By IRNA,
Kuala Lumpur : Thousands of Muslims yesterday held rallies in key cities in the southern Philippines to urge President Gloria Arroyo to resume peace talks with Muslim rebels.
“This is a show of unity among Muslims who are for peace,” said Amirah Lidasan, of the human rights group Suara Bangsamoro, one of several organizations under the Mindanao Alliance for Peace, which organized the rallies.
Lidasan said the rallies were held in the cities of Marawi, Iligan, Cotabato, and General Santos and in the provinces of Basilan and North Cotabato.
She also criticized Zamboanga City Mayor Celso Lobregat for rejecting their application for a permit to hold a peace rally in the city.
Zamboanga City was a former Muslim province and part of the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo, but many of its original inhabitants were forced out by Christian settlers.
Lidasan said government troops also prevented about a thousand Muslims on board six trucks from going to General Santos City from North Cotabato.
The call for the resumption of talks came amid escalating clashes between troops and the MILF rebels. Earlier in the week, two people were killed and more than a thousand fled their homes in at least three clashes between soldiers and MILF.
Peace talks between the MILF and the government have been stalled since December 2007 over disagreements on the scope of territory to be included in a proposed Muslim homeland.