Timor-Leste President and Nobel Laureate Jose Ramos-Horta paid tribute to the Davao-based regional advocacy institution, Initiatives for International Dialogue (IID) on its 20th anniversary in a speech at the University of the Philippines in Diliman recently.
Affirming that IID’s work helped in eventually galvanizing support for the Timorese cause in the region, Horta challenged IID to continue with its creative and bold initiatives in advocating peaceful and constant dialogue among peoples in conflict.
Timor-Leste President and Nobel Laureate Jose Ramos-Horta paid tribute to the Davao-based regional advocacy institution, Initiatives for International Dialogue (IID) on its 20th anniversary in a speech at the University of the Philippines in Diliman recently.
Affirming that IID’s work helped in eventually galvanizing support for the Timorese cause in the region, Horta challenged IID to continue with its creative and bold initiatives in advocating peaceful and constant dialogue among peoples in conflict.
Horta was on a four-day state visit to the Philippines last week but took time out last Monday to salute IID and deliver a lecture on the topic “South-South Peoples Solidarity” – IID’s core vision- at the Malcolm Hall in the UP College of Law where IID organized what would become the Asia-Pacific Coalition for East Timor (APCET) in 1994. Horta was barred from attending that conference by then President Fidel Ramos upon intense pressure from Indonesia President Suharto to stop the conference at all cost. APCET led the broad solidarity movement in the region for East Timor from 1994 until the country’s independence in 2002.
Horta’s lecture was co-organized by UP in celebration of its own in centennial this year. The lecture was the launch of IID’s month-long lecture series in commemoration of its 20th anniversary. UP President Emerlinda Roman likewise tendered a gala dinner for Horta after the lecture at the UP Executive House. Horta again toasted both IID and UP on their respective celebrations.
IID is currently involved in pursuing conflict prevention, peacebuilding, democratization and self-determination programs in Mindanao, Burma and elsewhere in Southeast Asia. It likewise anchors local, national and international and regional networks such as the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC), the World Forum for Democratization in Asia (WFDA), Free Burma-Coalition Philippines (FBC-P), Mindanao Peaceweavers (MPW) and the Asia-Pacific Solidarity Coalition (APSOC) – the network that was transformed from APCET after East Timor’s independence. IID was also the co-founder of the Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma (ALTSEAN), a core member of the Burma Partnership, steering committee member of the Community of Democracies NGO Process and Advocacy Works International.
In Mindanao, IID facilitated the establishment of the Mindanao Peoples Caucus (MPC) in 2001 after the all-out war of the then Estrada government and the MPW in 2003 after the so-called “Buliok” war under this current administration.
The Horta lecture will be followed by a forum on “Self-Determination: Viability of a Peace Agreement between the Government and the MILF” also at the UP Malcolm Hall tomorrow at 1- 5pm. Both panels from the government and the MILF will provide their respective perspectives on the controversial Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain.
A final lecture on “Peace and Democracy” will be held in Davao City on August 28 featuring lecturers from Pakistan, United States, Korea, Mongolia, Spain, among others who will be participating in a “Peace, Democracy and Solidarity Mission” to Mindanao next week.
IID’s lectures are dubbed the Larry Ilagan Series in tribute to Mindanao’s foremost human rights lawyer during the Marcos era who served as IID’s Vice-Chair until his death in 2001.
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