ONE crucial step has been taken.
The Suspension of Military Operations (SOMO) issued by the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the declaration of Suspension of Military Action (SOMA) by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) should provide the space for both parties to reflect and reassess their motives in pursuing peace in Mindanao. Some cynics may dismiss these twin moves for varying motives, but we join our weary people in welcoming this respite from war.
Since August 2008, more than 700,000 persons, mostly children and women, have been displaced from their homes and robbed of the equal opportunity to live life free from fear and be able to productively take part in governance. And for them, the SOMO and SOMA may have just given them back their lvies.
ONE crucial step has been taken.
The Suspension of Military Operations (SOMO) issued by the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the declaration of Suspension of Military Action (SOMA) by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) should provide the space for both parties to reflect and reassess their motives in pursuing peace in Mindanao. Some cynics may dismiss these twin moves for varying motives, but we join our weary people in welcoming this respite from war.
Since August 2008, more than 700,000 persons, mostly children and women, have been displaced from their homes and robbed of the equal opportunity to live life free from fear and be able to productively take part in governance. And for them, the SOMO and SOMA may have just given them back their lvies.
Even then, the public must remain vigilant to ensure that local and national leaders, especially President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo be truthful to her commitment to establish peace with rebel groups before her term ends on June 30, 2010.
We must remember that in her 2008 State of the Nation Address (SONA), the President giddily announced a breakthrough in the peace process and relayed her ‘personal commitment’ to revive the peace process in Mindanao. But barely had her SONA announcement left the airwaves, progress towards permanent peace hit a setback with the non signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on Ancestral Domain – a product of arduous years of dialogue and consultations both by the GRP and MILF peace panels. We will not be surprised that in tomorrow’s 2009 SONA – purportedly her last one– she will again crow about these breakthroughs in the peace front. But we dread that her swan song will not be a harbinger again of empty and deadly promises.
We believe that beyond the declaration of SOMO and SOMA of both the GRP and the MILF, specific mechanisms have to be made available to uphold the primacy of dialogue and the peace process, as well as the protection of civilians amidst the threat of recurring conflict.
Both sides must sit down and resume the peace talks. It has been long in coming.
Beyond the biases and prejudices, mistrust and doubt, are the lives of thousands of civilians who are the main victims in the conflict. Ironically, it is in their name that the conflict is waged and it is in their name that peace talks are entered into.
Actions have to be taken both by the GRP and the MILF to regain mutual trust before the peace process could move forward.
We, the Initiatives for International Dialogue, along with its allied networks in Mindanao, the Philippines, regionally and globally, call on both parties to endeavor to set aside their differences and instead look for that common, nay, holy ground to dialogue for peace. For whatever it’s worth, we offer our modest services as well as those of our partners, to help accompany this dialogue to a mutually satisfying fruition.
We likewise call on the Joint Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (JCCCH) to re-activate ceasefire mechanisms on the ground to ensure the safety of civilians, including their safe return to their homes.
We call on civil society to close ranks more than ever, guard the process, take care of each other, reach out to whoever we have to engage with – even among ourselves- and ensure that our efforts are in constant harmony with the basic aspirations and dreams of our people.
Mindanao is not about us, but about the dreams of our children for a more peaceful, progressive and just life.
May we collectively move forward to make this a reality.
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