AQUINO III, MURAD OF MILF HELD TALKS IN TOKYO FOR TWO HOURS (tags)
The Alliance News (AN) learned today through media reports from Manila that President Benigno Aquino III left the country unannounced on Thursday night to hold unprecedented talks with a Muslim rebel leader in Japan. According to AN, Mr. Aquino met for two hours with Murad Ebrahim, chair of the secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), in a hotel near the Narita airport in Tokyo on Thursday evening, the first time a Philippine president has met face-to-face with a leader of the rebel group since on-and-off peace talks started 14 years ago. The MILF called Mr. Aquino?s effort a ?grand gesture? that gave ?a tremendous boost to the peace process.? Ghadzali Jaafar, the MILF political affairs chief, said it was ?a fruitful meeting.?