05 oktober 2007 05:27

Malaysia monitors not pulling out of Philippines: report

Kuala Lumpur — Malaysia-led ceasefire monitors will stay in the southern Philippines for now but Kuala Lumpur wants progress in stalled peace talks between Manila and Muslim rebels, a report said Thursday.

"They (Malaysian troops) will be extended but their extension cannot be indefinite," Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak was quoted as saying by The Star newspaper.

"We want to see progress in the talks," he added.

Najib, who is also defence minister, did not give details on how long Malaysian troops will remain in the troubled region.

A foreign peace monitoring team landed in the southern Philippines in October 2004. But talks between the Philippine government and Muslim rebels stalled last September.

Muslim-majority Malaysia has vowed to support Manila in its efforts to resolve the dispute with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

The peace monitors handle complaints about violations of a 2003 ceasefire between the Philippines and the MILF, which has been waging a separatist rebellion for almost three decades on the largely Christian archipelago.

The team now comprises 60 Malaysian officers and a small number of officers from Brunei and Libya.

Malaysia has also been hosting and mediating in the peace talks between Manila and the 12,000-strong MILF, which aims to set up an Islamic state in the southern Philippines.

More than 50,000 people have been killed in the conflict.

Source: afp.google.com

Credit Photo: istambay.wordpress.com

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