NOT synonymous for terrorist or NPA!
Bring Back Bangsamoro
Bangsamoro or Moroland is the name for the “homeland” of the Moro. The term comes from the Malay word bangsa, meaning nation or people, and the Spanish word moro, from the older Spanish word Moor, the Reconquista-period term for Arabs or Muslims.
Originally, Bangsamoro was home to the Muslim sultanates of Mindanao (such as Maguindanao and Sulu). These sultanates resisted Spanish colonial rule, and were therefore not fully integrated with the rest of the islands. Presently, there is armed conflict going on in this area. As of August 19 2008, they see no end, not even a temporary ceasefire to allow Muslims to celebrate Eid’l Fitr (The ending of Ramadan).
Bangsamoro covers the southern portion of Mindanao, the Sulu Archipelago, Palawan, Basilan and the neighboring islands and the majority of the approximately 4.5 million Muslims in the Philippines live here. Within this area, a group called The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is active. The MILF is a Muslim separatist rebel group that was first centered around the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), which was formed after The Jabidah massacre, also known as the Corregidor massacre, which refers to an incident which occurred on the night of March 18, 1968 on the Philippine island of Corregidor. It was on this night that members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) massacred at least 28 Moro Muslim recruits under their supervision.
Nur Misuari, a University of the Philippines professor, rose to become the leader of the MNLF with the title of chairman in the early 1970s. The MNLF proclaimed itself a Filipino Muslim liberation movement and proceeded to start the Islamic Insurgency in the Philippines, in the hope of achieving independence, or at the very least regional autonomy for the Southern Philippines. This struggle would eventually claim anywhere from 80,000 to 200,000 lives; at the height of its strength, the MNLF could count 30,000 armed men in its ranks.
Seeking an end to the hostilities, the Philippine government decided to hold peace talks in 1976. That same year, the Tripoli Agreement was negotiated by the government of Ferdinand Marcos and brokered by the flamboyant Moammar Gadhafi and with the support of the Organization of the Islamic Conference. The agreement provided for a ceasefire and called for autonomy under the broad principle that Mindanao would remain an integral part of the Republic of the Philippines.
The MILF was formed in 1981 when Salamat Hashem and his followers split from the MNLF, due to the MNLF’s reluctance to launch an insurgency against the Philippine government forces and movements towards a peace agreement.
In January 1987, the MNLF accepted the government’s offer of semi-autonomy. The MILF refused to accept the offer. Thusly, the MILF became the largest separatist group in the Philippines. A general cessation of hostilities was signed in July 1997 (The Agreement for General Cessation of Hostilities dated July 18, 1997 Between the GRP and the MILF) but this agreement was broken in 2000 by the government of then President Joseph Estrada.
The MILF initially declared a jihad but became more receptive, especially following claims it is linked to the Abu Sayyaf and al Qaeda. A cease-fire accord was signed with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, and The Agreement on the General Framework for the Resumption of Peace Talks Between the GRP and the MILF was signed on March 24, 2001; After that came The Tripoli Agreement on Peace Between the GRP and the MILF dated June 22, 2001; The Tripoli Agreement Between the GRP and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) dated December 23, 1976 and the Final Agreement on the Implementation of the 1976 Tripoli Agreement Between the GRP and the MNLF dated September 2, 1996;
Then, on July 17, 2008, The MILF and the government finally reached a decision about Bangsamoro. The agreement, while crucial for the resumption of formal peace talks, did not guarantee the end of a near 40-year conflict that has killed 120,000 people and displaced two million in Mindanao.
Mohaqher Iqbal, chief MILF negotiator, .
Rodolfo Garcia, the head of the government’s peace panel |
The agreement was not to last. Although on August 5th both sides were set to sign the Moa thanks to the mediation of the Malaysian government, but a Philippine Supreme Court ruling blocked the accord considering it “unconstitutional”. The MoA was then heavily criticised by many leaders of Philippine society, who accuse it of being “unclear in its terminology” and elaborated “in secret, leaving aside the will of citizens who are completely in the dark regarding its real contents”. As anyone who has access to the internet can obtain a copy of this memorandum, It is unclear where it is the citizens or these leaders themselves who are in the dark.
On August 21, 2008, President Arroyo formally announced that she would not be signing the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA). The decision was taken as a direct effect of the escalation in violence in recent days, in particular on the island of Mindanao in the south.
The agreementbetween MILF and the government was set to establish the Autonomous region of Muslim Mindanao Mindanao (Armm). Muslims are demanding the annexation of 1000 villages, while the government wants to concede only 700, which then will have to choose annexation to Armm by popular referendum.
With the MoA not signed and the animosity between the Philippine Government and the MILF, Cagayan de Oro alone has lost over 5 million in the tourism industry, and since the beginning of August, more than 40 people have been killed, whether in direct combat or caught in the crossfire is still to be determined. President Arroyo herself has placed a 5 million peso bounty on the head of the MILF.
The Final word of the Arroyo Administration is that “the president will seek a new agreement with the rebels, but will not allow adventurism by MILF forces to pressure government to sign any agreement, even if it is for peace.”
Epicurealis 