Ople: Talks with MILF resume next week

Peace negotiations between the government and the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) are expected to resume in Malaysia next week.

Foreign Secretary Blas Ople said yesterday Malaysia will host the talks after the "technical obstacles" are overcome.

"I expect the resumption of the talks to be announced in Malaysia," he said. "This (is based on the presumption) that we will be able to overcome the technical obstacles."

Ople said both sides were working to overcome "technical details" that have prevented the resumption of talks.

Ople said he expects MILF chairman Hashim Salamat, who has a standing warrant of arrest, to be part of the rebel peace panel in Kuala Lumpur.

Obstacles to reviving talks include existing warrants of arrest for Salamat and other top MILF leaders and negotiators for a spate of deadly bombings in Mindanao.

The Malaysian government has said it would not allow MILF leaders wanted by Philippine law to set foot on its soil, and urged both sides to resolve the issue before talks could resume.

The United States is also expected to play a supporting role to Malaysia, which has served as a third-party mediator in talks aimed at ending the MILF’s 25-year insurgency.

An initial $30 million in financial and diplomatic aid for the peace process has been allocated by the US through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

USAID has provided assistance to the Moro National Liberation Front in the form of livelihood programs and education.

The government has accused the MILF of mounting bombings and raids on civilian targets earlier this year. — With AFP