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Saturday November 10, 2:36 PMPhilippines, Muslim rebels to resume formal talks next week
Jesus Dureza, the presidential adviser on the issue, said that "formal exploratory talks" between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which stalled in September 2006, would resume on November 14. "Hopefully both panels will meet to firm up the agreement on the issue of territory of the Bangsamoro Juritical Entity," Dureza said, referring to areas that could be recognised as being under MILF control. "If things look good, the next level we will be looking at is the signing of an agreement on ancestral domain by 2008," he added. However, he did not specify how much land would be designated MILF territory. MILF spokesmen could not be contacted for comment. The talks between the government and the MILF reached impasse in 2006 after disagreement over territory the MILF claim is ancestral land in the southern island of Mindanao, where they have been waging a separatist rebellion since 1978. MILF forces have admitted killing 14 Marines, 10 of whom were beheaded, during an ambush in the island of Basilan, also in the south, in July. The military later blamed the decapitations on the smaller, Al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group which also operates in Basilan. The MILF signed a truce with Manila in 2003, paving the way for formal negotiations with the government of President Gloria Arroyo. The talks are hosted by Malaysia, a member of the Organization of Islamic Conference, which also leads a 60-man monitoring mission in Mindanao. |
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