SULTAN KUDARAT, Maguindanao -- The Moro Islamic Liberation Front has expressed “renewed optimism” the arrival of at least 60 members of the International Monitoring Team will boost chances for the actual resumption of the stalled peace negotiations with the Philippine government.

The IMT is monitoring the implementation of the government-MILF ceasefire and other agreements entered into by the two parties.

“The peace negotiations have already gone to the point that it is already an international event because the International Monitoring Team is already here, " Ghazali Jaafar, MILF vice-chair for political affairs, said in an interview at his headquarters here.

The IMT is composed of representatives from Malaysia, Brunei, Brunei, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Japan, Jaafar said. They would be in the country to monitor the implementation of the truce for only a year, but if the government and the MILF would later agree to extend their stay, “we will just request the seven governments."

Malaysia has offered to mediate in the peace talks.

Jaafar said 60 observers from Malaysia have already arrived and another delegation from Brunei was set to arrive today.

The MILF leader said that the five other countries may be sending their representatives early next year in time for the resumption of the formal talks.

But Jaafar said that before the resumption of the formal negotiation, an informal talk would happen right after the month of Ramadan which Muslims devote to fasting. The specific date for this, he added, is yet to be finalized.

The IMT, the MILF said, would establish satellite offices in the cities of Zamboanga, Iligan, Davao and General Santos, but its main office will be in Cotabato City.

“This is very important and we agreed to put up the IMT because both government and MILF realized that it will help in the effectiveness of the implementation of the ceasefire agreement,” Jaafar said while stressing that “the truce has to be maintained effectively for the negotiations to succeed.”

The creation of the IMT was agreed by government and MILF negotiators in a meeting last Feb. 19-20 in Kuala Lumpur.

With the coming in of the IMT members, Jaafar said that “the ceasefire agreement will now be sustained and this will encourage people and investors to come in because there is already a relatively peaceful environment.”

He said the government and the MILF agreed to invite foreign observers amid exchanges of accusations between both camps of violation of the ceasefire and other agreements that they have entered into.

The talks between the government and the MILF started in January 1997, shortly after the government inked the Final Peace Agreement with the Moro National Liberation Front.

Since the start of the talks, two big wars interrupted the negotiations. One was when former President Joseph Estrada ordered an all-out war against the MILF headquarters in Camp Abubakar in Matanog town of Maguindanao, and, the other was when Arroyo ordered the Army to assault known MILF lairs in Pikit town of North Cotabato.