Moro faction accepts Iran offer to join contact group

On Thursday, visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said that his government is ready to join the International Contact Group (ICG) to help the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in the southern Philippines to forge a peace settlement.

"If there are further requests in order to have greater participation from, we'll be willing to do so [accept such request]," Jun Mantawil, chair of the MILF Peace Panel Secretariat, told Luwaran, the MILF website.

It was the first time that a foreign minister from the Muslim world has expressed support for the creation of the ICG that will monitor the implementation of the peace settlement.

Iran's offer is a clear indication of the growing international support to the 13-year-old peace talks, which began in 1997, Mantawil said.

Iran is a member of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), which has expressed support for a pro-autonomy peace settlement between the Philippine government and the MILF.

The MILF has also requested the United Kingdom, Japan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia to send representatives to the ICG.

But only the United Kingdom, Japan, and Turkey have signalled interested, said Mantawil, adding that Saudi Arabia has not responded to the official invitation sent through its ambassador in Manila.

MILF Chairman Murad Ebrahim held a meeting with the Saudi envoy to the OIC seeking Saudi Arabia's participation to the ICG, said Mantawil.

The government and the MILF agreed on the ICG in informal talks in Malaysia in last October.