Gov’t wants peace talks before OIC summit

President Arroyo is to push for the resumption of peace talks with Muslim rebels ahead of next month’s summit of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) in Malaysia, a senior aide said yesterday.

Mrs. Arroyo is expected to take up the issue when she meets Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on Sept. 25, said Eduardo Ermita, presidential adviser on the peace process.

Malaysia has been hosting exploratory talks between the government and the Muslim separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which has been waging a rebellion in the southern Philippines for 25 years.

"We agreed that the talks will resume within the month of October but ... we would wish that this is started before the President goes there (to Malaysia) for the 10th Islamic summit on Oct. 14-16," Ermita told reporters.

"But Malaysian officials told us that they have to clear this with PM Mahathir.

"Hence, that will be among the things that probably the President will discuss with PM Mahathir when they meet for a bilateral meeting in the UN on Sept. 25," he said.

Malaysia has agreed to lead an international team to monitor a ceasefire between Manila and the 12,500-strong MILF that was signed on July 18.

Peace talks were suspended in May when Mrs. Arroyo accused the MILF of harboring people responsible for a wave of deadly bombings in the south.

The MILF leadership later publicly denounced any links to international terrorists, including the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) regional network, and agreed to a truce as a precondition for resuming talks.

Mrs. Arroyo has been invited to attend the opening session of the OIC summit and will become only the fourth head of state outside the 57-member Muslim block to attend a summit of the grouping.

The OIC has also been helping to broker a peace deal between Manila and the MILF. — AFP