RP seeks Malaysian help to persuade MILF to talk peace

President Arroyo will seek Malaysia’s help to bring Filipino Muslim separatists to the negotiating table and end escalating violence in the southern Philippines, sources said yesterday.

The government came to this decision after Kuala Lumpur — which earlier offered to help as third party facilitator in peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front — doubted denials made by the MILF of their involvement in a series of terrorist attacks in Mindanao, according to presidential adviser on the peace process Eduardo Ermita.

"The President will dispatch a special envoy tomorrow to meet with the acting Malaysian prime minister in a new bid to help end this bloodshed," a highly placed source said.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople has also called for a meeting with Manila-based ambassadors of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) member nations on Thursday, diplomats said. The objective of the meeting was not immediately known.

Aside from Malaysia, Libya is also involved in talks to bring the MILF back to the peace table.

The MILF has been blamed for the Davao airport blast on March 4 and a series of bombings of power transmission lines, as well as a hostage-taking case that left two government troops dead, among other violent incidents in the country’s troubled south in recent weeks.

Presidential envoy Roberto Romulo is scheduled to hold talks with acting Malaysian premier Abdullah Badawi in Kuala Lumpur Wednesday, the source said, adding that Manila wanted to prod Malaysia to "play a more active role" in the peace process.

The source declined to elaborate on the topic of discussions but pointed out that Romulo, a former foreign minister and a close friend of Abdullah, was carrying a "special note" from Mrs. Arroyo.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who is on leave, reportedly gave Mrs. Arroyo an "open-ended" offer during their talks last month for Kuala Lumpur to host any peace talks between Manila and the MILF, the biggest Filipino Muslim separatist group.

Predominantly Muslim, Malaysia has been acting only as a facilitator in the negotiations so far.

The 12,500-strong MILF has been waging a 25-year-old guerrilla campaign to set up an Islamic state in the southern part of the largely Roman Catholic Philippines.

The MILF and Manila signed a peace accord in Kuala Lumpur in 2001 but the agreement was shattered last month when the Philippine military launched a massive offensive against the rebels which left about 200 people dead, mostly MILF fighters.

The government said it was forced to attack the camp because it was allegedly used by the MILF to shelter terrorists, kidnappers and other lawless elements.

The offensive led to a declaration of an all-out war by MILF chairman Hashim Salamat.

In the latest clashes, the military used helicopter gunships and attack planes to thwart a bid by over a thousand MILF insurgents to recapture a former stronghold in Pikit town in North Cotabato province on Monday, the regional military chief said.

The government has filed multiple murder charges against Salamat and several other top MILF leaders after investigations revealed that a group member allegedly triggered the Davao airport blast last week that killed 21 people, including the suspected bomber, and wounded more than 150 others.

Warrants of arrest against Salamat and his lieutenants have also been issued over a separate bomb attack that killed at least nine people in December. – AFP, Marichu Villanueva