COTABATO CITY – Two more international non-government organizations (INGOs) based in the United Kingdom and Indonesia have accepted membership in the International Contact Group (ICG), which was created on September 15 by the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to help move the Mindanao peace process forward.

Mohagher Iqbal, peace panel chairman of the MILF, identified the INGOs as the Conciliation Resources (CR) based in London, England, United Kingdom (UK), and the Muhammadiyah, with headquarters in Jogjakarta, Indonesia.

Iqbal said the GRP and MILF have already invited UK, Japan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia to join the ICG as state members

"We see good prospects that UK, Japan and Turkey would accept the invitation. Saudi Arabia has not yet made any response,” the MILF leader said.

As this developed, Eid Kabalu, MILF chief of Civil-Military Affairs Department, said the truce in Central Mindanao between the Moro rebels and the government has been holding well with no clashes reported in the last few weeks.

“This is a manifestation of sincerity on both sides. I hope this will be further internalized and result in the strengthening of the measures to prevent clashes,” said Kabalu.

The MILF military spokesman said this is a welcome respite for the people in Central Mindanao.

With CR and Muhammadiyah in, this brings to four the number of INGOs that accepted the joint GRP, MILF invitation to join the ICG.

Earlier, the MILF’s Web site – www.luwaran.net – said the United States-based The Asia Foundation (TAF) and the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue with main offices in Geneva, Switzerland, have joined the ICG.

Iqbal and Ambassador Rafael Seguis, chairman of GRP’s peace panel, signed a framework agreement in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on September 15 creating the ICG.

ICG’s membership “will consist of interested parties” from the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) and the European Union and accredited INGOs.

Set up in 1994 by Andy Carl and David Lord, anchored on the belief that people in conflict-affected areas should take part in resolving their own conflicts, CR is registered as a charity group in the UK.

Muhammadiyah, on the other hand, is the second largest Islamic INGO in Indonesia, with an estimated 30 million members. It was formed in 1912 by Ahmad Dahlan, a graduate of Islamic education in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.