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| Southeast Asia | |
| Philippines to bring home 25,000 who fled Muslim conflict | |
| 2010-07-17 | |
| The Philippine government is aiming to return home within two months 25,000 people who were displaced due to a decades-long rebellion in the south, an aide said Friday. President Benigno Aquino, who took office on June 30, wants the process completed during his first 100 days in office, Teresita Deles, the presidential adviser on the peace process, told a news conference. "What we do want is to address that as quick as possible, bringing home those who can be brought back to their places," Deles said. The effort is part of a broader strategy to push forward peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which has been fighting for an independent Muslim homeland in the southern Philippines since 1971. "We need to bridge that gap between the negotiating table and the lives of communities," Deles said. The evacuees are scattered over a string of tent cities on the southern island of Mindanao, where they scrape by on food rations from the social welfare department and foreign aid organisations including the United Nations. To ensure their safety as they return home, the government will ask the 12,000-member MILF to maintain a ceasefire that had been negotiated with the previous government, Deles said.
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| Posted by:Fred |