BANGKOK, THAILAND- Feeling the crunch of the global recession that intensifies poverty and conflict in Southeast Asia, regional peace advocates called on ASEAN members to start dispute prevention and settlements processes in the region.

Members of the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict- Southeast Asia (GPPAC-SEA) made this call in time for the 14th ASEAN Summit this week at Hua Hin Province, saying that the human rights situation in Burma continue to worsen and violent conflicts have escalated in South Thailand, West Papua and Mindanao, Philippines.

We, members of the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict- Southeast Asia (GPPAC-SEA), call on members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to immediately establish a dispute prevention and settlement mechanism to address festering intra- state conflicts in the region.

While the newly-minted ASEAN charter call for the creation of a Dispute Settlement Mechanism among the States, there is urgency in preventing, settling and transforming conflicts within the states in the region. This call is founded on an alarming trend where peoples of Southeast Asia are bearing the crunch brought about by the global economic meltdown that will surely exacerbate poverty and impinge on already existing conflicts already suffered by millions of people in the region.

Appeals to the government and to the MILF to go back to negotiations are increasing, both inside the country and internationally. Mindanao is facing a humanitarian crisis that can only be stopped if arms silence and dialogue prevails. Nobody is gaining anything from the current situation, everybody is losing. Specially the ordinary civilians.

Your Excellency and Mr. Chairman, we trust you know that violence committed by any parties in conflict cannot be resolved by another, if not increased form of violence. We all know that this will be, a never ending cycle that will only bring this country to the brink of destruction. We are sure you will not allow this to happen.

We are women who experience war and know too well its bitter consequences. As bearers of life, coming from various islands of the country, Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, we uphold and defend it from anything and anyone that infringes and diminishes its integrity. As grassroots community organizers, teachers, humanitarian relief workers, barangay officials, women’s rights advocates, development specialists, human rights defenders, mothers, sisters, daughters, and wives, we have spent more than a decade responding to the victims and survivors of the unending conflict, helping them to rebuild lives and communities, only to see these shattered again.

The Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC) notes media’s role in contributing to cognitive, attitudinal and behavioral change on a large scale is unique. Conflict prevention and peacebuilding professionals can use the media in harmony with their other programs – if they know when, why, and how to use the media for the most strategic impact in lessoning the polarization between groups.

DAVAO CITY, Philippines—Despite the collapse of the peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) following Malacañang’s decision to dissolve the Philippines’ peace panel earlier this week, a global peace organization has urged both the Arroyo administration and the Muslim rebels to uphold the gains of the peace process and strenghthen ceasefire mechanisms in conflict areas in Mindanao.

While the majority of our weary population welcomed the agreement on the ancestral domain issue, some shrill voices were quick to dimiss it, practically seething that they were not consulted in the process. They also promised that they will never allow their communities to be part of a Bangsamoro Juridical Entity tasked to govern the disputed territories once the agreement is implemented. They vowed to take their case to the Supreme Court to stop the impending pact and arm their Christian constituency to “defend” themselves from a feared onslaught of Moro hordes that will descend upon them once the BJE is activated. They have made good their first threat and woe to us all if the second materializes.

The intense reactions to the planned signing of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front has already reached an alarming stage. In the last few days we have seen how the unarmed civilians from both sides of the conflict have lost properties and even lives due to attacks or harrasments by either side. The current situation has started to create social disorder brought about by some hostile posturing both from supporters and opponents of the proposed Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE) which is the essence of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain. With the Supreme Court issuance of Temporary Restraining Order today to stop the signing of the MOA in Kuala Lumpur, the situation on the ground points to more violence especially in Central Mindanao.

The World Forum for Democratization in Asia (WFDA) warmly welcomes the release of one of its partners, Prof. Octavio Dinampo, from kidnappers who abducted him along with three Filipino TV journalists in Jolo, Mindanao. While we are pleased with this development, we condemn in the strongest terms his abduction: under no circumstances can such a barbaric act be justified.

Moreover, we are disturbed by the military’s prolonged “detention” of Prof. Dinampo for “de-briefing” purposes after he was released. Family and friends had no immediate access to him, as he was instead flown to Zamboanga City for further “de-briefings”. Furthermore, we strongly reject the insinuations made by certain ranking officers within the security forces that Prof. Dinampo was not a genuine “victim.”

While we recognize that it is the state’s responsibility to pursue those who were responsible for the kidnapping, we call on the government forces to exercise extreme caution in their pursuit operations and give prime consideration to the protection of the civilians residing in the area and its surrounding barangays.