Sabah News

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March 14 , 2003 15:46PM

Malaysia's Possible Mediation A Good Start, Says MILF

KOTA KINABALU, March 14 (Bernama) -- The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) today described Manila's move to seek Malaysia's role in the mediation of conflicts in the region as "a good start" towards the resumption of peace talks between the Philippine government and the MILF.

MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu said that the move was in line with the group's open door policy for any communications between Manila and the MILF, the largest separatist group in the Philippines.

"That is our position...we allow or open our door for any communications with the (Philippine) government," he told Bernama in a telephone interview from an undisclosed location in Mindanao.

News reports from Manila on Wednesday said that Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo wants Malaysia to bring her government and the MILF back to the discussion table.

The report also said that Manila would send the president's special envoy, Roberto Romulo, to Kuala Lumpur to meet Acting Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to inform him of the Philippines' intention.

Thursday Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar told reporters in Kuala Lumpur that Malaysia was prepared to act as mediator in solving the conflict if requested by Arroyo's administration.

Syed Hamid said that the invitation should come from the Phillipine government and not from other parties.

Kabalu said that the MILF was aware of Manila's move in wanting Malaysia to facilitate the talks.

He said that the peace talks could still be resumed.

However, the MILF was exercising extra careful steps because of the renewed fightings in the area despite the ceasefire agreement signed in Malaysia in 2000.

"That is why we made it very clear that the official mediation of the Malaysian government must be observed."

Asked whether the 12,000-strong MILF was ready to sit at the negotiation table, Kabalu said: "It is not that we have already agreed to resume the peace talks, but somehow that (the invitation to Malaysia to mediate in the peace talks) is the starting point."

He said that intense fighting was still going on around the town of Pikit in the east of Cotabato and the vicinity of Buliok complex, the former MILF enclave in the outskirt of Pikit now captured by the military.

"There were heavy fightings since Monday...this is the fifth day of heavy fighting in the Buliok complex and also in other sides of Pikit," he said.

He said that the MILF side had suffered "six casualties and 36 wounded" in the counter-offensive initiated "by our man on the ground".

Reports coming from Mindanao however indicated that at least 100 MILF men were killed in the gunfight and another 20 died in a clash early Friday.

Asked whether there were people fleeing the area to neighbouring regions particularly towards Sabah, he said that there were no official report about it.

"Right now, we don't have concrete information about that, but there are reports that a number of Moro people particilarly from Tawi-Tawi and Jolo trying to reach Sabah but these are mere reports," he said.

Reports from Cotabato indicated that some 40,000 people have been evacuated from the fighting in Pikit town.

Malaysian troops stationed on the remote islands of Sabah's east coast have heightened their surveillance against possible intrusion by people from the southern Philippines.

A total of 198 illegal immigrants has been nabbed by security forces in the east coast over the past two weeks for trying to enter Sabah in search of employment.

-- BERNAMA

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