“What IDPs?” Biazon asks

ZAMBOANGA CITY (MindaNews/30 August) – Father Eliseo “Jun” Mercado had to butt in, to explain who represents the Bangsamoro in the peace negotiations with the Philippine government, what Tracks 1, 2 and 3 of the Peace Process mean and that it was the Philippine government that invited Malaysia to be the talks facilitator but it was Vice Governor Emmanuel Pinol who quickly replied to Senate Defense Committee chair Rodolfo Biazon’s query, “anong IDPs’ (What IDPs?”) Pinol had been warning about a possible spillover of IDPs when Biazon interrupted, “anong IDPs?” to which Pinol immediately explained “it’s the lingo of the NGO, the internally displaced persons.”

The IDPs is the sector that will suffer the most while peace talks are in limbo.

Biazon had intended the public hearing to be a time to listen to stakeholders from the local government units and civil society groups but only a few civil society representatives managed to make it to the hearing due to short notice.

He repeatedly asked for representatives of the Bishops-Ulama Conference which has commissioned a research team to conduct focus group discussions on the peace processes.

Civil society representatives at the public hearing were one in urging the immediate resumption of the peace talks.

The government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s peace negotiations collapsed last year when a temporary restraining order was issued by the Supreme Court on August 4 preventing the government peace panel from formally signing the already initialed Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) the next day.

Since then, some 700,000 persons had fled their villages to avoid getting caught in the crossfire Although the number has dwindled since – from 90,000 to around 200,000 are still in the evacuation centers, many of them spending their second Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting, there.

The IDPs took to the streets on July 23 demanding ceasefire so they can return home. Malacanang at 4 p.m. that day issued a suspension of military operations (SOMO) which the MILF reciprocated with a suspension of military actions on July 25. The two panels met on July 28 and 29 and issued a Joint Statement on July 29 announcing the impasse was over and that they were preparing for the resumption of the talks.

The August 10 supposed meeting was reset for August 21 but the meeting was again reset. Ramadan started August 22 and will end September 22, hence the next meeting will likely be after September 22.

Meanwhile, in Basilan on August 12, at least 20 government soldiers pursuing the Abu Sayyaf were reported killed in an ambush allegedly by the MILF in the area. The MILF said it was an act of self-defense, claiming government did not coordinate with them on the operations.

Grace Rebollos, president of the Western Mindanao State University and a convenor of Peace Advocates Zamboanga (PAZ) made a Powerpoint presentation on “reframing the GRP-Bangsamoro negotiations.”

Rebollos said they deliberately refered to the negotiations as “GRP-Bangsamoro” because of the ongoing review of the 1996 peace pact with the MNLF and the ongoing peace negotiations with the MILF.

Rebellos noted that revisiting the negotiations means looking for ways ”to find a peaceful settlement of the armed conflict with the MILF; to correct historical injustices; and to allow for more meaningful autonomy and governance of the Bangsamoro.”

The Mindanao PeaceWeavers in a statement read for it by Maria Julita Asis of the Initiatives for International Dialogue, said the suspension of the resumption of the peace talks “may again lead to the recurrence of armed conflict and further place the civilians in danger. It may worsen the magnitude of the situation.”

“We believe that instead of justifying continued hostilities, the Basilan incident should prod everyone to recommit to peaceful resolution of the conflict in Mindanao. We urge government and appeal to Senator Rodolfo Biazon, the proponent of the bill to open the space of dialogue and consensus building that will lead to the peaceful resolution of the age old conflict in Mindanao; encourage the GRP and MILF to sit down and complete the preparation for the resumption of the talks; provide the mechanism to uphold the primacy of dialogue as well as the protection of civilians amidst the threat of recurring conflict; deal with the issue on the Abu Sayaff’s alleged acts of terrorism separately. Lumping ASG and the MILF on the grounds of kinship and tribe will not do well for peace in Mindanao,” the MPW said.

The MPW also urged government to “Pull out the embedded US troops and the AFP forces from the immediate area to provide safe space for the civilians” and “re-activate the ceasefire mechanism to ensure the safe return of civilians to their homes and start normalcy in their lives.”

Each resource person was given ten minutes to present his/her piece. Pastor Reu Montecillo, chair of the Mindanao Peoples’ Caucus wasn’t able to complete reading his five-page paper. With a minute left, Biazon asked him to summarize the remaining points.

Montecillo said Senate Resolution 1281 “only bolsters the fact that this government clearly lacks a national peace policy as far as the armed conflict in Mindanao is concerned. That is why, for every provocation, every skirmish and for each bomb explosion, this government can easily revert from peace to war mode. It flip-flops from its policy of war and peace – sending mixed and confusing signals at the ground level. And defining this peace policy is incumbent upon the Senate who should set clear guidelines and parameters on the national direction and goals of the peace process itself.”

Montecillo announced that after the public hearing, he would be “leading the Bantay Ceasefire investigative mission in Basilan to conduct a thorough investigation on what had actually happened. The incident reminds us of the July 18, 2007 beheading of 14 marine soldiers which is like history repeating itself all too very soon.”

Montecillo noted that what happened in Basilan on August 12 only shows that “without a proper ceasefire mechanism in place and the presence of an international monitoring team (IMT) the fragile situation in conflict affected areas remains vulnerable to the uncontrolled and uncoordinated military actions.”

“As a grassroots based, tri-people focused peace organization, and a recognized observer in the GRP-MILF peace talks, the Mindanao Peoples Caucus urge both the Philippine government and the MILF to immediately re-establish the ceasefire mechanisms and reconstitute the International Monitoring Team (IMT) that shall have a guaranteed mandate to investigate and the authority to sanction both parties in cases of proven ceasefire violations,” Montecillo said. (Carolyn O. Arguillas/MindaNews)


Source: http://www.mindanews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6901&Itemid=190