Muslim rebels seek peace talks, surrender:
Philippine leader
CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines,
Oct 5 (AFP) - Leaders of the Philippines' largest Muslim separatist guerrilla force have
been sending out feelers for peace talks while many guerrillas want to surrender,
Philippine President Joseph Estrada said Thursday.
"There are backdoor
negotiations, there are many who are expressing their desire to surrender," Estrada
told reporters after accepting the surrender of 609 of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front
(MILF) members in this southern city.
"We ask our Muslim
brothers present here today to convey to their leaders and their colleagues our earnest
desire for them to go back to the negotiating table and rejoin our society," he said
in a speech to the former guerrillas.
He singled out "my offer
of peace and reconciliation to the remaining elements of the MILF, including their
leaders."
The 15,000-strong MILF, the
country's main Muslim separatist group, has recently stepped up attacks on government and
civilians.
Estrada played down earlier
public statements by an MILF spokesman saying they would not go back to peace talks.
"Maybe that is just
politics," he said, adding: "Most of their members just want peace. What their
spokesman says is not necessarily the opinion of the others."
He cited the 609 MILF rebels,
including renegade town mayor Mulapandi Cosain Sarip who surrendered to the government at
an army camp in this city. Earlier this year, these rebels had battled government forces
during their offensive against MILF camps in the southern region of Mindanao.
The government overran dozens
of MILF camps including their main headquarters, prompting the MILF leadership to call off
peace talks and declare a "jihad," or holy war, against government forces.
An army statement said the 609
Muslim rebels also surrendered 400 firearms for which they were paid a total of 2.6
million pesos (56,500 dollars) under a gun-return program. They will also receive 6.825
million pesos in government loans and aid.
They will be returned to their
communities where the government will implement a rehabilitation program.
Estrada said those who
surrendered told him they would convince their fellows to also change sides although he
admitted "they don't like the term 'surrender'."
The president's chief aide,
Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora said they believe the MILF is ready to return to the
negotiating table.
The MILF has been fighting to
set up a separate Islamic state in the southern Philippines which the country's Muslim
minority consider to be their ancestral home.
Estrada appealed for peace
between the majority Christians, the Muslims and tribal groups, saying "we are not
enemies. Our enemy is poverty."
He vowed to implement
development projects in impoverished areas of Mindanao to help Muslim communities.
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