FOR NOT ACTING ON ARREST WARRANTS
Ople accuses MILF of 'bad
faith, insincerity'
Posted: 5:55 PM (Manila Time) | Jul. 10, 2003
Agence France-Presse

FOREIGN Secretary Blas Ople on Thursday accused Muslim separatist guerillas of blocking peace talks on the future of the troubled southern Philippines.

Malaysian government efforts to broker the talks have been held up by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front's (MILF's) refusal to dispatch to Kuala Lumpur its key leaders and negotiators, many of whom are being sought by the police for deadly bombings on Mindanao island earlier this year.

"If you're looking for evidence of the MILF's bad faith and insincerity, then this is it," Ople said in a statement.

"The MILF is obstructing the resumption of the peace talks by failing to initiate a review of the arrest warrants," Ople said.

He said this was also "a precondition to the grant of safe conduct passes so that they can safely participate in the peace talks in Malaysia.

"It is therefore the MILF leadership that should be held solely responsible for the delay if not the failure of the peace negotiations," the foreign secretary said.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has said her government would not oppose any MILF petition to have Philippine courts suspend the arrest warrants on MILF leader Salamat Hashim and other leaders so they can attend talks in Malaysia.

The rebels have retorted that going to the courts would be tantamount to recognizing the jurisdiction of the Philippine government in areas of the south contested by the decades-old MILF rebellion.