ISLAMIC SEPARATISM   By Rohaniza Sumndad  |  Some 500,000 people in Mindanao, especially children, have been displaced from their homes and live in fear due to continued armed conflict. There is a great need to heal and rebuild communities that have been traumatized by violence.

The Philippine Campaign to Ban Landmines (PCBL), affiliate of the 1997 Nobel Peace laureate International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), hereby announces the recent signing by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) of a new instrument developed by PCBL entitled “Rebel Group Declaration of Adherence to International Humanitarian Law on Landmines” – bring to four the number of signatory rebel groups in the Philippines, all in this year.

By Mike G. Kulat  |  The recent squabbles within the government and the deplorable conditions of over half a million refugees brought about by the aborted signing of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain can be considered one of the greatest dramas in the annals of Philippine history.

A new Supreme Court ruling has ended hope of a peaceful resolution in the near future to the decades-old conflict between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Philippines government. The Philippines: The Collapse of Peace in Mindanao, the latest briefing from the International Crisis Group, says the immediate task now is to prevent escalation of fighting and discourage the government and local officials from arming civilians. Interested governments and donors should press both sides to keep existing ceasefire mechanisms in place, while quietly urging a return to talks.

The recent conflict between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and government forces threatened communities in southern Philippines, including the predominantly Muslim provinces in Mindanao. This resulted in 511,090 persons being displaced during the height of the conflict.

The prospect of serious renewed fighting breaking out in Mindanao after the end of Ramadan has got Christian and Muslim organizations trying to work out how best to help keep the peace and kick-start renewed talks while helping out in the huge relief effort needed.

The European Union is deeply concerned by the escalation of violence in Mindanao, the growing number of civilian casualties and displaced persons.

By Carlos H. Conde
About the only thing that is different in the present war are the names of the military commanders running it. Everything else remains the same — the displaced civilians, the suffering children, the fragile peace process, and the ever-burning desire of the Moros to attain self-determination.

The MILF insists that a “final solution” that does not represent the aspirations and interests of the Moro people is out of the question. “The reality is, unless the economic, political, religious and cultural interests of the Bangsamoro people are protected, there will be no peace agreement,” MILF chairman Al Haj Ebrahim Murad said.

To say that Akas Unsay and his fellow Moro villagers are used to a life of constant displacement is an understatement. “We are forced to lead this kind of life,” he said.

The future of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and Mindanao, the region in the southern Philippines that has been the hotbed of Islamic separatism, is in the hands of young Muslims like Manex Ulam. They want to see the peace process between the front and Manila succeed, but no one but the government should be blamed if it fails, Ulam said.

Since the government’s major offensive against the rebels belonging to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front started in 2000, hundreds of thousands of Filipino Muslims have been displaced. Although most have returned to their homes and lands, there are still thousands of them in refugee camps such as the one here, their numbers swelling each time the government conducts more offensives against the rebels.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today “scrapped a government peace panel negotiating an end to a deadly and drawnout Muslim rebellion in the nation’s south,” Agence France Press reported this morning.

Reuters reported this afternoon that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front has threatened to altogether abandon the peace process if the Arroyo regime does not sign the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain.
“We’re not only disappointed and frustrated over government’s decision to turn its back on the ancestral domain deal, we’ve completely lost trust and [...]

Anakpawis party-list Representative Rafael Mariano today dared President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to immediately disarm and dismantle the armed vigilante group Reform Ilaga Movement in the province of North Cotobato saying “the resurrection of the dreaded armed group will only escalate the armed conflict in the region and lead to massive human rights abuses.”
“We demand Ms Arroyo [...]