By Manny Mogato CAMP PALESTINE, Philippines, March 11 (Reuters) - The largest Muslim rebel group in the Philippines will not turn its back on a peace process with the government, its leader said on Tuesday, after a three-day meeting of thousands of its members. Al Haj Ebrahim Murad, head of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), said the group would abide by the peace process despite doubts raised by a number of field commanders on the government's sincerity. Murad, who led the meeting in the interior of the southern region of Mindanao, said delays in peace talks, particularly on a deal on the setting up of an ancestral homeland for 3 million Muslims in the south, was causing anxiety in the MILF. The government appeared distracted by allegations of corruption that have been levelled against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, he said. "What's happening in Manila is everybody's concern," Murad told reporters before he addressed a crowd of 10,000 armed rebels and civilian supporters at the Camp Palestine guerrilla base near Butig town. His speech, delivered in his native Maguindanaoan dialect, was interrupted several times by shouts of "Allahu Akbar" (God is great). "Although the MILF consider the political crisis in Manila as an internal problem of the government, we're equally concerned on the potential impact on the peace process. It could distract the government and further delay the talks." The peace talks, brokered by the Malaysian government, stalled in December 2007 when the MILF accused the government of changing a number of consensus points in a proposed agreement on Muslim homeland in the south of the mainly Catholic state. The rebels questioned the sincerity of the Manila government in resolving the nearly 40 years of conflict that has killed 120,000 people and displaced 2 million others. BEST APPROACH Analysts say further delays in the resumption of negotiations could increase the risks of fighting breaking out between hot-headed rebel field commanders and security forces, destroying more than four years of ceasefire. But Murad dismissed as propaganda reports in the media that his leadership was being challenged by younger rebel leaders who were getting impatient with delays in the talks. "The MILF is solid as ever," he said, adding the organisation has grown into 20 divisions of 7,000 to 10,000 fighters each with tens of thousands in Muslim communities forming its mass base. The government however says the MILF has only about 11,000 fighters. About 5,000 rebels, armed with heavy .50 caliber machineguns, mortars, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, assault rifles and rockets had gathered for the meeting in a cornfield at the foot of thickly-forested mountains in Lanao del Sur province. Some of the combatants were women dressed in black head-to-toe dresses and veils, blending with rebels in combat uniforms and hundreds of civilians. Hundreds of armed rebels lined the narrow unpaved mountain road leading to the rebel camp, also the birthplace of the MILF in 1978. The road was heavily decorated with green and gold flags and banners. Murad ended the meeting vowing to continue with the peace process. "It's the only pragmatic and the best way to resolve the conflict," he said. (Reporting by Manny Mogato; editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Sanjeev Miglani)
A Palestinian girl holds a picture of a relative jailed in Israel as she shouts slogans during a protest marking International Women's Day, in the West Bank city of Nablus March ...
