Sweden, Canada also want to help monitor ceasefire

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Sweden and Canada have signified their intention to join the international team monitoring the ceasefire between the military and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Maj. Gen. Ismail Bin Ahmad Khan of the Malaysian Army disclosed this during the opening of the 18th tripartite meeting among the government, the MILF and the international monitoring team here yesterday.

Currently, the team, which Khan heads, is composed of representatives of Malaysia, Libya and Japan.

The two-day tripartite meet, which also served as the 39th meeting of the Joint Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities, mainly tackled the issue of ancestral domain in MILF-dominated areas.

Late last year, the 12,000-strong MILF said the peace talks were on the brink of collapse over its demand for economic control of ancestral lands in Mindanao.

The MILF has been waging a rebellion for an independent Islamic state in Mindanao since 1978.