Sadako Ogata, head of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, is urging Muslim rebels to move peace talks forward to end the decades-old secessionist conflict in the southern Philippines, according to a rebel official.
Mohaqher Iqbal, chief negotiator of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, said Ogata, former U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, sounded worried about the talks that hit a snag early this month over territorial issues.
Ogata "expressed some concern, but in the end she sent her best wishes that the peace talks would push through," Iqbal, 58, said in a recent interview.
Iqbal said Ogata made no fresh "concrete commitment" when she met Monday with the MILF's central committee officials, including Chairman Al-Haj Murad Ibrahim, at a sprawling rebel camp in Sultan Kudarat on Mindanao.