Gov't clarifies suspension of peace talks with Muslim rebels

MANILA (AFP) - The Philippine government said Tuesday it had suspended peace talks with Muslim insurgents, saying it needed more time, and insisting the move was not linked to a military operation in the restive south.

The talks between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which has been waging an insurgency for decades in the southern Philippines, had been due to resume in Malaysia on Wednesday.

"I need more time to clarify some things," said government negotiator Rodolfo Garcia, who requested the delay.

He expressed hope that the talks could resume by the second week of September after the government had "finalised its negotiating position."

Garcia said his request had nothing to do with the current military offensive against Muslim extremists in the south of the country, which was launched in response to the killing of 14 Marines in an ambush last month.

MILF negotiator Mohagher Iqbal said Tuesday that his group was ready for the talks but had been told by the Malaysian facilitator that Garcia had "not been given clear guidelines on how to proceed with the peace process."

"That means we cannot resume the talks because the government is not prepared to concede anything," Iqbal told ABS-CBN television in an interview, claiming that Manila had put off the talks once before in May.

The 12,000-strong MILF late last year said the talks were on the brink of collapse over its demands for economic control of ancestral lands on the southern island of Mindanao.

Last month, MILF guerrillas backed by members of the Muslim extremist group Abu Sayyaf killed 14 Marines in an ambush in the island of Basilan, despite a three-year-old ceasefire with the government.

The MILF has admitted it was behind the ambush but said it only launched the attack because the military had crossed into its territory.

The military launched an offensive on August 13 against the Abu Sayyaf on the southern islands of Jolo and Basilan, but President Gloria Arroyo said troops should respect the "ceasefire guidelines" with the MILF.

Military officials say they are coordinating with the MILF to ensure their forces do not get caught up in the operation but sources have charged that MILF fighters are helping the Abu Sayyaf.