Mindanao, Philippine - A tripartite meeting of the Philippine government, the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), which is a former secessionist group in Mindanao, is likely to take place after the Muslim holy month Ramadan, a senior Department Foreign Affairs (DFA) official said on Sunday.
"There is no decision when (the tripartite meeting will be held) but it‘s likely to take place after the Eid el Fitr ( Ramadan). My educated guess is end of October or early November," DFA Undersecretary Rafael Seguis said.
He added that the tripartite meeting will be hosted by Indonesia in Jakarta.
The OIC-initiated meeting, which was formally planned to be held in Saudi Arabia, was aimed at reviewing the implementation of the second phase of the 1996 peace pact signed between Manila and the MNLF, assessing the progress achieved and identifying and overcoming any obstacles impeding the full implementation of the accord, said Filipino officials.
MNLF has also agreed not to send its former chairman Nur Misuari, who is under house arrest, to attend the meeting due to strict rules being imposed by Manila on his attendance to the conference.
Misuari, who is under house detention for rebellion charges, was arrested in 2001 after his followers launched attacks on the Mindanao island of Jolo that left about 100 people dead.
The OIC has asked the Philippine government to allow Misuari to be present at the meeting, because it believes Misuari, who signed the peace agreement with the government on behalf of MNLF 11 years ago, is "a key figure" in the ongoing peace process between Manila and another Muslim secessionist group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
But the MNLF has instead proposed to send Cotabato City Mayor Muslimin Sema to the talks, which has yet to be scheduled sometime after the Ramadan which ends on Oct. 13.
Cotabato City is the biggest city of a Muslim autonomous region in southwest Mindanao set up according to the 1996 government-MNLF agreement.
The MNLF, which used to be the largest secessionist group in southern Philippines, has been maintaining a fragile peace in Mindanao ever since the peace agreement was signed in 1996.
But some MNLF members were frustrated with the detention of their leader Misuari and coordinated with other rebel groups like Abu Sayyaf Group in the latter‘s recent attacks on government troops in Sulu and Basilan, two southern island provinces in Mindanao.
Source: english.people.com (24 November 2007)
