Philippines

Government talks with Muslim south make progress

Article published on the 2008-07-25 Latest update 2008-07-25 11:13 TU

A security guard looks at equipment burned by suspected Communist guerillas at a banana farm of the Dole company in Makilala town
(Photo: Reuters)

The Philippines resumed negotiations with Muslim rebels on Friday, though the peace deal still needs a lot more work before it can be signed, a spokesperson for the president said on Friday. At the same time, the government said that it will not declare a ceasefire with the Maoist rebels who have been mounting recent attacks against businesses in the south.

On Thursday Philippine Government negotiators sat down across the table with representatives from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) seeking to set out a revenue-sharing agreement that would be the basis for a political settlement with the group.

Last week, the two sides announced that they had reached a deal over “ancestral domain” that would cover the lands belonging to the Philippines Muslim minority.

Four provinces in the south of the country are already run by Muslims after a 1996 deal with a different Muslim rebel faction.

The government, however, was quick to quell any rumours about peace with the communist rebels also operating in the south.

Presidential spokesperson Jesus Dureza said that there were no talks with the Communist Party or its 5,000-strong armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA).

President Gloria Arroyo cut off peace talks with the rebels after she was re-elected in 2004, and her defence secretary, Gilberto Teodoro, has vowed to rout the rebel group at its base in the southern island of Mindanao.

The military this week sent hundreds of extra troops to the island, where the NPA has been mounting attacks against local businesses almost every other day.

A bus explosion killed ten in Mindanao on Thursday, though no group has claimed responsibility.