MANILA, Philippines?Administration Sen. Joker Arroyo Wednesday twitted President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for seeking the advice of European leaders to solve a ?Muslim-Christian conflict? in Mindanao.

?President GMA?s idea of asking former British Prime Minister Tony Blair for help in forging a settlement of the Muslim problem is injudicious as it is misguided, a frying-pan-into-the-fire approach,? Senator Arroyo said.

He said whoever gave the President ?that bum steer should be canned.?

The senator said the conflict in Mindanao was a ?geographical dispute? between Filipino Muslims and the predominantly Filipino Christians.

?The Mindanao conflict is not between Protestant and Catholics?both Christians as in Northern Ireland,? he said.

The President said she wanted to enlist former British Prime Minister Tony Blair?s help to negotiate the peace agreement with separatist Moro rebels in Mindanao, especially in the aspects of disarmament, demobilization and rehabilitation.

Blair, who helped broker talks with Northern Ireland, was willing to help, she said.

Ms Arroyo indicated that Sweden, which drew up the Stockholm Initiative on Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration, could also help.

Came as a surprise

Senator Arroyo indicated that the President?s statement came as a surprise because the government had forged agreements with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) that were brokered by Libya, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Besides, he wondered why Ms Arroyo had to seek the European leaders? advice when US Ambassador Kristie Kenney?s presence at the aborted signing of the memorandum of agreement (MOA) on ancestral domain in Malaysia had already stirred a furor.

?Already, the presence of US Ambassador Kenney in Kuala Lumpur to witness the signing of the aborted controversial MOA has raised eyebrows in light of the US-Philippines Visiting Forces Agreement, which has been dubbed as the Overstaying Forces Agreement because of the continuous stay of US Forces in ARMM border provinces,? he said. ARMM stands for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Lay down arms

The government is now demanding that its peace agreement with the MILF include a provision that will see the rebels laying down their arms because of the hard lessons it had learned from its 1996 peace pact with the MNLF.

Press Secretary Jesus Dureza Wednesday said that the peace pact with the MNLF had no provision for disarmament, demobilization and rehabilitation (DDR).

While many MNLF members had laid down their arms, there were still groups that continue to fight the government, he said.

?Why do we still have a problem in Sulu? Those are MNLF members who still have arms,? Dureza said in an interview over dzRH radio.

That was why he said the President sought to include DDR in the peace agreement to be forged this time between the government and the MILF.

?We will not allow that kind of situation to happen again,? Dureza said.

The government will resume the peace talks with the MILF only after the Supreme Court shall have decided on the agreement on the ancestral domain and only after the successful conclusion of the military campaign against certain MILF groups in Mindanao, according to Hermogenes Esperon, presidential adviser on the peace process.

?There are several factors that prevent us from resuming the talks. At least two factors. One is the Supreme Court, another is our desire to enforce the law. Once we have them both, then we can resume (talks),? Esperon told reporters at the end of a government briefing on the peace talks for the diplomatic corps at the Department of Foreign Affairs.

He said the MILF attacks on Lanao del Sur prompted the President to suspend the talks. MILF forces attacked several towns in Mindanao early this month after the Supreme Court stopped the signing of the MOA scheduled for the first week of August in Malaysia.

Peace monitors

Esperon announced that the government had asked Malaysia to keep its peace monitors in Mindanao after Aug. 31, when the mandate of the international team observing the peace process expires. He said he had asked 10 countries to join the team led by Malaysia.

During the briefing, National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales said the environment for the peace process had changed dramatically as a result of the Mindanao attacks. With a report from Christine O. Avendaño