The ?detention? by Moro rebels of a military group led by Muslim convert Brig. Gen. Benjamin Dolorfino last week stemmed from the repeated postponement of a proposed tripartite meeting with the government and the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC). The proposed tripartite meeting was to tackle issues related to the implementation of the 1996 Final Peace Agreement between the GRP and the MNLF.
What started as an invitation to lunch by a persistent former colleague in the activist movement turned into an attempt on the life of the secretary-general for Southern Mindanao of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas.
Related item: ‘Killing of Bayan Muna Misamis Oriental Leader Part of Arroyo Election Plan’
By Grace S. Uddin
davaotoday.com
DAVAO CITY — It all started with a visit by a woman named Nene at around noon on Jan. 22. She invited Amancio Carmelo to lunch so they could catch up on old times.
Tatay Mancio, as Carmelo is known among friends and colleagues, told Nene that they were busy preparing for an anti-government demonstration in Tagum City that day in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the Mendiola Massacre and that, given how busy they were preparing for the rally, going out for lunch was out of the question.
But the woman, whom Tatay Mancio recalled as having used the nickname Len in the past, was persistent. It?s been a while since they talked, she told him. Tatay Mancio had known Nene as a fellow organizer for a Lumad group in Montevista town, Davao del Norte, years back. He finally relented and agreed to meet with Nene after the rally.
Later that day, after having dinner with Nene at a restaurant, two men on a motorcycle tried to kill Tatay Mancio. The assassins missed, and the old man scampered away to safety. The woman disappeared. Tatay Mancio, in an interview with davaotoday.com, was convinced that the woman set him up.
By Grace S. Uddin
davaotoday.com
DAVAO CITY — Three months ago, Naif Yaken applied for a job in one of the plywood companies here. The work was simple: all Yaken had to do was stick the plywood together.
But the 20-year-old Moro, who supports his parents and four siblings, did not get the job. A man who applied at the same time with Yaken got it instead. Yaken now speculates that, had it not been for his religion, which is Islam, he would have gotten the job.
Related item: Terror Law Undermines Efforts for Justice and Peace in Mindanao
COTABATO CITY — The Suara Bangsamoro Partylist is one with the rest of the Filipino people in vehemently opposing the passage of the Anti-Terrorism Bill.
The Suara Bangsamoro believes that once President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will sign it into law, it will have a grave effect on the struggle of the Bangsamoro people in Mindanao and will sow more dissent among a people whose constitutional rights have always been violated by the military and police authorities.
MANILA — When I received text messages from Jolo about the news that Ustadz Habier Malik of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) had “held hostage” a government peace executive and Major General Benjamin Dolorfino of the Marines, I felt afraid for the people of Sulu.
