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MANILA, Feb 6 (AFP): Philippine government and Muslim separatist negotiators were to meet Monday for the latest round of talks aimed at ending a three-decade long guerrilla war in the south, spokesmen on both sides said.
A spokesman for the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) said the talks would focus on "ancestral domain issues," which he said had been a key factor in delaying the completion of a peace accord in previous talks.
"After we will be able to hurdle this issue, we are going to the final peace agreement," spokesman Eid Kabalu told the news agency.
The two-day talks are being held at a so-far undisclosed location and time in Kuala Lumpur.
Philippine President Gloria Arroyo's chief peace negotiator Jesus Dureza is representing the government while the separatists are being represented by MILF vice-chairman Mohaqher Iqbal.
The 12,000-strong MILF has been waging a rebellion for a separatist state in the southern region of Mindanao since 1978. But it has signed a ceasefire pact with Manila and is negotiating a political settlement.
While Muslims claim the southern region of Mindanao as their ancestral home, much of it came under control of Christian settlers, sometimes leading to bloody disputes.
Earlier, Filipino officials said Manila was open to the idea of sharing with the Muslims earnings from land they have claimed as part of their ancestral domain.
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