By Maulana "Bobby" Alonto
After it has jettisoned the previously initialed MILF-GRP Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) ostensibly in deference to the Supreme Court decision on its ‘unconstitutionality’ coupled with the national uproar generated by political and economic vested-interest groups opposed to a just political settlement of the Mindanao conflict, the Government of the Republic of the Philippines GRP) is now resorting to an anti-insurgency-driven policy.
One important component of this anti-insurgency-driven policy is cleverly mantled in the cloak of ‘Interfaith Dialogue’ to provide it an aura of ‘sanctity’. This would camouflage the real agenda that really animates the policy that the Arroyo regime is currently implementing to ‘resolve’ the Mindanao conflict.
For those who are not updated on recent developments vis-à-vis the Mindanao situation, the GRP has now shifted to a four-pronged program to deal with the Bangsamoro Problem: DDR (demobilization, disarmament and reintegration), ‘direct dialogue with communities’, interfaith dialogue, and militarization. DDR is particularly addressed to the MILF and given as a condition by the GRP for the resumption of the peace talks which the latter has unilaterally scuttled after abandoning the MOA-AD and disbanding its peace panel.
The GRP, nonetheless, openly admits to only three – DDR, ‘direct dialogue with communities’ (whatever this means) and interfaith dialogue. It is silent or evasive on militarization because this does not sit well with the international community which opposes military solutions to sovereignty-based conflicts such as the one that exists in the Bangsamoro Homeland. However, even if the GRP will not admit to the military component of its anti-insurgency-driven policy in Mindanao, the devastation that is resulting from the military operations (called police actions by the regime) being conducted by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) against the MILF and the Bangsamoro people clearly speaks for itself; what the regime denies in words cannot be denied by deeds. The 500,000 plus refugees (and still counting) in the current fighting, the appalling damage to property, the loss of civilian lives including those of helpless women and children, and the surge of AFP presence in Moro territories are a testament to the Filipino government’s putting primacy on military solution as a means to end the Bangsamoro Problem.
For the purpose of this article, however, we will focus on interfaith dialogue.
The Arroyo regime’s interfaith dialogue program in Mindanao has one significant implication. The regime is making it appear that the conflict in Mindanao is a religious conflict: a conflict between Muslims and Christians. Hence, following this premise, interfaith dialogue is resorted to in order for Muslims and Christians to understand each other’s faith and then live happily ever after. This is according to the thinking of the regime which it hopes the international community will buy.
The Moros, who are predominantly Muslim, have nothing against interfaith dialogue. As a matter of fact, all Muslims welcome dialogues with people of other faiths because this is a commandment by Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala in the Qur’an. The essence of tableegh (literally spreading good words) and da’awah (propagation) is dialogue, for without dialogue it is not possible for Muslims to engage in tableegh and da’awah with people of other faiths. History will attest to the fact that Muslims spread the Message of Islam in many parts of the world through tableegh and da’awah – meaning through dialogue – and it is only when suppression, repression, oppression, aggression and tyranny became dominant that Muslims resorted to jihaad al qaatil or the jihaad with the sword (armed struggle).
To comprehend this better - and we have explained this in our previous discourses on the same subject - it is important to note that Islam is not a mere religion as how the West views and understands religion. Islam is a deen, an all-embracing system of life based on tawhid (Islamic concept of monotheism). For want of an appropriate term in English, Islam is an ideology. And it is from this high plane of understanding and perspective that lslam should be viewed.
As an ideology, Islam harbors no enmity for other religions or people of other faiths. This is why Muslims, as demonstrated in the past, have always been tolerant of other faiths and their adherents. When the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) established the Islamic State in Madina 1500 years ago, the Jews and the Christians were among its constituency. The Constitution of Madina included them and regarded them as protected citizens (dhimmis) enjoying the same political, economic, social and religious rights as the majority Muslims. They even enjoyed certain privileges not enjoyed by Muslims like exemption from being conscripted into the Islamic army. Justice for all its citizens was (and is) the hallmark of the Islamic State regardless of religious beliefs that during the rule of Hazrat Ali ibn Abu Talib (ra), the Fourth Khalifa-e-Rashidun, an ordinary Jewish citizen of the Islamic State won a case in the Islamic court of law against Khalifa Ali (ra) himself, the head of the Islamic State, and was promptly given what was due him by the Islamic government.
Would this be possible today under the justice system of the Philippine nation-state? If powerful congressmen and senators fail to even bring President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her husband and their cronies in government to court in order to account for the reported shenanigans they have committed while in power, how much more for a poor and powerless Moro Muslim peasant whose family has been massacred and whose home has been destroyed by the war policy of this regime? Indeed, the Philippine Supreme Court could not even give justice to the Bangsamoro people; so how can it be an institution of justice to which the oppressed - Moro or Filipino - can turn? Let the facts speak for themselves.
Going back to the subject of this article, there was no forced conversion under Islamic rule because the Qur’an forbids compulsion in belief (Qur’an: Surah Baqarah, Ayat 256). It was only when the Jews conspired with the enemies of Islam who were in a state of war with the Muslims that they (the recalcitrant Jews) were expelled from Madina because they had become a clear and present danger then to the security of the Islamic State.
This just treatment of Islam for people of different creeds and races was observed down through the centuries especially when Muslims were on the upper hand. After the liberation of Al Quds (Jerusalem) from the European imperialist crusaders in October 1187 by the Islamic armies under Salahudin Yusuf ibn Ayyub (Saladin), the latter restored to the Christians their churches and the Jews their synagogues after having repaired or rebuilt them as they were destroyed during the war. Such magnanimity was hitherto unheard of in Christian Europe where religious non-conformists were burned at the stake as heretics. Lest it be forgotten, too, the Muslim Moro civilization of Andalus in Spain (711-1492) was renowned throughout the known world during the Dark Ages not only for of its scientific, scholarly, literary and artistic achievements and incomparable modern cities not found elsewhere in Europe at that period but also because Muslim Spain became a haven for people of different races, faiths and political views – Christians, Jews and even agnostics – who were fleeing persecution and oppression by the intolerant Church and the European feudal states at that time.
The point is that Islam as an ideology has no quarrel with other religions. Admittedly, differences do exist between Islam and other religious beliefs. In the Qur’an, Islam is critical of both Christianity and Judaism because of their deviations from the original monotheistic message of the earlier Prophets of Allah, notably Musa (Moses) and Isa (Jesus), peace be upon them. This criticism, however, is not to arouse religious enmity but to remind Christians, Jews and Muslims alike of the pristine concept of tawhid, the monotheistic belief-system which was taught and propagated by all the Prophets of Allah, peace be upon them, and which is the well-spring of justice – justice that should govern man-Allah and man-man relationships in accordance with the prescription of Allah. Comparatively, the Qur’an has harsher judgment and verdict for the munafiqeen - the hypocrites – who are fasiqun (wrong-doers, i.e. oppressors and tyrants) who claim to be Muslims in words but disbelievers in their hearts.
This being the case, the variance between Islam and other religions has never been a cause for armed conflict or for declaring war by Muslims. So called communal wars between Muslims and Hindus did occur in India before and after partition but these were fueled by deep-seated prejudices arising out of the peculiarly oppressive social make-up of undivided India at that time which existed in the form of the caste system. For example, many of the Muslims were former ‘untouchables’, or Harijans, the lowest rung in India’s social ladder, who embraced Islam to liberate themselves from a lifetime of oppression by the higher castes which did not consider the ‘untouchables’ human nor even part of the caste system. The ‘untouchables’ were non-entities and thus ‘outcasts’. But even after becoming Muslims, the Hindus still consider them ‘outcasts’ and worse, by converting to Islam, were deemed ‘traitors’ to Mother India.
Another factor is the resentment the Hindus long held for the Moguls, the Muslims who ruled for more than 300 years and united India in 1526-1858. Though the Moguls never forced their Hindu subjects to convert to Islam and tolerated in fact the polytheism of Hinduism though polytheism (shirk) is anathema to Islam, the Hindus harbored animosity toward the Moguls - and all Muslims for that matter - because they held the belief that the egalitarian message of Islam was a threat to the caste system perpetuated by Hinduism and thus the established traditional social order in India. British colonialism later on exploited this deep-seated resentment among the Hindus in order to divide and rule India. By pitting the Muslims and the Hindus against each other during the British raj (rule), the British were able to maintain their colonial rule over the Indian sub-continent. This antagonism did not end even after the Indian Sub-Continent was partitioned into India and Pakistan in 1947. Inside India itself, the Muslims who chose to remain there as minority are being subjected to persecution and oppression by the chauvinistic Hindu ruling classes which have since been in control of the Indian government after independence. It is not Islam, therefore, that caused the religious strife that today still hounds India’s national religious communities.
What is true, however, is that Islam is in conflict with other man-made ideologies that perpetuate oppression and other manifestations of injustice. Thus, Islam has always been at war with all forms of colonialism and imperialism. It has been at war ever since it arose in the Arabian Peninsula against the mighty hegemonic empires of the world and their modern-day client dictatorships regardless of whether they are monarchies or military juntas. It does not make any distinction between Muslims, Christians, Jews or Hindus who defend and serve the interests of colonialism, neo-colonialism and imperialism or who practice tyranny. In occupied Palestine, for instance, the Muslim Palestinians are not at war with Judaism. They are at war with Zionism, a political movement that propagates the racist idea that Palestine, which Zionists call ‘Israel’, should exclusively belong to the Jews. From the point of view of Islam, all those who practice oppression are enemies because they brazenly violate the Justice of Allah. This should explain, too, why revolutionary ideological Islamic movements in many Muslim nation-states today stand in opposition to puppet governments run by Muslim elites who genuflect to the hegemonic world powers.
Having stressed that point, let me now say that by employing interfaith dialogue to end the armed conflict in Mindanao, what the Arroyo regime is actually doing is to divest the Bangsamoro Problem of its political character and present it as a religious conflict between two ‘domestic religious communities’ of the Philippine nation-state. This is far from the truth for it ignores the historical antecedents that gave rise to the present conflict in Mindanao.
The Bangsamoro Problem is a political problem. It is a conflict that involves two distinct nations: the Filipino nation and the Bangsamoro nation.
As the successors-in-interest to foreign colonialism, the Filipinos believe that the Bangsamoro homeland is part and parcel of the Philippine nation-state. This belief is akin to what the French held onto vis-à-vis Algeria when the latter was a colony of France. The French, particularly those French colonists (colons) who settled in Algeria, fanatically clung to the illusion that Algeria (North Africa) was part of France (Europe) and therefore a legitimate territory of the latter. The same mindset today prevails in the Philippines, particularly among the Filipino elite, the so-called Filipino nationalists, and Filipino settlers or their present-day descendants who chose to ignore or are ignorant of the history of the conflict in Mindanao.
On the other hand, the Bangsamoro people, who had been an independent nation under the Moro sultanates even before the creation of the Philippine nation-state in 1935 and 1946, have been invariably asserting their historic rights over their homeland and their identity as a separate people and nation. They question their unjust incorporation into the Philippine nation-state in 1946 without their democratic consent. They question the diminution of their ancestral lands and the loss of their natural resources to encroaching Filipino settlers.
They question the loss of their right to govern what is left of their ancestral homeland and live a way of life in accordance with their Islamic ideology, faith and culture. They question the gerrymandering of their traditional territories at the expense of the indigenous inhabitants. They question the right of the Filipinos to impose upon them the Filipino identity derived and manufactured from the name of the Spanish king responsible for waging more than 300 years of debilitating colonialist wars against them. They question the right of the Filipinos to impose inept, corrupt and tyrannical local rulers on them. They question the laws which are made in Manila and then imposed upon them which contravene the values of justice and morality inculcated on them by their Islamic ideology and faith. They question the modern-day wars which have been unleashed on them from time to time at the horrendous cost of tens of thousands of Moro lives lost, massive displacement and devastation of communities, and loss of livelihood and property which have aggravated their poverty and marginalization under Filipino rule.
To sum it up, the Moros question the morality and thus the legitimacy of their oppressive colonial status in the Philippine nation-state. And it is this question left unanswered and unresolved that has driven the armed resistance struggle of the Bangsamoro people since the Philippine nation-state saw the light of day.
From what has been said so far, the real picture should now come into focus for everyone to understand. To simply state it, the Mindanao conflict boils down to the collision between two principles: the Philippine nation-state’s principle of national sovereignty and territorial integrity on one hand, and the principle of Bangsamoro right of self-determination on the other.
It is these two principles on a collision course that animate the conflict and which are at the core of the Bangsamoro Problem, and not the religious differences between the Muslims and the Christians. It is a political problem that necessitates a political solution.
Interfaith dialogue between Muslims and Christians, thus, may be good and useful and should certainly be continued between Muslims and Christian to fortify their understanding of each other’s faith. But to make it among the major policy thrusts of the GRP to solve what is clearly a political problem is a diversion and deviation from resolving the real political issue confronting us, which is the Bangsamoro Problem.
In this context, the primordial concern today should not be a dialogue between ‘domestic religious communities’ but a dialogue between two colliding nations: the Philippines and the Bangsamoro. This dialogue, as a matter of necessity, must come up with a just political settlement of the Bangsamoro Problem.
Unfortunately, however, the MOA-AD, which is a product of an eleven-year dialogue between the two nations and a compromise solution to the colliding principles adhered to by the parties to the conflict, has been thrown to the wastebasket by the GRP. The MOA-AD would have been a good start to end the conflict in Mindanao once and for all.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Commentary: INCREASING MYSTERIOUS MASSACRES OF INNOCENT CIVILIANS
By Mike G. Kulat
The massacre that happened in Sitio Udsodan in Barangay Mudseng, Midsayap, North Cotabato on November 12, 2008 brings the total number into three attacks on innocent civilians aside from the victims of the ongoing military operation in different parts of Mindanao. It should be recalled that in early November a massacre in Magsayasay, Lanoa Del Norte happened that followed by another ambush in Pikit, Cotabato area.
In an interview conducted by the members of the Bangsamoro Center for Just Peace, a network organization of the Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society with the lone survivor, Noraisa Dimalulon, it was learned that they were on board a manually operated banca (boat) at around last November 12 at 10:00 a. m. towards their rice field. When they were nearing their farm, suddenly undetermined number of armed men wearing black masks opened fire at them using high caliber firearms. It was found out later that the culprits used M-14 and other high powered firearms as shown by the empty shells left in the crime scene.
Killed in the incident were Adtega Dimalulon 40, Ali Kansa 35 and Tungan Dimalulon 5. The bodies of the victims were only recovered the following day as their relatives were restricted by the military to go to the area pending their ascertaining the identity of the victims and assurance that they are not members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
Noraisa narrated that at the first burst of the gunfire, she jumped out of the boat and swam away until she found a floating wooden block where she hid her head and that prevented her from being hit by bullets. After the firing ended she swam to farther to the bank and ran towards far-flung Barangay Nabalawag and finally found her way home at around 11:00 a. m. She revealed farther that her hand bag containing her mobile phone, earrings, cash and other valuables left in the boat were taken by the armed men.
These series of mysterious killings of civilians in the different parts of Mindanao were not given proper course by the duly constituted authorities or any legal actions to give justice to the victims. The incidences are also taking place at a time when there is much talk about the resurgence of the “ILAGA” movements in different parts of Mindanao. The movements are obviously, deliberately or not, being backed by the government through distribution of firearms to civilians that is spearheaded by Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Ronaldo Puno.
The massacre that happened in Sitio Udsodan in Barangay Mudseng, Midsayap, North Cotabato on November 12, 2008 brings the total number into three attacks on innocent civilians aside from the victims of the ongoing military operation in different parts of Mindanao. It should be recalled that in early November a massacre in Magsayasay, Lanoa Del Norte happened that followed by another ambush in Pikit, Cotabato area.
In an interview conducted by the members of the Bangsamoro Center for Just Peace, a network organization of the Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society with the lone survivor, Noraisa Dimalulon, it was learned that they were on board a manually operated banca (boat) at around last November 12 at 10:00 a. m. towards their rice field. When they were nearing their farm, suddenly undetermined number of armed men wearing black masks opened fire at them using high caliber firearms. It was found out later that the culprits used M-14 and other high powered firearms as shown by the empty shells left in the crime scene.
Killed in the incident were Adtega Dimalulon 40, Ali Kansa 35 and Tungan Dimalulon 5. The bodies of the victims were only recovered the following day as their relatives were restricted by the military to go to the area pending their ascertaining the identity of the victims and assurance that they are not members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
Noraisa narrated that at the first burst of the gunfire, she jumped out of the boat and swam away until she found a floating wooden block where she hid her head and that prevented her from being hit by bullets. After the firing ended she swam to farther to the bank and ran towards far-flung Barangay Nabalawag and finally found her way home at around 11:00 a. m. She revealed farther that her hand bag containing her mobile phone, earrings, cash and other valuables left in the boat were taken by the armed men.
These series of mysterious killings of civilians in the different parts of Mindanao were not given proper course by the duly constituted authorities or any legal actions to give justice to the victims. The incidences are also taking place at a time when there is much talk about the resurgence of the “ILAGA” movements in different parts of Mindanao. The movements are obviously, deliberately or not, being backed by the government through distribution of firearms to civilians that is spearheaded by Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Ronaldo Puno.
Friday, November 28, 2008
News: Civilians continue to suffer from AFP air strikes
By Mike G. Kulat
Four more civilians, all women were victims of indiscriminate air strikes from the Armed Forces of the Philippines' OV-10 bombers in Maguindanao areas.
In an interview conducted by members of the Tiyakap Kalilintad of the Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society with the victims, it was learned that Hadja Sapia Samad together with seven other members of the family were inside their house in Barangay Liyab, Mamasapano in Maguindanao Province when two OV-10 bombers started to dropped bombs in their community. The first bomb dropped a few meters away from their house but did not explode at around 2:40 PM on November 18, 2008.
The immediate reaction of the family was to vacate their house fearing that the next bomb to be dropped will already hit their house. So the whole family members ran and hide under the coconut trees thinking they will be safe. The bomber planes were able to drop and explode around eight bombs in the area and to their surprise, the next bomb exploded a couple of meters away from where they were hiding. The bombing was followed by long burst of machine gun fires from same war planes.
As a result, Hadja Sapia Samad; Fatima Kamensa, 12 year old; Hadja Zahra Zangkala, 43 year old; Sarah Samad, 23 years old and 5-month pregnant all sustained wounds in different parts of their bodies from a bomb splinters. They were immediately brought to a Rural Clinic in Poblacion Datu Piang, Maguindanao for medication. The bombing also resulted to the evacuation of all the residents of Barangay Liyab that added to the continuously increasing number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in different parts of the province.
On August 19, 2008 at between 7:00 AM to 9:00 AM, a group of men believed to be military men as manifested by their military uniforms arrived in the Rural Clinic and tried to convince the victims to be transferred and treated at Camp Siongco Military Hospital in Awang, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Shariff Kabunsuan.
The victims highly doubted on the intention to transfer them into a military hospital and so they refused the offer. On this, accordingly the military instead instructed the victims that when they are asked about their plight they should deny that they were hit by bombs instead claim to be victims of crossfire.
Tiyakap Kalilintad members who conducted the interviews also asked several residents if there were encounters occurred in the area on that date or the previous days but they denied any otherwise they could have vacated the area.
Four more civilians, all women were victims of indiscriminate air strikes from the Armed Forces of the Philippines' OV-10 bombers in Maguindanao areas.
In an interview conducted by members of the Tiyakap Kalilintad of the Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society with the victims, it was learned that Hadja Sapia Samad together with seven other members of the family were inside their house in Barangay Liyab, Mamasapano in Maguindanao Province when two OV-10 bombers started to dropped bombs in their community. The first bomb dropped a few meters away from their house but did not explode at around 2:40 PM on November 18, 2008.
The immediate reaction of the family was to vacate their house fearing that the next bomb to be dropped will already hit their house. So the whole family members ran and hide under the coconut trees thinking they will be safe. The bomber planes were able to drop and explode around eight bombs in the area and to their surprise, the next bomb exploded a couple of meters away from where they were hiding. The bombing was followed by long burst of machine gun fires from same war planes.
As a result, Hadja Sapia Samad; Fatima Kamensa, 12 year old; Hadja Zahra Zangkala, 43 year old; Sarah Samad, 23 years old and 5-month pregnant all sustained wounds in different parts of their bodies from a bomb splinters. They were immediately brought to a Rural Clinic in Poblacion Datu Piang, Maguindanao for medication. The bombing also resulted to the evacuation of all the residents of Barangay Liyab that added to the continuously increasing number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in different parts of the province.
On August 19, 2008 at between 7:00 AM to 9:00 AM, a group of men believed to be military men as manifested by their military uniforms arrived in the Rural Clinic and tried to convince the victims to be transferred and treated at Camp Siongco Military Hospital in Awang, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Shariff Kabunsuan.
The victims highly doubted on the intention to transfer them into a military hospital and so they refused the offer. On this, accordingly the military instead instructed the victims that when they are asked about their plight they should deny that they were hit by bombs instead claim to be victims of crossfire.
Tiyakap Kalilintad members who conducted the interviews also asked several residents if there were encounters occurred in the area on that date or the previous days but they denied any otherwise they could have vacated the area.
Monday, November 17, 2008
News: Villar out, Enrile in, as Philippine Senate President
By Taher G. Solaiman
Senator Manuel Villar has resigned today from his post as President of the Philippine Senate.
Villar said he resigned from his post when learned that he no longer had the support of majority of his fellow senators.
Senator Juan Ponce Enrile replaced Villar as Senate President.
Villar lost the confidence of his fellow senators after he was implicated in the controversial C-5 road extension in Manila.
Senator Manuel Villar has resigned today from his post as President of the Philippine Senate.
Villar said he resigned from his post when learned that he no longer had the support of majority of his fellow senators.
Senator Juan Ponce Enrile replaced Villar as Senate President.
Villar lost the confidence of his fellow senators after he was implicated in the controversial C-5 road extension in Manila.
Reaction to "Thank you, Supreme Court of the Philippines"
We posted here last November 12 the article, Thank you, Supreme Court of the Philippines by Atty. Fatimah Bin Guerra. The same article was also posted in the www.luwaran.com last November 11.
Rahib L. Kudto, the national president of the United Youth for Peace and Development, Inc. (UNYPAD) and deputy secretary-general of the Mindanao People’s Caucus (MPC), sent us his reaction on the said article of Atty. Guerra. Here is Kudto’s reaction:
November 17, 2008
Dear Atty. Fatimah,
Assalamu Alaikum!
When I read your column in the Luwaran website, I could not pass this chance of personally thanking you for such a noble act on your part. I have so many reasons to thank you.
Thank you, Atty. Fatimah Bin Guerra, for the invincible spirit that you showed in speaking out your convictions. Your article shared a source of hope among us, Bangsamoro people, to continue our odyssey to find an enduring peace in our homeland. I can’t help but express my overwhelming admiration to how you waged this extraordinary fight through your writing. You effectively articulated our frustration over the government’s handling of the peace process. You powerfully stressed that the Mindanao conflict is not a business of the constitution but a political problem which requires a viable political settlement. You are worthy of our recognition since despite being a lawyer, you did not uphold the injustices of the Constitution and of the Philippine system but the more important cause of the marginalized and of the oppressed.
Cleary, those who supported and participated in the peace process with candor are not happy with the intervention of the Supreme Court.
Thank you, Atty. Fatimah Bin Guerra, for your honest principles. You fairly educated us on how the Mindanao problem should be treated under this government. We share the same disappointment. The unfortunate events resulted to the displacement of thousands of civilians in the conflict affected areas in Mindanao . These led to the failure of this administration to achieve a lasting peace that we envisioned for Mindanao .
Thank you, Atty. Fatimah Bin Guerra, for your brave disposition in exposing how the Supreme Court manipulated the decision-making process on the MOA-AD. When the SC justices junked the MOA-AD, they snatched away the hope from us that this administration is sincere in bringing back what is due us.
If MOA-AD is nothing but a piece of paper, as commented by Father Bernas, a constitutional law expert, why would the highest court substantially spent its time and resources in deciding the constitutionality of a document that is nothing but a mere scrap of paper? While they sealed the coffin of the MOA-AD, they failed to address the real issues in Mindanao . No one appears to have a viable plan while innocent civilians continue to suffer and die.
I hope and pray that many more Fatimah will come out to help us in our fight for the liberation of the Bangsamoro people who have been under tyranny for over 400 years now. I hope that your words will reverberate throughout Mindanao and inspire young Moros to continue our fight until the political solution for the century-old Moro problem will be finally achieved.
I also hope that your words would serve as enlightenment among politicians, justices and other leaders in charge for protecting their personal vested interests.
I pray that you will be showered with more blessings and rewards. I pray for your safety from all dangers as you advance our common struggle for justice and freedom.
You deserve the highest form of gratitude from the Bangsamoro people!
Sincerely,
Rahib L. Kudto
Rahib L. Kudto, the national president of the United Youth for Peace and Development, Inc. (UNYPAD) and deputy secretary-general of the Mindanao People’s Caucus (MPC), sent us his reaction on the said article of Atty. Guerra. Here is Kudto’s reaction:
November 17, 2008
Dear Atty. Fatimah,
Assalamu Alaikum!
When I read your column in the Luwaran website, I could not pass this chance of personally thanking you for such a noble act on your part. I have so many reasons to thank you.
Thank you, Atty. Fatimah Bin Guerra, for the invincible spirit that you showed in speaking out your convictions. Your article shared a source of hope among us, Bangsamoro people, to continue our odyssey to find an enduring peace in our homeland. I can’t help but express my overwhelming admiration to how you waged this extraordinary fight through your writing. You effectively articulated our frustration over the government’s handling of the peace process. You powerfully stressed that the Mindanao conflict is not a business of the constitution but a political problem which requires a viable political settlement. You are worthy of our recognition since despite being a lawyer, you did not uphold the injustices of the Constitution and of the Philippine system but the more important cause of the marginalized and of the oppressed.
Cleary, those who supported and participated in the peace process with candor are not happy with the intervention of the Supreme Court.
Thank you, Atty. Fatimah Bin Guerra, for your honest principles. You fairly educated us on how the Mindanao problem should be treated under this government. We share the same disappointment. The unfortunate events resulted to the displacement of thousands of civilians in the conflict affected areas in Mindanao . These led to the failure of this administration to achieve a lasting peace that we envisioned for Mindanao .
Thank you, Atty. Fatimah Bin Guerra, for your brave disposition in exposing how the Supreme Court manipulated the decision-making process on the MOA-AD. When the SC justices junked the MOA-AD, they snatched away the hope from us that this administration is sincere in bringing back what is due us.
If MOA-AD is nothing but a piece of paper, as commented by Father Bernas, a constitutional law expert, why would the highest court substantially spent its time and resources in deciding the constitutionality of a document that is nothing but a mere scrap of paper? While they sealed the coffin of the MOA-AD, they failed to address the real issues in Mindanao . No one appears to have a viable plan while innocent civilians continue to suffer and die.
I hope and pray that many more Fatimah will come out to help us in our fight for the liberation of the Bangsamoro people who have been under tyranny for over 400 years now. I hope that your words will reverberate throughout Mindanao and inspire young Moros to continue our fight until the political solution for the century-old Moro problem will be finally achieved.
I also hope that your words would serve as enlightenment among politicians, justices and other leaders in charge for protecting their personal vested interests.
I pray that you will be showered with more blessings and rewards. I pray for your safety from all dangers as you advance our common struggle for justice and freedom.
You deserve the highest form of gratitude from the Bangsamoro people!
Sincerely,
Rahib L. Kudto
Thursday, November 13, 2008
News: MILF welcomes OIC call, insists MOA-AD signing first before peace talks
By Taher G. Solaiman
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chief peace negotiator Mohagher Iqbal told reporters today that the call of Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) for the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to immediately return to the negotiating table was a “welcome development because the MILF has been for the negotiated political settlement of the problem in Mindanao.”
Iqbal, however, insisted that the MILF will not return to the negotiating table unless the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) is signed and that the government guarantees it will comply with the agreed negotiation process and all agreements between the two parties.
The MILF chief peace negotiator expressed pessimism that the peace negotiation will resume soon. This is because, according to him, Philippine government “has destroyed the procedure, the agenda of the talks.”
He also accused the Philippine government as “more responsible for the collapse of the peace talks.”
The MOA-AD was supposed to have been signed by the peace negotiating panels in Kuala Lumpur last August 5 but the signing was aborted by issuance of Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) by the Supreme Court granting the petition of the local government units of Cotabato Province and Zamboanga City which feared inclusion in a proposed Bangsamoro territory.
Then, the Supreme Court declared last October 14 the MOA-AD as “contrary to law and the Constitution.”
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chief peace negotiator Mohagher Iqbal told reporters today that the call of Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) for the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to immediately return to the negotiating table was a “welcome development because the MILF has been for the negotiated political settlement of the problem in Mindanao.”
Iqbal, however, insisted that the MILF will not return to the negotiating table unless the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) is signed and that the government guarantees it will comply with the agreed negotiation process and all agreements between the two parties.
The MILF chief peace negotiator expressed pessimism that the peace negotiation will resume soon. This is because, according to him, Philippine government “has destroyed the procedure, the agenda of the talks.”
He also accused the Philippine government as “more responsible for the collapse of the peace talks.”
The MOA-AD was supposed to have been signed by the peace negotiating panels in Kuala Lumpur last August 5 but the signing was aborted by issuance of Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) by the Supreme Court granting the petition of the local government units of Cotabato Province and Zamboanga City which feared inclusion in a proposed Bangsamoro territory.
Then, the Supreme Court declared last October 14 the MOA-AD as “contrary to law and the Constitution.”
News: OIC urges GRP, MILF to resume peace talks soon
By Taher G. Solaiman
Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), in a statement released last November 10, warned that the deteriorating situation in Mindanao “empowers undisciplined elements who seek to abort the peace process and fuel extremist feelings” even as he urged “the government of the Philippines and President Maria Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to rapidly return to the negotiating table in order to work out creative solutions matching agreements with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the requirements of the Supreme Constitutional Court, while continuing to work in the same positive spirit that led to the accomplishments made so far through negotiations and build upon these achievements in a bid to reach the just and durable peace desired by all.“
Ihsanoglu also expressed his deep concern about “the increasing deterioration of the situation in the southern Philippines due to continued military operations, severely affecting civilians.”
He also said that “the uninterrupted military operations have resulted in the displacement of more than half a million civilians who live in shelters in dire conditions” and that he “would deploy efforts to mobilize resources from the OIC affiliated institutions and organs to alleviate the suffering of the displaced population.”
Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), in a statement released last November 10, warned that the deteriorating situation in Mindanao “empowers undisciplined elements who seek to abort the peace process and fuel extremist feelings” even as he urged “the government of the Philippines and President Maria Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to rapidly return to the negotiating table in order to work out creative solutions matching agreements with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the requirements of the Supreme Constitutional Court, while continuing to work in the same positive spirit that led to the accomplishments made so far through negotiations and build upon these achievements in a bid to reach the just and durable peace desired by all.“
Ihsanoglu also expressed his deep concern about “the increasing deterioration of the situation in the southern Philippines due to continued military operations, severely affecting civilians.”
He also said that “the uninterrupted military operations have resulted in the displacement of more than half a million civilians who live in shelters in dire conditions” and that he “would deploy efforts to mobilize resources from the OIC affiliated institutions and organs to alleviate the suffering of the displaced population.”
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