MILF: No peace talks if arrests continue

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) said on Friday it would not go back to the negotiating table if the government pursued the arrest of top rebel leaders for last week's deadly Davao City airport blast.

Ustadz Shariff Julabbi, MILF chairman for Western Mindanao, said peace talks could not possibly continue if most of those in the MILF panel were on the run because of arrest warrants on them.

Julabbi said MILF leaders were doubting the sincerity of the Arroyo's administration to pursue peace talks with the Moro rebels because of the arrest order.

Those ordered arrested for the explosion at the Davao City International Airport include MILF chairman Hashim Salamat, military chief Mohammad al-Haj Murad Ebrahim, political affairs chief Gadzali Jaafar and spokesman Eid Kabalu.

Twenty-one people died from the Davao City airport blast, including an American missionary.

Malaysia, meanwhile, has asked the military and the MILF to exercise restraint amid fresh fighting that has reportedly claimed over 200 lives in Mindanao.

Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi made the appeal to presidential special envoy Roberto Romulo during a meeting in Kuala Lumpur to discuss reviving peace talks with the Moro rebels.

President Arroyo sent Romulo to Malaysia to seek Kuala Lumpur's help in convincing the MILF to return to formal peace talks despite the renewed fighting.

On Thursday, the Armed Forces sent more soldiers to areas in Mindanao where troops are fighting the MILF.

Brig. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr., AFP deputy chief for operations, assured the military would be duly guided by the government’s pursuit of peace with the rebels.
abs-cbnNEWS.com

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