March 30, 2001, The Philippine Star, AFP cuts troops in Mindanao,

March 30, 2001, The Philippine Star, AFP cuts troops in Mindanao,

Some of the estimated 66,000 troops in Mindanao will be withdrawn and redeployed in Luzon after the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) resume peace negotiations.

Meanwhile, President Arroyo is willing to meet with MILF chairman Salamat Hashim to pursue her administration's peace initiative in Mindanao.

Presidential adviser on the peace process Eduardo Ermita told The STAR he discussed the Arroyo-Salamat meeting with MILF vice chairman Al- Haj Murad in Kuala Lumpur last week.

"In fact, I suggested to vice chairman Al-Haj Murad that maybe if he can arrange it, I can meet him (Salamat) personally and in the process, discuss the matter of the probability in the future of him meeting the President," Ermita said.

He said Mrs. Arroyo can meet Salamat "before or after or even during" the formal peace negotiations between government representatives and the rebels.

Armed Forces vice chief Lt. Gen. Jose Calimlim said at a press conference yesterday the troops to be withdrawn from Mindanao will be sent to priority areas in Luzon. He said some soldiers may also be assigned to a special anti-crime unit that is being formed.

"The pullout is being studied," he said. "We are studying how we can effect this vis-a-vis the peace process."

At present, 60 percent of the 113,000-strong Armed Forces as well as 23,000 militiamen belonging to the Citizens Armed Force Geographical Units are deployed in Mindanao.

In Zamboanga City, MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu denied yesterday reports that the government has agreed to return Camp Abubakar and other major strongholds to the MILF.

"We have yet to see the hard copy of the agreement signed in Kuala Lumpur last week between the government peace panel Secretary Eduardo Ermita and MILF vice chairman Al Haj Murad," he said.

Kabalu said the return of the redoubts will be discussed in detail in the coming negotiations between the government and rebel peace panels.

On the other hand, Ermita said MILF guerrillas will be allowed to roam their former camps as long as they are unarmed.

Ermita said Mrs. Arroyo has ordered the reconstruction of Salamat's house inside Camp Abubakar, which was destroyed during non-stop artillery shelling in last year's massive military offensive to capture the fortress.

However, Ermita said the former redoubts will not be returned to the rebels as these would be developed by the government jointly with them.

Ermita said Camp Abubakar will serve as the pilot area for the joint development of Muslim communities within the former fortress, where war refugees would resettled.

Troops will remain in the former MILF camps to observe the implementation of the suspension of military offensive operations, he added.

Ermita said the date and venue of the peace talks would be known next week, and that the formal round of negotiations would probably take place in Malaysia.

"Actually, the issue of having Malaysia as venue for the talks is not a sticky issue," he said. "I believe that both (government and MILF panels) are amenable to this."

Ermita said he will instruct Jesus Dureza, government peace panel chairman, to finalize the date and venue of the negotiations in another round of exploratory talks with MILF leaders.

"It's possible that by next week, we'll be able to finalize these details already," he said.

Meanwhile, independent senatorial candidate Noli de Castro lauded yesterday as a "historic breakthrough" the interim agreement between the government and the MILF to resume peace negotiations.

"This decades-old civil strife on two fronts has been hampering our economic, political and social growth such that we have not been able to recover from our international image as the sick man of Asia," he said.

De Castro, who is a veteran broadcast journalist, said in a statement said he foresees a buildup of investor confidence in the country's market that would eventually redound to the generation of employment.

"But with permanent peace, the Philippines could regain its prestige as an investors' haven," he said. "With English as our second language, coupled by the technological skills and high academic preparation, we have a clear advantage over our Asian neighbors." --Marichu Villanueva, Paolo Romero, Roel Pareño