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April 2, 2001, The Philippine Star, MILF drops bid for independent state -- GMA, by Paolo Romero and Efren Danao,

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April 2, 2001, The Philippine Star, MILF drops bid for independent state -- GMA, by Paolo Romero and Efren Danao,

Leaders of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have softened their demand for an independent Islamic state in Mindanao.

President Arroyo said in an official statement yesterday her impression is that the rebels are "no longer fighting for an independent state" after the secret meeting between retired Lt. Gen. Eduardo Ermita and MILF leaders in Kuala Lumpur last week.

"The way that they talked to us in Kuala Lumpur, they are willing to talk to us in the context of our territorial integrity," read the statement.

MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu told reporters that the rebels will stop offensive operations starting tomorrow ahead of peace negotiations with the government.

"The suspension of military action will begin on April 3 and will probably (last) until we can conclude a peace accord with the Arroyo administration," he said.

As Kabalu was speaking, government troops clashed with MILF guerrillas following a rebel attack on a military outpost in Maguindanao last Saturday.

Col. Fredesvindo Covarrubiasspokesman for the Armed Forces Southern Command, told reporters yesterday troops fired mortar shells towards MILF positions in Berira town to prevent the rebels from storming vital government projects and installations.

Soldiers also fought the rebels in a fierce gunbattle in nearby Basilan after an ambush on soldiers patrolling the coastal town of Tuburan last Friday, he added.

Covarrubias said no casualties have been reported on the government and rebel sides and that MILF guerrillas continue to attack military positions in Central Mindanao.

"Despite a truce agreement between the government and the MILF, the rebels continue to attack military positions in Central Mindanao and other areas," he said.

In Cebu City, ousted President Joseph Estrada told The STAR yesterday the Arroyo administration made a mistake in sending Ermita, presidential adviser on the peace process, to meet secretly with MILF leaders in Kuala Lumpur.

"The government must show a position of strength, make its own demands, rather than give in to MILF demands on the return of their former camps," he said.

Speaking at a Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino-Puwersa ng Masa (LDP-PnM) rally in Cebu City, Estrada said he remains popular in Mindanao because he had launched all-out war against the MILF.

"That (war) is the only language they (MILF rebels) understand," he said.

Estrada said he fought an all-out war in Central Mindanao to make it clear to MILF leaders that the country has only one government, one flag, and one republic.

"The MILF had their own military academy, their own army, their own prisons," he said. "They were setting up their own republic and I had to protect our territorial integrity."

At the same rally, LDP-PnM senatorial candidates Juan Ponce Enrile and Ricardo Puno warned the Arroyo administration against returning former MILF camps without any safeguard against their remilitarization.

"Now they are going to return these (former) MILF camps in the guise of rebuilding communities," Enrile said.

On the other hand, Puno, a former press secretary under the Estrada administration, said: "The MILF might capitalize on this purported confidence-building measure to regroup, rearm and rebuild so-called Muslim communities into a military facility.-- Paolo Romero, Efren Danao

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