PH-MILF talks to press ahead despite bloody Sabah standoff

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front will resume peace talks next week in Malaysia, even as followers of the Sulu sultanate are embroiled in conflict with Malaysian security forces there.

“As far as we are concerned, it will resume as scheduled by third week of March,” MILF spokesperson Mohagher Iqbal told reporters Wednesday.

The discussions would include “power sharing, wealth sharing and normalization.”

The spokesman also said that peace talks will not be affected by Sabah conflict, saying it was “another issue.”

He declined to comment further on the Sabah crisis, as it was a “complicated” matter.

He said the bloody Sabah standoff has no effect on the peace talks, adding that it was a “separate” issue.

“Anyway the two governments, the Malaysian government and the Philippine government are trying to resolve the issue as soon as possible, bakit i-complicate natin ang issue (why we should complicate the issue),” he said.