KL to RP: Lift arrest warrant on Salamat

Malaysia has called on the Philippines to drop the warrants of arrest keeping Moro Islamic Liberation Front chairman Hashim Salamat and other MILF leaders from traveling to Kuala Lumpur for the resumption of peace talks.

Malaysian Ambassador Mohamed Taufik said the Philippines’ warrants and bounties on leaders of the MILF were obstacles to the talks, and the rebels should be guaranteed safe passage.

"You cannot have the MILF leaders... come to Malaysia without any peace of mind," the Malaysian envoy told reporters yesterday.

Taufik said representatives of the Philippine government and the MILF agreed during recent informal meetings in Kuala Lumpur to resume talks "as soon as possible."

"I expect that the government is doing something about lifting the warrants of arrest and granting the safe passage for people taking part in the talks. Because it will be meaningless (if the warrants are not lifted)," he said.

President Arroyo, however, rejected the demand to drop the arrest warrants against the MILF leaders.

"The law is not a bargaining chip across the (negotiating) table," she said.

Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said the issue of dropping the arrest warrants "would have to be tackled at a later stage."

"I believe this would be included in phase one or phase two of the (peace) process," Bunye said. "We’ll tackle that when the proper time comes."

In a statement, Mrs. Arroyo said the government would continue to pursue terrorists even after the peace talks resume.

"We shall not sacrifice our vigilance in these matters for the sake of earning illusory gains in the peace negotiations," she said.

Warrants of arrest had been issued for Salamat and other senior rebel leaders over the deadly bomb attacks in Davao City that left 38 people dead and over a hundred others wounded last March and April.

The rebels have demanded that arrest warrants be dropped against Salamat and four other top MILF leaders, each with a P5 million bounty on their heads stemming from murder charges over recent bombings. The rebels have denied involvement.

Mrs. Arroyo also pressed the MILF to present a "credible explanation" on the 450 kilos of C-4 explosives and other bomb devices seized by the military in Maguindanao over the weekend.

"And the President has said this (issue of the seized explosives) would set back our peace process if they (MILF) would not be able to explain why there was such huge explosives supply in their area," Bunye added. "So they (MILF) will have to come up with a credible explanation."

‘We want Salamat’

Taufik said the Malaysian government also "wants the main players to be there (during the negotiations)," to include Salamat to lead the rebel negotiating panel.

"You cannot have someone lower to sign (a peace agreement) if there’s a higher authority. But it’s up to the MILF if he should take the lead," Taufik said.

Peace negotiations between the government and the MILF have been stalled since 2001, most recently because of bombings and raids the government blamed on "embedded terrorists" in the MILF.

Taufik stressed the MILF has met most of the government’s conditions - declaring a 20-day unilateral ceasefire and a statement denouncing terrorism and denying any links to international terror groups.

Saying the decades-old rebellion in the Mindanao region is a threat to neighboring Malaysia’s national security, Taufik urged the two sides to try their best to conclude a political settlement within 90 days.

Taufik said Mrs. Arroyo’s emissaries met their rebel counterparts in Kuala Lumpur last weekend after Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s government convinced the MILF to return to the negotiating table.

Foreign Secretary Blas Ople earlier said he expected the stalled talks to resume by July 1.

Ople has announced the United States would play a supporting role with Malaysia in the effort to forge a peace agreement between the government and the MILF.

While the US and Malaysia are not in excellent diplomatic terms, the two countries have assured full cooperation in playing their respective roles to broker the peace talks.

Acting US Embassy spokesman Frank Jenista said Washington has received harsh words from Kuala Lumpur on many issues, most particularly the US-led war on Iraq, but this will not affect their roles in the peace negotiations.

"Prime Minister Mahathir had harsh words to say about the US with regard to Iraq, but our relation is much broader," Jenista said.

"We’re perfectly happy to let Malaysia take the lead role and we’ll help only in areas where we can be helpful," he added.

For his part, Taufik expressed confidence that the US will play its part in a supporting role.

"It (also) shows that Malaysia and the US can cooperate despite the notion that we are anti-Americans," Taufik said.

Jenista explained the US will provide livelihood assistance to the MILF fighters who will give up their arms.

Jenista said chief government negotiator Eduardo Ermita is now in Washington seeking advice from the Institute for Peace, a non-government organization which has successfully implemented peace programs in conflict areas around the world.

"The Institute has a staff who are retired diplomats who are very familiar with conflict resolution and they can provide ideas that could be adopted for the Philippine situation," Jenista said.

On the Philippine request for a "ceasefire monitoring team," Taufik said the Malaysian foreign ministry is now drawing up the details to consider the request.

He said Malaysia will lead an international "ceasefire monitoring team" that would also include soldiers from mainly Muslim countries Bangladesh, Bahrain and Libya.

Barring any major unforeseen obstacles, Taufik said there should be no reason the Malaysia talks would not result in a political settlement.

Asked if Kuala Lumpur considered the rebellion as a threat to Malaysian security, Taufik said: "Yes it will (threaten security), obviously it will."

"We want peace and stability in Mindanao not only for the Philippines" but for Southeast Asia, Taufik said.

The region is now "the center, the bedrock of terrorism," he said.

"We can’t deny that we have a very serious problem here," he added. "We can’t deny the networking among them and their relations with other terrorist groups in other parts of the world."

The Malaysian envoy also said the areas adjacent to Mindanao, including Brunei and eastern Malaysia, are "not growing as well as we wanted it, basically because of the problem in the southern Philippines."

Malaysia has blamed the rebellion for the serious problem of illegal migrants and crime in Sabah state.

The MILF has rejected allegations it provided training sites at its Mindanao camps for the Jemaah Islamiyah, blamed for a series of bombings in the region including the Bali attack that claimed more than 200 lives last year. -With Marichu Villanueva, AP, AFP