MILF praises Japanese support for Mindanao peace talks

ZAMBOANGA CITY - The political leadership of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on Monday praised Japan for its support for the ongoing peace talks in Mindanao between separatists and the Philippine government. Ghazali Jaafar, MILF vice chairman for political affairs and other senior rebel leaders in Maguindanao province met over the weekend with Japanese foreign affairs officials to discuss Japan’s role in the peace process. Shideo Yamada, director of the Second South East Asia Division of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Yoshihisa Ishikawa, first secretary of the political section of the Japanese embassy assured the MILF of Japan’s active role in the peace process. The MILF is currently negotiating peace with the Arroyo government to end more than three decades of fighting in Mindanao. "We are very grateful for the Japanese government for its great concern to ensure peace and stability in our homeland and in Mindanao. Your visit here is a manifestation of the tremendous concern of your government on the current peace process. This will be long remembered by the Bangsamoro people," Jaafar told Yamada. Jaafar said Yamada was in Maguindanao to personally assess the current security situation in Mindanao and how Japan can join the Malaysian-led international truce team in Mindanao. Malaysian Major General Dato' Soheimi bin Abbas, head of the truce monitoring team, briefed the Japanese officials about the progress of the peace process. Yamada said he was impressed with the sincerity and commitment and confidence of both Manila and MILF in the ongoing peace talks and also lauded the international truce observers for their active role in the peace process. "The international monitoring team is doing a wonderful job in sustaining the ceasefire on the ground and touching the lives of the people," Yamada said. Ishikawa, who was also in Zamboanga City early this year, assured the MILF that Japan will continue its humanitarian projects despite concerns for the safety of its citizens and aid workers in Mindanao. Security forces have long been pursuing Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah militants, whose groups are tied to the al-Qaeda terror network. "Generally, Japan is concerned with the safety of its citizens and aid workers in Mindanao, but this won't affect our humanitarian assistance to Mindanao," Ishikawa said. Abu Sayyaf gunmen kidnapped a Japanese man Senichi Takayama and shot dead his Filipino companion in 1997 in the southern Philippine resort town of Glan. In 1998, suspected Abu Sayyaf militants threatened to kidnap Japanese aid workers in Zamboanga City. Unidentified gunmen barged into the house of a 48-year-old Japanese trader Hazumitsu Hashiba in Lanuza town in Surigao del Sur province and kidnapped him on January 2003. Tokyo is one of the Philippines' biggest aid donors and has funded many humanitarian projects as far as Tawi-Tawi and Basilan islands, both strongholds of the Abu Sayyaf group in the southern Philippines. In 1989, Japan launched the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Projects for the purpose of reducing poverty in the Philippines and helping various communities engaged in grassroots activities. Since then, more than 300 small-scale grassroots projects had been implemented in the country, including a social rehabilitation center built in 2003 in Basilan worth US$90,740. The project was part of Tokyo's commitment to support the Philippine government's efforts in promoting peace and development in Mindanao.-GMANews.TV