MANILA, Philippines -- The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) welcomed calls by the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) for the resumption of peace talks with government but remained firm about not returning to the negotiating table unless the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain (MOA-AD) is signed.

News reports on Thursday said OIC executive secretary Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu warned that prolonged fighting in Mindanao could be exploited to stir up extremist sentiments and urged the government and MILF to resume negotiations.

But in a telephone interview, MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal called Ihsanoglu’s appeal a “welcome development because the MILF has been for the negotiated political settlement of the problem in Mindanao.”

However, Iqbal said the MILF will not resume talks unless the MOA-AD is signed and the government guarantees it will follow the agreed negotiation process and comply with all agreements.

The MOA-AD, which would have led to the creation of the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity, has been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Prior to this, the tribunal issued a temporary restraining order against the agreement’s scheduled signing in early August, prompting some MILF commanders to launch attacks in central Mindanao that in turn led to renewed hostilities that are continuing.

While he said the MILF has not disbanded its negotiating panel, this remains an option.

But Iqbal said they remain “pessimistic” that peace talks will resume.

“Pessimistic in the sense that the government of the Philippines has destroyed the procedure, the agenda [of the talks], so how can we go back to the negotiating table?” Iqbal said.

He also blamed the government’s change in its negotiation policy -- talking to community leaders of affected areas instead of negotiating with the MILF -- and the abolition of its negotiation panel for the failure of the peace talks.

“The government is more responsible for the collapse of the [peace] talks, they have to answer that…It is as if there was collusion between the executive, legislative, judiciary; they killed the peace process,” he said.

The botched signing of the MOA-AD in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on August 5 after the Supreme Court ruled it as unconstitutional also triggered renewed violence and military operations in Mindanao.