Murad, in an interview at a farm here Saturday night, also acknowledged the United States’ "indirect" involvement in the peace process, the government's "aggressiveness" in pushing for a settlement and active involvement of civil society groups in keeping tabs of the ceasefire, as factors in the "considerable reduction" of the armed conflicts since last year and in increasing the momentum in finding solutions to the Mindanao problem.

Murad, clad in dark leather shoes, mocha pants and short sleeves polo, and a traditional Maguindanao kupiya headdress, said the MILF views the establishment of IMT posts in key areas in Mindanao as "something deterrent" to the recurrence of armed conflicts that have been a significant factor in the lack of consistency of the progress of the government-MILF peace talks.

Murad said that since the ceasefire accord was reached in 1997, fighting have continued that subsequently dragged the talks and ruined whatever was achieved in years of repeated confidence building efforts both by the government and the MILF.

"There is no consistency in the progress of the talks because what is happening is that we achieve this, the moment there is a war, then we go back again … to zero," Murad said in an interview at a bamboo-walled hall in farmland here where he also talked with journalists from foreign news agencies and an international newspaper one after the other.

But Murad noted that since the visit by the Malaysian advance survey party of the IMT in conflict areas last March, except for a few skirmishes, there have been no major armed encounters between military and rebel forces.

"That is why we are pinning hopes on the IMT. We observed that they can be an effective tool in holding the ceasefire," Murad said.

The IMT delegations, which arrived in Manila Saturday, will set up headquarters in the cities of Davao, Iligan, General Santos, Zamboanga and Cotabato.

Murad also said that the US’s the participation is indirect and is coursed through the Malaysian government. Both the government and the MILF panels have recognized Malaysia as the mediator of the talks.

Murad believes that the US has kept itself involved in the political settlement in Mindanao because of its interest in winning its war against terrorism. He thinks that the US government "is afraid" that without a solution to the Mindanao problem, the situation could be exploited by terrorist groups, noting that no one really holds effective control in areas really affected by the armed conflict.

"No one can claim control over the (armed conflict) areas. There is always the possibility for the terrorist groups to capitalize on these problems," Murad said. US embassy officials, however, have brought the MILF to task in disproving its links to terrorism as indicated in Philippine military intelligence findings.

Murad denied any MILF links to terrorist groups and that they condemn such aggrupation and strategy. He, however, said that in their own investigations, they did confirmed that some foreigners which have visited them before the fall of its main base in Camp Abubakar turned out to have links with terror networks.

But he also said that Camp Abubakar was a kind of a showcase of the kind of the governmental structure they wanted to establish and that there have been several visitors to the area, including representatives and ranking officials of the government as well as officers of foreign embassies. He noted that there were even government projects within the area they designated as Camp Abubakar.

Murad is not discounting economic interest in Mindanao as a motivation in the keeping the United States’ itself involved in the peace process but "that can be the long-term interest."

Murad also offered a positive view on the government's attitude on the peace process. He said the economic and political crisis confronting the country also kept the government interested in resolving the armed conflicts.

He said the solutions to the decades old armed conflict could even be a "factor" for the government in regaining its status amid the worsening economic and political crisis.

"I think the aggressiveness, the desire to have a solution … is now stronger on the government side," Murad said. .

Murad also took note of the contributions of civil society groups in initiating grassroots-based peace activities and in keeping a tight watch on the development of the ceasefire.