

The Speaker was accompanied by former Ambassador to Rome Bienvenido Tantoco, who has been a close friend of the king and his family since the days of the late President Ferdinand Marcos. Tantoco operates all airport duty free shops in this North African country.

De Venecia, who was elated by the Moroccan government’s response to Mrs. Arroyo’s request, said one vital assistance that Morocco can extend to the Philippines is to use its influence in convincing the MILF to return to the negotiating table.

"We have to achieve peace in Mindanao as well as in other parts of the country. The South has a tremendous growth potential, and that can only be unleashed if we achieve peace," he said.

De Venecia said another important help that this rich kingdom can extend would be in the area of fighting poverty.

In her letters to King Mohammed VI, the President said the attainment of a comprehensive peace and development is the government’s goal in Mindanao.

She said the national government and the newly installed Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao are partners in this process.

"It is in this light that I wish to ask your majesty’s support as a leader of the Muslim world. Our priorities in Muslim Mindanao are peace and the eradication of poverty. While we face the threat of terrorism, we know too well that we have to fight a parallel struggle against poverty so that the breeding grounds of violence and strife can be decisively eliminated," she said.

Morocco is an influential member of the Organization of Islamic Conference, which is comprised of 56 Muslim countries.

At the IPU conference, De Venecia said the Philippine approach to fighting terrorism and internal strife can be adopted by other nations.

"We cannot solve these problems through a military solution alone. We have to have a parallel campaign against poverty and injustice," he said in his closing speech.

The conference adopted several resolutions, including one sponsored by the Philippine delegation, seeking cooperation among the more than 150 member-countries in the fight against terrorism.

The delegation was headed by Senate President Franklin Drilon. Besides De Venecia, its members included Representatives Teodoro Locsin Jr. of Makati and Roque Ablan Jr. of Ilocos Norte, and Senators Blas Ople and Aquilino Pimentel Jr.