MILF laments Arroyo's failure to mention peace talks

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front on Tuesday (MILF) lamented that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo failed to mention peace talks in Mindanao and acknowledge the International Monitoring Team (IMT) during her 55-minute State of the Nation Address on Monday. This, the MILF said, was a testament to the government's "lukewarm attitude" towards restoring peace in the southern Philippine island of Mindanao. "This is indicative of the lukewarm attitude the government is giving to the peace process," said Jun Mantawil, head of the MILF peace panel secretariat. His remarks were contained in an article posted on Luwaran.com, a site that deals mostly with MILF issues. "This perhaps is the reason why the government is not as enthusiastic as before in pushing hard for the early signing of a peace deal with the MILF," he added. Mantawil said that Arroyo also failed to acknowledge the efforts made by the members of the IMT, which helped restore peace and order in the embattled provinces of the Philippines. He observed that in her speech, Arroyo seemed to put more premium on winning academic competitions abroad than on thwarting violence in Mindanao. He said Arroyo named ten students who brought international recognition to the country but failed to mention countries that have helped in the peace process in Mindanao. These countries, Mantawil said, include Malaysia, Libya, Brunei, and Japan which have spent money, time, and resources to ensure that "ceasefire works and peace talks continue unperturbed." Just last week, the Malaysian government has agreed to dispatch an IMT to Basilan to deternine which party violated the ceasefire that led to the deadly clash were 14 Marines emerged dead, 10 of whom were beheaded. - GMANews.TV