The path to peace
MILF rejects autonomy offer.” This was the newspaper headline after the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the GRP Peace Panel failed to reach a preliminary agreement. The MILF rejects autonomy in favor of a “sub-state.” How can we solve this decades-old problem?
In a very real sense, the Christian Filipino and the Muslim Filipino do belong to different worlds. The Christians look to the west — the English-speaking world and the Vatican. The Muslims take their roots from Islamic civilization — the Arabic tongue and pilgrimages to Mecca. Yet we know these differences are not the causes of the conflict in Mindanao — though we acknowledge that they can be factors in aggravating the conflict because cultural and religious differences give Muslims and Christians different views about war and peace and on how to achieve goals.
Let’s go back in time. In 1977 Ninoy spoke in Saudi Arabia at the King Abdulaziz University under the aegis of the Organization of the Islamic Conference. Ninoy talked about his vision for Mindanao and how peace in that conflict-ridden area should be pursued. First, a definite territory should be given to Moros for them to govern — an area where culture, including politics and governance, could flourish as part of the Muslim way of life.
Second, Ninoy proposed for the withdrawal of the Christian troops from Mindanao. It takes two to fight: if there were no more Christian soldiers, he reasoned, fighting would discontinue. Their removal would allow Muslims to police themselves, through their own police force or regional forces, because peace and order should be made part and parcel of Muslim governance.
Third, Muslims would be allowed to set up their own courts, the “Shariah” courts. This is to allow the Muslims to regulate their own behavior with respect to marriage, property ownership, interpersonal relations, and business among others, according to Muslim cultural and religious practices and ethical standards.
Ninoy’s first proposal was contained in the Tripoli Agreement signed in Tripoli, Libya, by Nur Misuari. Under this agreement, our Muslim brothers had given up the quest for independence. It gave Muslims 13 provinces, subject to plebiscite and referendum, and the 13 provinces are now reduced to five. Ninoy’s second proposal was not followed. Instead of withdrawing the military from Mindanao, Moro rebels were integrated into the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Whether this decision was good or bad remains a subject of endless debate. The creation of Shariah courts was implemented during the time of President Fidel V. Ramos and President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The national government likewise supported the Muslims in setting up their own civil code and the establishment of their own schools or madaris.
Some 500 years ago, Muslim Mindanao was the center of Filipino culture, learning and power. But now, Muslim Mindanao has become the zone of conflict and the cradle of poverty. Yet not all is lost in Mindanao. Mindanao continues to have as much economic potential as it did centuries ago. It has fertile land, timber, minerals, fossil fuel and natural gas, and fishing grounds, to name a few. If only we could achieve peace with the virtue of selflessness, the area would flourish. The people of Mindanao can trade very easily with Southeast Asia and the whole Muslim world. And they are willing to invest in Mindanao, I have been told, to generate employment for the Moro, Christian and Lumads.
Why does peace seem so elusive? Melancholia overtakes me when I read Mindanao’s history. Mindanao has great people and their religion of self- sacrifice, which is Islam; educators from Saudi, Turkey, Malaysia and Indonesia use its justice system; precious cultures once carved houses, gold, brass and silver accessories there; and it has good international relations with its history of trade with the English, Spanish and Dutch, with Borneo and Malaysia. So much intelligence, wealth, might and power.
I remember in 1987, Senator Aquilino Pimentel and myself arrived in Cotabato after Peping’s peace visit and a ceasefire was agreed upon, in a 30-minute meeting in Simuay Crossing in Maguindanao. Chairman Salamat Hashim honored the agreement and Khagi Murad, then head of the MILF armed component, with Ustadz Pasigan and Ustadz Abdul Halil Yahyah as their advisers. Eventually, impatience got the better of us all and the bullets flew on and off. President Cory’s administration saw a window of opportunity for peace when Hashim Salamat agreed to be a “nation within a bigger nation,” therefore setting aside independence then, not just now, as the present peace panel claims. MILF’s moderate stance created the possibility of a political solution to the conflict. The MILF’s concept of autonomy during Cory’s time was to establish a democratic system of government with equal representation in the executive, legislative and judicial department following the principle of elections. These Mujahideens announced, “It shall center on self-determination except in foreign affairs, national defense and currency which shall be left under the jurisdiction of the national government in context of Philippine Sovereignty.”
The issue of land and territory remains the stickiest issue in the peace process. Peace negotiations in Malaysia collapsed in 2005 when the Supreme Court issued a Temporary Restraining Order on the GRP-Panel Negotiating with the MILF on the issue of Ancestral Domain. Again, last week, a different matter arose: the MILF has hardened its position and will no longer accept autonomy but a sub-state. Why would they accept autonomy if the kind of autonomy is the one given and being “enjoyed” by ARMM — autonomy that is devoid of self-determination because Malacañang is calling all the shots! Whatever the concept represents, it will be subject to further debate between the MILF and the Philippine government. But if Nur Misuari of the Moro National Liberation Front, recognized by the Organization of Islamic Conference as the head of the struggle for autonomy, claims the same ancestral domain areas, the Philippine government will have to start the peace process all over again and meet all contending Mujahideens and the Christians and the Lumads.
The MILF-GRP peace negotiation is a step taken towards peace, but where will this negotiation lead us? There are various representatives of the Bangsa Moro people, the MNLF, the MILF and the MNLF Reformists. The MNLF was recognized by the GRP in the 1996 Peace Agreement and the MNLF would want this agreement to be implemented because it is within the bounds of the 1987 Philippine Constitution. Yet the government is now negotiating with the MILF. And now comes Ustadz Umbra Kato.
I am reminded as a historian that the Americans gave the Native-American “Indians: reservations to call their own. But when you speak of ancestral land, the Indian nation could feasibly claim almost all of America. If we follow the present formula of giving back the land to the original inhabitants, then where does that leave Bush, Obama, Clinton and the rest of the American people? The entire area of Mindanao would become Moro land.
Who shall acquire ancestral domain? This issue is vital to the achievement of peace. The government, I believe, should speak to all contending parties — Moro, Christian and Lumads — and the Moros should discuss among themselves who shall be the representative of the Bangsa Moro people. This was once discussed among the Moro leaders of the “solid” MILF and the “original” MNLF but it turned out to be futile. At the end of all these present peace negotiations, the agreements and disagreements must be presented through a plebiscite/referendum. Right? Peace!
