Estrada: Wahid renewed offer to broker talks with MILF

BANGKOK, Thailand - Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid has renewed an offer to mediate peace negotiations between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), President Estrada said Sunday night.

The Chief Executive said Wahid made the offer during a break in the UN-ASEAN roundtable summit at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center here last Saturday.

"President Wahid told me he was even willing to meet with MILF chairman Hashim Salamat if need be," the President said. "But he assured me that Indonesia will only come into the picture if the Philippine government would accept his offer."

Mr. Estrada and Wahid were among five heads of government who spoke at the UN-ASEAN summit and the plenary sessions of the 10th UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Wahid first made the offer of mediation when he visited the Philippines after his election to office by the Indonesian Parliament late last year.

Originally, the Indonesian president wanted to meet with Salamat when he was in the Philippines for the informal ASEAN Leaders' Summit last December.

However, he was forced to drop the plan following a public furor over the perceived interference by a foreign leader in the country's internal affairs.

On Sept. 2, 1996, the Indonesian government had successfully mediated a peace agreement between the government and the Moro National Liberation Front headed by Nur Misuari, now the governor of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao.

President Estrada also said that Wahid had sounded him out, along with other ASEAN heads of government, about his plan to fire Indonesian Army General Wiranto.

Wiranto is accused of committing human rights violations in East Timor when the territory was under Indonesian administration.

However, Wiranto has reportedly mended fences with Wahid, who immediately returned to Indonesia after the UNCTAD meeting last Saturday.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Domingo Siazon Jr. told The STAR Wahid thanked the President for sending troops as part of peacekeeping forces in East Timor.

Siazon, who attended the roundtable summit, said UN secretary general Kofi Annan also thanked the President for deploying Filipino troops to East Timor.

In his speech at the UN-ASEAN summit, Mr. Estrada confirmed the continued commitment of the Philippines, along with nine other ASEAN member states, to help secure the promotion and maintenance of peace and security in this part of the world.

President Estrada expressed confidence in diplomatic and peaceful resolution of disputes among member states, including territorial claims in the Spratly Islands, through the ASEAN Regional Forum.

"The ASEAN Regional Forum is moving forward and beyond confidence building. Here, too, UN experience could be valuable; we should be looking for ways to tap this rich resource." -