GRP-MILF TALKS CANCELLED

By Edith Regalado

Tuesday, August 21, 2007



Manila--The resumption of peace talks between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) will not push through today in Malaysia as earlier announced, but a Palace official said the raging armed hostilities in Mindanao have nothing to do with the development.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye earlier said the peace talks would resume as scheduled despite the offensive against the Abu Sayyaf in Basilan, saying the MILF was not the target of the military operation.

A Malacañang official who declined to be named said they have decided to hold off the talks so they could attend to pressing matters that are not related to the ongoing Basilan offensive.

The official said even Malaysia is reluctant to host the talks until a breakthrough is achieved in the debates over ancestral domain. But even then, it is still impossible for the peace negotiations to resume today because participants in the talks have not yet left the Philippines, according to another source.

“The main panel members who should be there are still here in the country and are not in Kuala Lumpur yet. There has been no final advice yet as to when it would take place,” a source who requested anonymity earlier told The STAR.

MILF Statement - NO date for resumption of Talks

MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu also said no date has been set for the resumption of the peace talks.

“I understand President Arroyo announced it would be this month and it was even published that it would be on August 22 (today) but there has been no fixed date yet,” Kabalu said.

On Friday, the government’s chief peace negotiator retired Lt. Gen. Rudolfo Garcia even briefed the Cabinet on how he intended to handle the talks with the MILF today.

Garcia and MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal were unavailable for comment as of press time.

President Arroyo ordered an all-out offensive against the Abu Sayyaf whose members beheaded 10 of the 14 soldiers who were killed or wounded in an ambush by MILF rebels in Tipo-Tipo, Basilan last July 10.

The MILF said its men killed the soldiers because they intruded into its territory but denied responsibility for the beheadings. Subsequent forays into areas where MILF rebels operate cost the military more casualties.

The military suffered its biggest casualties on Aug. 18 when 15 Marines – including five junior officers – were killed while attacking an Abu Sayyaf jungle camp in Basilan. The military said 42 bandits were killed in the battle – including two suspects in the July 10 beheading of the Marines.

Army Brig. Gen. Edgardo Gurrea said the recent ambush-slays of Marines in Basilan would not affect the exploratory talks with the MILF.

“The ceasefire violation and whatever transpired in Basilan and Midsayap (North Cotabato) were not the primary issue in the resumption of the talks,” Gurrea said.

Gurrea said ancestral domain claims would likely remain the most contentious issue as it was in September 2006. – With Paolo Romero

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