The Black & White Movement condemns in the strongest possible terms the beheading of ten marine soldiers following a firefight with members of the 8th Marine Battalion Landing Team (MBLT). "It is an inhuman and barbaric act that has no place in any civilized society and we ask that all means be exhausted to bring the perpetrators to justice", says BnW lead convenor Enteng Romano.
Malacanang assured today the Saudi Arabian government that Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) Chairman Nur Misuari shall be provided with unarmed security personnel during his trip to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to attend the three-party peace talks among representatives of the Philippines, the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) and the MILF.
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which has been fighting for a separate Islamic state for Filipino Muslims in the south the past three decades, said the violence could have been avoided had the military coordinated with them the troops' entry to Tipo-tipo, which the rebels consider as part of their territory. ?We have all the mechanism in the ceasefire that allows coordination and to prevent this kind of unfortunate incident,? said a front spokesman.
Former presidential adviser on the peace process Teresita Quintos Deles today released a statement questioning not so much the reported appointment of Senator Jun Magsaysay as head of the government's negotiating panel in the peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front but the departure from the panel of Silvestre Afable. "From the different stories circulating about how this unexpected situation came about, we cannot help but suspect the large play of manipulation and deception behind this sudden changing of the guards," Deles said.
MANILA — U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Kristie A. Kenney joined Secretary of Education Jesli A. Lapus and Knowledge Channel Foundation Chairman Oscar M. Lopez to formally launch a new peace education television series that will be shown on The Knowledge Channel and distributed to schools across the country. The series, entitled “Salam,” focuses on the lives of four young people, Christian and Muslim, living in Mindanao, and how they learn about peace, conflict resolution, and the importance of community, tolerance and social responsibility.
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