Philippines says attacks won't derail peace talks

The Philippines on Wednesday accused a renegade militant group of staging attacks in its troubled south in a bid to derail peace talks with Muslim rebels, but insisted the attempt would fail.

The accusation came as the Philippine government opened its latest round of negotiations with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in the Malaysian capital -- talks aimed at ending a decades-old insurgency.

The run-up to the meeting has seen attacks by the breakaway Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in Maguindanao province that have left at least seven people dead, the Philippine army has said.

The chief Philippine envoy to the Kuala Lumpur talks, Marvic Leonen, said in a statement the ongoing violence was "suspiciously timed" to coincide with the long-running negotiations, noting "passion is high" for an agreement this year.

"These incidents serve no other purpose than to strengthen our resolve to find a credible, workable and just political settlement with the MILF," Leonen said.

He added: "Our negotiations are proceeding with undeniable momentum."

"We will certainly not pause because of unreasonable violent acts from those who cannot see that the just way to resolve our conflict is through patient and candid dialogue."

The two sides also released a separate statement in which MILF envoy Mohagher Iqbal denounced the violence as "dirty spoiling".

The BIFF splintered off from the 12,000-strong MILF after the latter dropped its bid for full independence in favour of negotiations for an autonomous region.

Manila has said it hopes to sign a peace deal with the MILF by the end of the year, but has asked the MILF leadership to help contain the BIFF.

The Muslim insurgency on the island of Mindanao began in the early 1970s and the fighting has killed some 150,000 people, miring large parts of the south in deep poverty.

Peace talks have been going on for about a decade, but have been frequently bogged down by deadly clashes with both sides accusing each other of violating a ceasefire.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/philippines-says-attacks-wont-derail-peace-talks-160712530.html

the game new hampshire primary hue jackson alabama football coachella 2012 line up lsu crimson tide