KUALA LUMPUR – The Philippine government and the nation’s main Islamic separatist group agreed on Thursday to push ahead with a faltering peace process after meeting for the first time in two years. The government hailed the meeting as a success, saying it yielded agreements on substantive issues and that the two sides agreed to “fast track the peace process” with another round of talks scheduled for the next month.
The meeting in Kuala Lumpur also covered concerns over the emergence of a breakaway rebel faction that authorities say could undermine efforts to end one of the world’s longest-running insurgencies. The two sides said in a joint statement that they “discussed issues related to” feared rebel commander Ameril Umbrakato’s split from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which was announced over the weekend.
