MILF must reject terror to resume talks
Manila |From Our Bureau Chief | 08-05-2003

President Gloria Arroyo yesterday said militants must reject "terrorism" and hand over to the government killers and bombers from their ranks if shelved peace talks are to resume.

Arroyo cancelled preliminary negotiations aimed at ending the decades-old rebellion on Tuesday in reaction to a series of attacks by Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) militants on civilian targets in the south.

"We shall not appease those who kill and maim the innocent. We shall not allow the peace talks to be held hostage by the threat of terror," Arroyo said.

She said: "No more double talk. The MILF must unequivocally and unambiguously renounce terrorism in the pursuit of its objectives," and surrender "all those who have engaged in terrorist acts before expecting any relief from legal sanctions and punitive actions."

Malaysia was to have hosted the talks on May 9-11 in Kuala Lumpur.

There are also strong signs that Arroyo will pursue peace talks with the MILF with the help of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and the governments of Malaysia and Indonesia.

"Manila will bring its case before Malaysia and Indonesia, the OIC and the whole world" (about the MILF terror attacks). We shall combine military action, stringent legal measures, community preparedness and full diplomatic pressure to bear upon this threat," said Arroyo.

Meanwhile, an opposition senator has said that the U.S. should broker the uneasy peace talks between the government and the MILF instead of sending American soldiers.

"This is one way to save the six-year-old moribund peace talks. President Arroyo should not put an end to it," said senator Aquilino Pimentel.

Pimentel warned that a terror tag on the MILF could pave the way for the participation of U.S. troops in the conflict in the south. "It's a step towards full-scale involvement of U.S. troops in the war against Moro militants."

American and Filipino soldiers have been engaged in joint war games in central and north Luzon. There were reports that the war games will be held in the south.

Najib Razak, the Malaysian defence minister, gave a positive response to Arroyo's request.

In Indonesia, Najib said: "We hope in due course the (peace talks) can be rescheduled. I am waiting for an official response from the government as to the reasons for the postponement."

"We'll call on both parties to return to the negotiating table as soon as possible. Malaysia is committed to a long-term peace solution because the conflict has been dragging on for too long and the south is very impoverished," said Najib who offered a cease-fire as a solution to the stalled talks in the south.

"There is still hope. We will urge both sides to return to the negotiation table as soon as possible," stated Najib. Sources added that Arroyo wanted Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammed to tell the MILF to go back to the negotiating table.

At the same time, Eid Kabalu, MILF spokesman, said his group has nothing against the inclusion of the U.S. in the resolution of the problem in the south.

"As far as we are concerned, our group has not made any mistake of hurting any American national. The U.S. is not an enemy to us," said Kabalu.

"We don't have to denounce terror activities as demanded by the president because we were never engaged in terror actions," noted Kabalu.

This was in response to Francis Ricciardone, U.S. Ambassador to Manila, who earlier said: "It is up to the MILF to decide really what they are going to be, who they are and make that very clear."

At the same time, the MILF does not believe that the talks with the government have finally ended.

"When the president cancelled the exploratory talks in Malaysia from May 9 to 12, it did not mean that she has given up on the peace talks," said Kabalu, adding that Arroyo's statement of conditions for the continuation of the talks was also a sign that she wanted to pursue peace more than war in Mindanao.

When asked how the government and the MILF can revive the sagging peace talks, Kabalu stated: "All we have to do is to implement what we have agreed upon during the first exploratory talks held in Malaysia on March 28."

Kabalu said Hashim Selamat, MILF chairperson, and other top leaders who were the object of Arroyo's shoot to kill order have not left the country.