| Muslim Rebels Get Immunity for
Talks By JIM GOMEZ, Associated Press Writer
ZAMBOANGA, Philippines (AP) - A
top Philippine security official urged a Muslim guerrilla group Wednesday to resume peace
talks with the government and offered safe-conduct passes to shield the rebels from
arrests during negotiations.
Presidential Security Adviser
Alexander Aguirre said the government hopes to convince the Moro Islamic Liberation Front
(MILF) rebels to drop their separatist goal and accept an offer of autonomy to end years
of fighting.
``We can reissue our
safe-conduct passes to all concerned so those participating in the peace process will be
free from arrests and searches,'' Aguirre told reporters in southern Zamboanga city.
``We'd like them to freely
participate without fear,'' he said.
The rebels disbanded their
negotiating team last month and turned down government invitations to restart peace talks
for a variety of reasons, including a government offer of bounties for the arrest of top
MILF leaders implicated in recent bombings in metropolitan Manila and the southern
Philippines.
The rebels have said they will
return to the negotiations if President Joseph Estrada shows sincerity by eliminating all
preconditions and the government stops threatening rebel leaders with arrest.
The MILF is the larger of two
rebel groups fighting for an independent Islamic nation in the southern Philippines.
The smaller but more extreme
Abu Sayyaf is holding seven foreign hostages on the southern island of Jolo, including an
American who was seized early last week.
Estrada suspended peace talks
with the MILF on June 30 after the guerrillas refused to abandon their secessionist goal
and stop rebel attacks.
MILF chief Salamat Hashim
declared a jihad, or holy war, against the government in July after the military overran
most of the rebels' camps. The Estrada administration then began urging the guerrillas to
resume peace talks.
Aguirre said the government is
continuing contacts with the guerrillas to try to convince them to set up a new
negotiating team and return to the talks.
Roman Catholic bishops have
called on the government to resume peace talks with the MILF, warning that rising violence
in the southern region of Mindanao could develop into a Muslim-Christian conflict.
Government troops launched an
offensive against the MILF in late March. Since troops captured the MILF's headquarters in
early July, dozens of civilians have been killed in massacres that each side blames on the
other.
Aguirre said the government is
trying to rehabilitate areas affected by the recent fighting. If the guerrillas enter into
a peace deal with the government, they could take part in efforts to bring economic
prosperity to Mindanao instead of being a barrier to development, he said.
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