By CJ KUIZON | Davao Today
Davao City – The Moro partylist group Suara Bangsamoro (Voice of the Moro People) feared that the dissolution of the peace panel will only lead to an escalation of violence in Mindanao communities.
Suara expressed this fear in a statement released to the media after Malacaang announced that it was breaking up the government peace panel, ending the 11 years of peace negotiations with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
Amirah Ali Lidasan, Suara national president, said the recent fighting that broke out in Central Mindanao already killed 66 people and displaced 500,000 more, based on the reports of the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC). Lidasan said she feared that more people will be displaced if violence continues and both parties will not go back to the negotiating table.
Lidasan’s group fears that once the administration uses the Oplan Bantay Laya (OBL) approach in dealing with the MILF, many Moro activists and innocent civilians will also suffer the fate of thousands of activists killed and abducted in suspicion of being members of the Communist New People’s Army (NPA).
Clashes broke out early last month between the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and some frustrated MILF forces after the Philippine Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order that canceled the August 5 signing of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD). The Kuala Lumpur signing would have given the MILF authority over some territories identified under the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE), paving the way for an expansion of ARMM territory and administrative capacities.
Gabriela representative Liza Maza said the Bangsamoro people can’t help but interpret Arroyo’s move as a declaration of an all-out war against them. “The Arroyo government’s obstinacy, all the while ignoring the legitimate demands of the Bangsamoro, does not bring the conflict anywhere near resolution,” she said.
Even Mohaqher Iqbal, chief of the MILF peace panel negotiator, told Mindanews in this report http://www.mindanews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5080&Itemid=190) that a “full blown war” would follow if government refused to sign the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain (MOA-AD).
In a separate statement, the Moro Resistance and Liberation Organization (MRLO) also said the group anticipates increased attacks coming from the government even as it raised the specter of OBL over Moro organizations.
Ilalabas ng rehimeng ito ang tunay na mga pangil nito at mararanasan ng ordinaryong mamamayag Moro ang hagupit ng Oplan Bantay Laya (Once the regime unleashes its force, the Moro people might also get a taste of the Oplan Bantay Laya), Omar Mukhtar, secretary general of MRLO said in the statement.
According to the underground Moro group, Oplan Bantay Laya (OBL) which targeted progressive groups in the government’s move to crack down on Communist rebels, might also be used to stifle dissatisfaction in the Moro communities.
The MRLO cited the statements of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP), saying there would be no let up on military offensives even during this month of Ramadan, which is the most important Muslim celebration.
Lidasan said AFP forces were seen around MILF territories, particularly in Cotabato, two weeks before the supposed signing of the MOA-AD. She said she tried to ask the AFP commanders to back away from the areas because their presence might be interpreted as encroachment and will result in fighting. She said her request was ignored.
But the military did not equate the dissolution of the peace talks with the launching of an all-out war in Mindanao. In this Sunstar report (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/man/2008/09/05/news/military.all.out.war.vs.milf.won.t.happen.html), AFP public affairs officer Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres, Jr. said he did not expect the fighting to intensify. In the same story, Torres corrected earlier reports that AFP chief General Alexander Yano ordered Davao soldiers to prepare for full-blown hostilities.
The President’s website also made no mention of the launching of an all-out war. Its recent statement (http://www.gov.ph/news/?i=22109), however, cited the government realigning all its peace dealings in the context of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR).
Philippine National Police (PNP) director general Avelino Razon Jr. announced that he is sending 1000 shotguns to selected, screened and trained Mindanao police auxiliaries, deputized village watchmen and civilian volunteer organizations (CVOs). According to a statement posted on the Amnesty International website (http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/news/mindanao-civilians-under-threat-from-milf-units-and-militias-20080822), the PNP is ready to send 12,000 more guns if the venture showed positive results.
AI criticized this move, appealing to both the MILF and the Philippine government to step back from the brink and demonstrate their commitment to avoid harming civilians. The international human rights group urged the government to respect its people, regardless of their religion or ethnicity.
AI Asia-Pacific Director Sam Zarifi said that they had seen from experiences in other countries that forming civilian militias can set off a chain of reprisals and only increases the danger facing civilians.”
Even as they predicted more violence in Mindanao, the MRLO said that the people should guard against government moves to divide the Moro people and the peoples of Mindanao. The group cautioned that the United States has already been trying to fuel the friction among the MILF, the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and other Moro over disputes of territory.
MRLO said that the MILF should be resolute on the issue of ancestral domain. At the same time, the group said putting all hopes on the MOA-AD as the key to self-determination would be one-dimensional. The group said their lands only remained in the hands of the Moro people because of the decades of armed struggle they had launched to defend it. (CJ Kuizon/ davaotoday.com)
