By
Kazi Mahmood, IOL Southeast Asia Correspondent
KUALA
LUMPUR, March 14 (IslamOnline.net) - Malaysia may again try to rescue
the stalled peace talks between the Philippines and the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front (MILF) movement.
The
MILF, willing to find a peaceful solution to the current clashes between
its elements and the military in several parts of Mindanao, has tipped
the Malaysian government to interfere with Manila in order to re-open
the negotiations with the administration of President Gloria Macapagal
Arroyo, news sources said on Friday, March 14.
The
MILF are also pressing Manila to come back to the previous accords
signed in Tripoli and in Kuala Lumpur in the past two years, something
which the MILF says will help rebuild the confidence lost after the
military invasion of Pikit, an MILF stronghold in Maguindanao.
Kuala
Lumpur has also confirmed its willingness to act as mediator in solving
the conflict between Manila and the MILF if requested to do so by
President Arroyo, Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said to
Bernama news agency on Thursday, March 13.
The
invitation should come from the Philippines government and not from
other parties and he did not say whether the MILF did approach the
Malaysian government to interfere in the recent outbreak of military
activities in the region, Albar said.
"They
must want us to play a part," Albar added.
Also
on Thursday, a news report from the Agence France-Presse (AFP) in Manila
said Arroyo wanted Malaysia to bring her government and the MILF back to
the discussion table.
The
report said Manila would send the President's special envoy Roberto
Romulo to Kuala Lumpur to meet with Acting Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad
Badawi to inform him of the Philippines' intention.
The
MILF was the biggest Islamic "separatist" movement in the
Philippines. The Movement has close ties with the Malaysians who support
a peaceful solution to the ongoing conflict in the Southern Philippines.
Malaysia
did play a major role in the signing of a treaty between both warring
factions after the Filipino regimes all out war against the Muslims in
2000.
Two
years ago, the Malaysian government succeeded in getting Manila and the
MILF to agree to sign an accord to begin peace talks. But the peace
talks were disrupted after the recent incidents.
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Filipino
troops stand in front of a damaged house in the village of
Kabasalan in Pikit province in the southern Philippines
|
The
Philippines government ordered the military to attack the MILF
stronghold Pikit two weeks ago after intelligence and military sources
linked the Muslim rebels to a bombing that occurred near Davao airport
killing 21 people.
Eid
Kabalu, the principal press officer of the MILF denied the movement had
anything to do with the bombing. He did not rule out the possibility of
the MILF engaging in guerilla warfare if the military continues to
attack its camps.
A
series of sabotage attacks in two major southern cities allegedly
attributed to the MILF may have forced the Arroyo regime to reconsider
its war plans, which has in turn led to its asking Malaysia to once
again interfere with the MILF, a Bangsamoro source told IslamOnline.net.
The
Bangsamoro’s are the people of mainly Islamic origin in the South;
they are also part of the Malay community that forms part of the
majority of the people in South East Asia, including Malaysia, Brunei,
Singapore and Indonesia as well as part of Thailand.
The
Arroyo administration wanted to charge in court the chairman Hashim
Selamat; his armed forces chief Al Haj Murad Ebrahim; and spokesperson
Eid Kabalu of the movement over the Davao bombing.
Hamid
said Malaysia was in contact with the Philippines government over the
peace talks with the MILF.
“We
have good relations with them and have achieved the necessary without
fanfare,” he added according to Bernama.
The
Malaysian Minister said Muslims in southern Philippines wanted the armed
conflict to cease so that they may enjoy peace imperative to economic
development.
Sources
in Mindanao says they believe that with the current Malaysian
leadership, there are strong chances the Arroyo regime will stick to the
peace plan and allow the process to continue.
Malaysia,
as Chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and incoming Chairman of
the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) has an important role in
the South East Asian region (SEA).
