Philippine Arroyo: Will Resume Peace Talks With
Rebels
MANILA (AP)--Philippine Vice
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said Thursday she will resume peace talks with Muslim
separatists and Communist rebels if President Joseph Estrada leaves office in a corruption
scandal and she becomes president.
Arroyo heads an opposition
coalition that is urging Estrada to resign over allegations he received millions of
dollars in payoffs from illegal gambling operators and kickbacks from tobacco taxes.
Estrada also faces a Senate impeachment trial.
In a move to broaden her
support, Arroyo met Friday with Bayan, a left-wing alliance, and the Bayan Muna, or
Country First, political party.
"We are seeking to
formulate an alternative agenda that hopefully will get widespread support," Arroyo
said.
She said an "alliance for
true reforms" could be established among groups with various ideologies
"provided that the ideologies do not remain extremist in character and provided that
we are all motivated to help society."
"Surely there will be
details in the policies that the partners will not agree on, but I will respect your right
to fight for your beliefs," she said.
Arroyo said she supports a
resumption of peace talks with the Communist National Democratic Front and the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front "to address decisively the root causes of the prolonged
armed conflicts."
The NDF, which represents
underground Communist-led organizations, withdrew from talks last year after the
Philippine Senate approved an agreement allowing the U.S. to resume large-scale joint
military exercises in the country.
The rebels, claiming the
Estrada administration was insincere, said they will not resume talks until a new
government is installed.
Estrada suspended talks with
the MILF in June after it refused to abandon its secessionist goal and its armed struggle.
The government launched a
massive operation to overrun MILF camps in the southern Mindanao region earlier this year,
prompting the rebels to declare a jihad or holy war against the government.
MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu said
talks are unlikely to resume soon since the Estrada government refuses to recognize
previous agreements, including a cease-fire, reached since negotiations began in 1997.
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