the rise of more radical elements within the country's largest Muslim rebel group after Malaysia pulls out peace monitors later this year, Manila's chief negotiator with the group said on Tuesday. Rodolfo Garcia, a retired general, said there could also be a breakdown in the nearly five-year-old ceasefire between government forces and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) as the withdrawal of peace monitors would affect negotiations. “There's no guarantee of continued stability on the ground in the south if the Malaysians pack up their bags and go home,” Garcia told Reuters in an interview, adding radical groups within the MILF have been itching to resume hostilities. Malaysian Foreign Minister Rais Yatim said on Monday that Malaysia's mandate for the International Monitoring Team will not be extended when it expires in September. “The thing is, we have to get cooperation from both sides,” the official Bernama news agency quoted him as saying. “But if one party is not making the effort, we will have to end the mission.” That comment appeared to be directed at Manila, which has been accused of dragging its feet on reaching a peace deal with the rebels. While he conceded progress in the talks was slow, Garcia defended the Philippine government's cautious efforts in ensuring a peace deal that could be implemented smoothly. “I think it is the government's duty to conduct due diligence on what the two sides would eventually agree because there are so many legal and constitutional issues involved,” he said. __
