COTABATO, Philippines, 31 May 2005 — Muslim separatist rebels in the southern Philippines opened their main training camp yesterday to foreign diplomats and vowed to hunt down militants on a government wanted-list as a sign of goodwill ahead of peace talks with Manila.

Tens of thousands of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) guerrillas and their supporters gathered around an elaborately decorated stage shouting “Allah is Great” and raised their fists in a show of force.

MILF chief Ebrahim Murad welcomed diplomats from Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) countries, World Bank officials and Philippine government representatives as they were escorted along a muddy trail into Camp Darapanan on the outskirts of Cotabato City on the island of Mindanao.

A sea of colorful tents and umbrellas shielded Muslim men and women in colourful traditional attire as they squatted to listen to Murad speak.

“Today is the day we can tell the Bangsamoro (Muslim) people and all peace loving people or our homeland that just, honorable and lasting peace is partly at hand,” Murad told the gathering, the biggest public showing of the rebel group since government forces routed their main base in 2000.

He said it was possible to “solve seemingly irreconcilable issues as long as negotiating parties approach the table with an open mind and sincerity”.

While MILF fighters were prepared to die for their cause, Murad said his group was “very much opposed to any form of terrorism” which he said was “incompatible” with the group’s struggle to bring economic and political development to the poor areas of Mindanao.

Murad’s statement came after MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu said the MILF had agreed to hunt down 53 militants as part of an agreement in 2002 to interdict or arrest terrorist elements in their areas.

“We have a list of criminal elements the government has submitted to us to be apprehended,” he told reporters late Sunday.

MILF officials were now “validating” the list, which includes the names of renegade Muslim rebels with possible links to Jemaah Islamiya (JI) as well as Khadaffy Janjalani, leader of the Abu Sayyaf.

The Abu Sayyaf is a small group of self-styled militants blamed for the Philippines’ worst terrorist bombings and a spate of kidnappings, while the JI is said to be linked to Al-Qaeda.

The JI has also been blamed for the deadly October 2002 bombings in Bali that killed more than 200 people.

Intelligence reports that foreign JI members are undergoing bomb making training in MILF camps have persistently hampered the negotiations.

The MILF has denied the reports, but security analysts say JI elements appear to be increasingly infiltrating Islamic liberation movements, including the MILF and the Abu Sayyaf.

The Abu Sayyaf, which is on the US State Department’s list of foreign terrorist organizations, has been on the run from a large-scale military operation in its island stronghold of Jolo.

Its numbers have dwindled to a few hundred from a high of more than 1,000 in 2000, but Janjalani and his key lieutenants are believed to have eluded military troops and to now be hiding out in MILF-controlled parts of Mindanao.

Asked whether the MILF would arrest any of its own commanders if they were found to be shielding those on the wanted list, Kabalu said: “Yes, of course. That is the mandate of the AJAG (Ad Hoc Joint Action Group).” After the list is verified, Kabalu said, MILF units would either operate on their own to arrest those named on it or team up with government forces.

“We have the option to operate unilaterally and then turn them over to the military,” Kabalu said.