Palace: Conflict with MILF not a religious war

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang has denounced the attempts of some groups to turn the ongoing conflict with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) into a religious war.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the government would continue to pursue the peace process amid reports that the MILF is shoring up support for a holy war.

“I believe that this is an attempt to turn this into a religious conflict. But ever since, this (armed conflict) has never been a religious conflict between Muslims and Christians,” Ermita stressed.

“This is really the work of some people with a political agenda,” Ermita added.

Ermita made the statement following reports that the MILF is calling for support to wage a jihad or a holy war “against the oppressors and enemies of Islam.”

Police intelligence reports also revealed the MILF is planning to launch jihad attacks in Christian communities in the cities of Zamboanga, Davao and Cotabato, even as MILF supporters are reportedly campaigning in Muslim communities in Metro Manila to get the consensus on plans for a holy war.

Ermita said the government continues to be a proponent of interfaith dialogue, and that the religious mechanism has been in place for some time in Mindanao through the Bishops Ulama Conference.

“A jihad only takes place when there is real oppression against the minority Muslim religion. This is not happening and that is recognized by the OIC (Organization of the Islamic Conference),” Ermita said.

He said the OIC looks positively on the Philippine government and has continuously supported the peace process with the MILF.

This is the reason why the government continues to reject the calls of some sectors to declare an all-out war against the MILF in response to the recent atrocities committed by several commanders of the rebel group.

Former President Joseph Estrada was among those pushing for an all-out war against the MILF, and has repeatedly called on President Arroyo to “learn from the lessons of the past” against dealing with the MILF.

Estrada cited the government’s “soft-handed approach” in returning the rebel camps captured by government forces when he declared an all-out war during his short-lived administration.

Ermita, however, said the present administration is not inclined to take that direction.

One of the MILF peace negotiators, Michael Mastura, chided Estrada for bringing lechon or roast pig to one of the captured rebel camps, which he said was a direct affront to the Muslim religion.

“Our religious culture was not respected when Camp Abubakhar (in Maguindanao) was attacked, lechon were brought there,” Mastura said.

Mastura also criticized the current administration for having no coherent policy to address the Bangsamoro problem in Mindanao.

Ermita, on the other hand, said the present administration believes that it would be better not to abandon the peace process.

“We do not want to say that we are at war with our own citizens,” Ermita said.

President Arroyo, however, ordered the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to convert one of the largest MILF rebel camps recently captured in Munai, Lanao del Norte into a military base.

The MILF’s Camp Bilal in Munai was overrun by government troops during the Estrada administration’s “all-out war” in 2000.

However, the rebel camp was left unattended, giving the MILF an opportunity to return and re-establish their claim during the peace negotiations with the government.

The camp was used as a launching stage by the MILF in attacking several towns in Central Mindanao last month that killed scores of civilians and displaced thousands of families.

The flare-up came as talks between the government and the MILF collapsed after the Supreme Court stopped the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) that would allow the rebel group self-rule over an expanded autonomous region in Central Mindanao.

The government peace panel has also since been disbanded.

Other sectors, on the other hand, appealed on the government and the MILF to set aside their differences and return to the negotiating table.

Former senator Franklin Drilon said the shelving of the MOA-AD should not stop the government and the MILF from continuing the peace process. – With Jose Rodel Clapano, Lino de la Cruz, Jaime Laude