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Gov't-MILF Clash Not to Derail Peace Talks: Official
Acting Defense Secretary Eduardo Ermita said here on Tuesday that a recent clash between the military and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) will not prevent the resumption of peace talks.
Ermita said it may be possible that some elements of the secessionist group were not informed of the government's ceasefire declaration, the ABS-CBN news channel reported.
"It is inevitable that there are shots. But, effectively, since the ceasefire, all units have suspended operations," Ermita was quoted as saying.
The military and the MILF have accused each other of launching the attacks since President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared a unilateral government ceasefire last week in a bid to jumpstart the stalled peace talks.
The government has also dropped murder charges against MILF leaders allegedly involved in a series of deadly bombings in Metro Manila on December 30 last year.
The military said last Saturday they killed three rebels when being attacked by a group of MILF members in the southern island of Mindanao. But MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu claimed government troops based in central Mindanao carried out a series of offensives against the group last week.
The 13,000-strong MILF, which has been fighting for more than 20 years for an independent Islamic state in Mindanao, welcomed the government's peace overtures but asked the government to pull out its troops from the MILF camps captured last year, a demand rejected by the government.
The MILF also suggested that peace talks be held in a third country and brokered by the Organization of Islamic Conference.
Peace talks between the government and the MILF collapsed last year after former President Joseph Estrada ordered a massive military campaign that captured 46 MILF camps in Mindanao, including its headquarters Camp Abubakar.
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