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Philippine Muslim Rebel Group Says "No" to Ceasefire
Philippine Muslim rebel group leader Ghazali Jaafar insisted Monday that they will not lay down their arms despite the government's call for a ceasefire, a TV report said.
Meanwhile, they want the peace negotiations to be held abroad before peace talks with the government resume, Jaafar, vice chairman of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), was quoted by the ABS-CBN TV news network as saying.
Earlier, the government called on the MILF to implement a ceasefire after the military temporarily halted earlier this month its own offensives against the secessionist group to expedite stalled peace talks.
The MILF, with an armed strength estimated at 13,000, is the biggest rebel group fighting for more than two decades for an independent Islamic state in Mindanao.
The talks between the MILF and the government collapsed last September after the military captured dozens of MILF camps in line with then President Joseph Estrada's order for an all-out offensive against the separatists. Last Tuesday, newly-installed President Gloria Arroyo ordered ceasefire with the Muslim rebel group to pave the way for resumption of peace talks.
But reports said the rebel group is demanding the return of their lost camps as one of its preconditions before the formal peace talks could start.
Another precondition imposed by the MILF is to hold peace negotiations in an Islamic country in Asia or in Saudi Arabia under the supervision of the Organization of Islamic Conference.
The government has repeatedly urged the MILF to return to negotiating table without setting any preconditions.
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