Arroyo keen to jumpstart peace talks

Manila: Philippines President Gloria Arroyo will next week send a negotiator to Malaysia to prepare the ground for the resumption of peace talks between her government and a major Filipino-Muslim separatist group so that the two can revive a 10-year-old peace process aimed at bringing an end to four decades of conflict in the country's south.

"Malaysia remains a state facilitator in the peace talks between the Philippine Government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front [MILF]," government peace panel chairman Rafael Seguis told Gulf News in an interview soon after the inauguration of the new Saudi embassy premises in Makati City late on Tuesday.

"We are ready to sit down and discuss with Malaysian government officials our plans to revive the peace process. Then the Malaysian government will inform the MILF about the procedures in the proposed new peace negotiations," Seguis said.

The government also wants to schedule a string of discussions with the MILF until a formal peace negotiation is held, he said, adding, "We [Philippine government and MILF negotiators] are still holding back-channel talks [in Mindanao]. We hope we can soon resume formal negotiations with the MILF [in Malaysia]."

The meeting of Philippine and Malaysian government officials in Kuala Lumpur, expected to be held on Tuesday, will signal the likelihood of chances to clinch a lasting peace in Mindanao. The southern region is home to an estimated five million Muslims who share an uneasy relationship with a burgeoning Christian community, analysts said.

Meanwhile, visiting Saudi Prince Khalid Bin Saud Bin Khalid aired his concern on the continuing clashes between government troops and MILF fighters in several towns in the south.

"We hope for peace and tranquility in that part of the Philippines," said Prince Khalid.

"The people of the South should be made to feel that they are part of the Philippines and we hope that the Philippine government and Mindanao residents will work for peace," he said.

Clashes between the MILF and government forces have intensified since August last year after the Supreme Court stopped the government and MILF negotiators from signing an agreement that would allow the expansion of an existing autonomous area for Filipino-Muslims in the south. The surge in fighting has resulted in the displacement of 600,000 people in Mindanao.

However, the MILF has retained all members of its original negotiating as against the reconstituted government peace panel.