COTABATO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 12, 2012) – Civil society and Muslim religious groups have joined mounting calls for peace in the southern Philippines ahead of the signing of peace pact between Manila and Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels.
This, after former Muslim rebel leader Nur Misuari, who heads a faction of the rival Moro National Liberation Front, warned that the new peace deal with the MILF would spark unrest in Mindanao.
Misuari signed a peace accord with the government in September 1996 ending decades of hostilities in the South that led to the creation of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) which comprises Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Maguindanao and Lanao provinces, and the cities of Lamitan and Marawi.
But the government peace pact with the MILF would basically create a new Muslim autonomous region called Bangsamoro and replace the ARMM with several more areas in North Cotabato, Maguindanao and Lanao del Norte.
Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan said he would meet and talk with Misuari to convince him that the Aquino government is sincere in achieving peace in Mindanao.
Tan said MNLF commanders have been going around some parts of Sulu and that he explained to them the government’s peace process.
“MNLF commanders are making their rounds in some parts of Sulu and I was able to talk to them and sinabi ko na pagbigyan nila tayo tungo sa kapayapaan. I also sent word to my brother Chairman Nur Misuari and one of these days mag-uusap kami. Ipinarating ko sa kanya na maging mahinahon, sa ganitong paraan we can resolve any misunderstanding and have genuine peace in Sulu and the whole of Mindanao.”
“I have made my appeal to everybody to keep their cool. Walang mangyayari sa atin kung tayo ay babalik na naman sa nakaraan, kawawa ang mg tao dito sa Sulu at sa buong Mindanao,” Tan said.
Civil society and religious groups in ARMM also echoed Tan’s appeal for peace in Mindanao and said they are supporting the government’s peace process. Tan said he welcomed the group’s support and appealed to Muslims in Mindanao to rally behind peace process.
“We cannot sacrifice again the people of Mindanao; they have already suffered so much. I told the (MNLF) commanders that the government is sincere in pursuing peace in the region; and that their role as leaders of the MNLF is very important in the achievement of this goal, as leaders they should set the example,” Tan said.
“Walang repormang mangyayari kung ang kapayapaan ay hindi natin pagbibigyan. I will not support and allow anything that is not pro-people at handa akong makiusap at pigilan ang kahit sinong grupo na magsisimula ng gulo dito sa Sulu at Mindanao.”
Tan said all the ARMM governors are supportive of the government’s peace talks with the MILF, not the country’s largest Muslim rebel group.
“We, the ARMM provincial governors, support this Framework Agreement reached between the Aquino government with the MILF [Moro Islamic Liberation Front] because it will peacefully resolve the armed conflict in Mindanao through democratic process and constitutional ways. It is not like the ‘all-out-war’ policy, which solves nothing and merely prolongs conflict and causes deaths,” he said.
“There is nothing to worry or fear in the Framework Agreement, which is a road map for an inclusive and transparent peace process being pursued now by the Daang Matuwid [straight path] policy of President Aquino. The rights of the people will be respected and they will be asked in a plebiscite. The process (of replacing ARMM with Bangsamoro) will be very democratic. It will pass constitutional test.”
A peace caravan was also launched on Friday in Cotabato City and is heading to Manila on a four-day trip that would take the convoy across the Philippine capital on Monday to witness the historic signing of the peace pact between the Aquino government and the MILF.
Dubbed “Lakbayan ng Mamamayan ng ARMM para sa Kapayapaan,” the caravan is joined by hundreds of peace advocates, civil society groups, and civil employees of the regional government.
“The ARMM supports people’s participation in the peace process and must provide avenues for awareness to be raised,” said ARMM Executive Secretary Anwar Malang.
ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman hailed the peace pact and said Muslims in Mindanao also supporting the peace process.
“ARMM officials hail the announcement of Aquino of the Framework Agreement by the government and MILF that would pave the way to the region’s new autonomous political entity the Bangsamoro,” Hataman said.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation also praised the peace pact and congratulated both the Philippine government and the MILF for reaching a “Framework Agreement” to end the long standing conflict in Mindanao.
“The Secretary General (Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu) expressed the hope that it will pave the way for a just and lasting peace for the Bangsamoro people who have suffered too long and endured huge sacrifices. He commended also the indispensible role played by Malaysia as a facilitator of the process,” an OIC spokesman said, adding Ihsanoglu also commended Malaysia for brokering the talks.
“The OIC hopes that this will usher in a new phase of consolidating peace and start the long awaited development process of the region,” the spokesman said. (Mindanao Examiner. With a report from Mark Navales)
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