MILF welcomes GMA pronouncement on talks

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) welcomed the announcement made by President Gloria Arroyo calling for the urgent resumption of talks under the facilitation of the Malaysian government.

The GRP-MILF Peace Talks remained stalled since September 2006 over the issue of the determination of the territory of the future Bangsamoro Juridical Entity in Mindanao.

The government and MILF peace negotiators were supposed to resume in May this year but at the last hour the government asked for cancellation due to the May 14 polls.

Arroyo made the call yesterday in a speech before business leaders attending the 16th annual general assembly of the Federation of Philippine Industries at the Hotel Intercon in Makati City.

Muhammad Ameen, chairperson of the MILF secretariat, said that this announcement is a welcome gesture from the President, which shows her interest in the peace process.

Arroyo failed to mention the peace process with the MILF in her recent State of the Nation Address (SONA) which is being interpreted by critics that she lost interests in this pacific way of resolving the conflict in Mindanao.

She also asked the police and military to "respect ceasefire guidelines" in "close consultation" with the International Monitoring Team.