“The Swedish Embassy in manila personally confirmed the decision to him earlier this week,” Jaafar continued. “The Embassy did not specifically cite how many men they will send. But as far as we are concerned, this is a good sign. Their presence will also help in our quest for peace”.
No representative of Swedish Embassy in Manila was available to confirm the information with AKI.
This participation of Sweden is part of its support for the peace talks between the Filipino government and the Muslim rebel group, MILF.
In the case that Sweden finally participated, it would be the second non-Muslim country to join the IMT after Japan has decided to join earlier.
Manila and the rebel group have stated that the IMT’s presence has drastically reduced the cases of fighting between the two sides.The MILF has fought for a separate state in the predominantly Catholic Philippines for nearly 30 years.
In May this year, Sweden has sponsored a three-day round-table discussion on post conflict resolutions at the MILF Peace Panel office in Darapanan Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao.
