MILF-US State exec meeting before Clinton visit bared
DAVAO CITY, Philippines – (UPDATE) A Moro Islamic Liberation Front official met with a US State Department official six days before State Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton visited the Philippines, a rebel official said in a statement on Saturday.
Muhammad Ameen, chairman of the MILF’s secretariat, said the meeting between Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Scot Marciel – accompanied by US Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission Leslie Basset, Second Secretary Michael Pignatello and another US official – and Mohagher Iqbal, the MILF’s chief negotiator, took place in Makati City on November 6.
Clinton arrived in the country on November 12 and met with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo the following day, during which she told the President that the US government was willing to help facilitate talks between the government and the MILF.