By Manny Mogato

MANILA, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Talks to review a 1996 peace agreement between the Philippines and Muslim separatists have been stalled yet again, the second set of discussions this week to be postponed after fierce fighting between troops and rebels.

One of the leading members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) told Reuters on Friday that a meeting between the government and the rebel group next week in Jakarta had been put off until some unspecified date in November.

Parouk Hussin, head of the foreign relations panel of the MNLF, said he had been told the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), which had overseen the original agreement, was too busy.

"Now, we're no longer sure if that meeting would again take place or a review of the peace agreement would ever happen," said Hussin in an interview during a break from a game of golf.

Earlier this week, Manila postponed until next month talks with the country's largest Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), amid reports of disagreement within the government over how much territory to cede to the MILF.

More than 50 soldiers have been killed in fighting with members of the MILF, the MNLF and the Abu Sayyaf, a more radical group, in the past two months, hardening the position of government hawks.

The fighting has taken place on Basilan island, where the MILF has several camps, and on nearby Jolo, where the MNLF is heavily present.

Although the MILF and the MNLF are meant to be observing truces, in the Philippine south overlapping clan ties are more important than political allegiance. Members of both groups have fought alongside the Abu Sayyaf, a hardline group with links to the regional militant network, Jemaah Islamiah.

The government insists it is only fighting the Abu Sayyaf.

"It's becoming useless to talk to the Philippine government when Filipinos keep on killing each other," said Hussin, who served for nearly four years as governor of an autonomous region for Muslims in the south of the largely Catholic country.

"The violence on Jolo could have been prevented if Manila was only talking and listening to us. Our people are losing patience and getting frustrated because the government seemed no longer interested in carrying out its commitment under the peace pact."

Formed in March 1968, the MNLF fought to set up a separate and independent Islamic state before Libya brokered a truce in 1976 and convinced the rebels to accept an autonomy offer.

It took 20 years before they signed the peace deal but it has since floundered due to a lack of funds, poor implementation and opposition from hardliners.

The conflict between government troops and Muslim separatists has killed over 120,000 people and displaced around 2 million.

The OIC was attempting to salvage the pact, calling the MNLF and the government to a three-party meeting before any deal with MILF.

Hussin said he was worried military offensives against the Abu Sayyaf would affect MNLF communities in the south.

He said the MNLF was willing to cooperate with the military to hunt down the Abu Sayyaf, suggesting that the military go on surgical operations rather than an all-out offensive.

"We don't want war but we also have the right to defend our families, our people, our communities."

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