'Big step' for Philippines peace talks

The talks will now focus on other peace matters

Philippine Government negotiators have signed an agreement with Muslim rebels aimed at safeguarding a shaky two-month-old ceasefire.

The pact was signed in Malaysia as the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) began fresh talks on ending three decades of separatist violence on the southern island of Mindanao.

Chief government negotiator Jesus Dureza described the agreement as a "big step forward".

The MILF has been fighting to set up a separate Muslim state in what is a largely Roman Catholic nation.

Our correspondent in Manila says the pact puts the finishing touches on the earlier ceasefire agreement and is a clear sign that the rebels intend to continue the peace process.

Tensions

Under the new pact, the government and the rebels will form a committee, with equal numbers from both sides, which from this weekend will monitor the ceasefire. There have been several outbreaks of violence since the August, with both sides blaming the other.

On their side they think we have gone against the ceasefire, but that is not true

Government negotiator Jesus Dureza

Chief negotiator for the MILF, Murad Ebrahim, welcomed the signing of the pact, but warned the government to follow it through.

"If they continue to violate the ceasefire, there is no use going forward with the peace process," he said.

Mr Dureza denied that the government had ignored the ceasefire agreement, and said the agreement was still basically holding.

"On their side they think we have gone against the ceasefire, but that is not true," he said. "If specific cases and events are brought to our official attention, we are ready to look at them and see if there were violations."

Kidnaps

The talks, which are taking place in Kuala Lumpur, are the third round in the peace process. Also on the agenda is economic development of the poverty-stricken Mindanao province.

The talks are unconnected with the hunt for another Muslim rebel group in the southern Philippines, the Abu Sayyaf, which the US accuses of having links with Osama Bin Laden.

The Abu Sayyaf says it is fighting for independence, but is best known for kidnapping people and raising millions of dollars in ransom money. The authorities refuse to negotiate with them.

A third rebel group, the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), struck a peace deal with the government in 1996.