Talks with MILF could resume before Christmas - Palace exec

MANILA, Philippines - Peace negotiations with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which has been stalled since August, are likely to resume before Christmas, President Arroyo’s peace adviser said Tuesday. Presidential peace adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr made the pronouncement after the appointment of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Rafael Seguis as chairman of the government peace panel negotiating with the MILF. “We can look forward to the resumption of the GRP-MILF peace talks before Christmas, which I believe is the best Christmas gift to the Filipino people, especially of Mindanao,” Esperon said in a statement. The entire panel is expected to be reconstituted after a week. Esperon said Seguis' appointment is a strong indication that government is “more than willing to restart the peace talks with the MILF as soon as possible.” He said President Arroyo's appointment of Seguis is “the right move” considering his experience as former Philippine ambassador to Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia. “As I have said all along, we cannot afford to abandon peace because war is not the solution to the long-drawn Mindanao conflict. There is no alternative to peace. We cannot give up on peace,” he said. President Arroyo dissolved the five-member peace panel, led by retired general Rodolfo Garcia, in September after announcing a shift in policy in dealing with armed rebel groups — from holding peace talks to consultations with stakeholders in the context of DDR (disarmament, demobilization and reintegration). The dissolution also followed controversy surrounding the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain that government had been set to sign with the MILF in early August. The agreement was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in October. The suspension of the peace talks followed attacks by three rogue MILF commanders on civilian communities in several parts of Central Mindanao. The MILF leadership continues to refuse to surrender the three commanders. - GMANews.TV