31.   In June, the rebels accepted a government proposal for a rebel-led council that will lead to a new, broader autonomous government in the south.

32.   It calls for the creation of a civilian administration intended to prepare the groundwork for a future autonomous government.

33.   It has been outlawed in mainland China but remains legal in Hong Kong, where citizens enjoy considerably more freedom under a largely autonomous local government.

34.   It provides for the formation of a rebel-led Southern Philippines Peace and Development Council, which is to pave the way for an autonomous government.

35.   Misuari, backed by several Islamic states such as Libya and Indonesia, is seeking an autonomous government covering most of the southern Philippines, called Mindanao.

36.   MNLF chairman Nur Misuari was later elected governor of the autonomous Muslim regional government.

37.   Misuari is now governor of an autonomous Muslim government.

38.   No Ransom was paid for their release, said Abdulrahman Jamasali, interior undersecretary for the Muslim autonomous government in the southern Philippines.

39.   The accord provided for an autonomous government but not independence.

40.   The autonomous government will have the right to formulate economic and financial programs, taking into account national laws and policies, it says.