No exact date yet for IMT deployment in Mindanao

An international team will be redeployed in Mindanao within a few months to monitor the ceasefire that will be observed between the government and Moro rebels while peace negotiations are ongoing, the government’s chief peace negotiator said Thursday. “This is an indication that peace talks will continue," said Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Rafael Seguis, chief of the government peace panel that will talk with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Seguis said an advance team will go to Mindanao next month to check on the housing and arrangement being prepared for the 60-man International Monitoring Team (IMT). “Then they will determine the exact date of deployment of the entire IMT contingent," he said, adding that the terms of reference for the IMT deployment has already been finalized. Seguis said Qatar, Indonesia, Norway, and the European Union (EU) have been invited to join the IMT, but have yet to respond. Seguis said Malaysia will resume its role as head of the IMT, which also includes Japan, Brunei, and Libya. Malaysia pulled out of the IMT in 2008 due to lack of progress in the peace talks. The IMT, which has been credited for significantly reducing skirmishes between government troops and MILF fighters, will have a one-year renewable mandate. - KBK, GMANews.TV