Malaysia has vowed to help the Philippines resume stalled peace talks with Muslim separatist rebels in the troubled southern region of Mindanao, a Philippine government official said Sunday. National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales said Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi made the assurance during a meeting with Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on the sidelines of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders' summit in Thailand. Gonzales said Arroyo asked Badawi to do something so that the negotiating panels of the Philippine government and the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) would meet again as soon as possible. "President Arroyo asked for Malaysia's continued help in our peace talks," Gonzales told reporters. "The president wants the negotiations to resume and she asked Malaysia to take steps so that the two panels meet."
Gonzales said Badawi responded favorably to Arroyo's request. "Prime Minister Badawi said Malaysia is always willing to help so they will help," he said. "They will try to facilitate (the resumption of peace talks), They will help in making sure the two panels will meet."
Malaysia had been facilitating the negotiations between the Philippine government and the MILF since 2004. It also led an international team of peacekeepers monitoring a ceasefire between the two sides. But in November 2008, Kuala Lumpur pulled out its forces from Mindanao amid fighting between the MILF and the Philippines military. It expressed frustration over the slow progress in the peace negotiations.
Peace talks between the two sides have been suspended since August 2008 when MILF rebels launched a series of deadly attacks in Mindanao, which triggered fighting with the military. More than 200 people were killed in the hostilities, which also forced more than 500,000 people to flee their homes.
The guerrillas launched the attacks to protest a Supreme Court decision stopping the signing of a key agreement between the Philippine government and the MILF, which would have expanded a Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao. The government eventually scrapped the agreement, and called for continued talks with the MILF to come up with a new deal. But the MILF is insisting that the agreement was already signed and should be implemented.