Moro, NPA rebels open to talks with Noynoy

(Updated 8:34 p.m.) Moro and communist rebels on Sunday said they were ready to enter into peace talks with Philippine president-apparent Benigno “Noynoy" Aquino III. Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) negotiator Mohagher Iqbal, however, said his group would reserve its expectations on the prospects of a peace accord under a new Aquino administration, recalling that talks initially went well under his predecessor, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, but then collapsed. "Aquino's victory was untainted by allegations of vote-rigging unlike Arroyo's," Iqbal told the Associated Press. "He has more moral authority as a president and that will add to his clout." President Arroyo’s stormy rule ends on June 30. The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) made a similar statement regarding peace negotiations with the next administration, saying it remains committed to strive for a "just and lasting peace." "The National Democratic Front of the Philippines is willing and ready to resume formal peace talks with the new administration of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP). We aim for peace talks that address the roots of the armed conflict through fundamental economic, social and political reforms," NDFP peace panel chairman Luis Jalandoni said on the NDFP website. More stability Aquino, who is headed to a landslide victory based on an almost-complete count of the May 10 elections, can rule with more stability, which can help him defend possible accords with Muslim rebels, Iqbal said. In a recent interview with The Associated Press, Aquino said he will restart talks with the Moro guerrillas and will consult all affected groups, including Christian politicians, to ensure acceptance of any peace pact. "I really feel that Mindanao is the most poised for rapid transformation," Aquino said, referring to the resource-rich but poverty-wracked southern region, where the Muslim rebellion has raged on and off for four decades. Although several agreements with the Moro rebels were signed under President Arroyo, her administration failed to clinch a preliminary peace pact after it was opposed by Christian politicians in 2008. The Supreme Court declared the pact unconstitutional, sparking fierce fighting that killed hundreds and displaced about 750,000 people. A cease-fire has taken hold since then. Hindrances Jalandoni, for his part, said the NDF takes a long-term view of the peace negotiations, consider its fundamental aspects and then look forward to what can be achieved. But he said there are still problems hampering the resumption of peace talks, including: * Peace consultant Randall Echanis was given a conditional release with the limitation of six months, which the NDFP considered a violation of Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) signed in February 1995; * Criminal charges and warrants of arrest against peace consultants Vicente Ladlad and Elizabeth Principe were not withdrawn. Instead a safe conduct pass was issued by the Philippine National Police, which Ladlad and Baylosis and their lawyers deemed unacceptable because the passes criminalized them. * Eight other NDFP consultants would not yet be released. Two other NDFP consultants, Alfredo Mapano and Jovencio Balweg, arrested after June 15 in violation of JASIG were also not be released. Jalandoni stressed they want the talks based on a well-founded and sustained process of peace negotiations forged in The Hague Joint Declaration of 1992 and reaffirmed and further strengthened in subsequent agreements. - with AP/KBK, GMANews.TV