MANILA, June 28 (Reuters) - Philippine President Benigno Aquino ordered on Tuesday security forces to investigate bomb attacks in the south of the country after an army general warned they could be a tactic to threaten peace talks with separatist Muslim guerrillas.
Two men were killed and 15 were wounded when a bomb went off in a restaurant on Saturday on Basilan island in the south while on Monday, a blast hit a state auditing office and explosives were seized on Mindanao island.
No one has claimed responsibility for the blasts, but Brigadier-General Restituto Aguilar, security adviser to government peace negotiators, said they were intended to disrupt talks with Muslim rebels being held in Malaysia.
"These attacks may affect peace negotiations," Aguilar said in a statement. "We are very concerned about these developments. There are many groups with different agendas who would like to see this peace process fail."
The government and the largest Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), have been negotiating for more than a decade to end a conflict that dates back to the 1960s and has killed 120,000 people and displaced 2 million in poor but resource-rich southern areas.
The two sides held an informal meeting in Kuala Lumpur on Monday but made no major progress.
Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said Aquino had directed the military and police to "bring to justice the culprits" behind the attacks.
"He wants to ensure the safety of the public as well as to know who the possible culprits are," Lacierda told reporters.
Mohaqher Iqbal, MILF chief peace negotiator, told Reuters by telephone the government peace panel has asked for more time to respond to a rebel proposal to set up a sub-state in the southern Philippines to end the rebellion.
Marvic Leonen, the government&${esc.hash}39;s chief negotiator called on the rebel group to "discipline its forces", and reiterated the government&${esc.hash}39;s sincerity in pursuing "just and lasting peace in Mindanao". (Reporting by Manny Mogato; Editing by John Mair and Robert Birsel)
We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of the Thomson Reuters Foundation. For more information see our Acceptable Use Policy.
comments powered by Disqus