War in Mindanao must be to the finish

We were elated when we read that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front had declared a 10-day Unilateral Ceasefire in hopes that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo would order a halt to the ongoing military operation in Mindanao. It is true that the unilateral ceasefire was supposed to take effect on June 2. But two days later, 70 MILF terrorists fired mortar and rocket-propelled grenades at two detachments of the 40th Infantry Battalion in Carmen, North Cotabato, killing 19 soldiers and five civilians. This is the best proof that the war in Mindanao is far from over. The MILF is a terrorist group. Its unilateral ceasefire announcement was just a ploy to stop the current military offensive against them. Such a treacherous attack will intensify the army’s desire to eliminate them at all cost.

President Macapagal-Arroyo was right in saying that true peace is with justice. She said, "Any truce offer is only as good as the principle and sincerity behind it." If the MILF really wants peace, she added, it must renounce terrorism and its ties with other terrorist groups. It must disclose its rebel positions and surrender all those who took part in the recent spate of bombings in Mindanao. In short, those who have violated the laws of the country will be prosecuted to the end.

The ultimate solution to the 25-year old insurgency problem in Mindanao will have to come from a peace agreement. Undoubtedly there can be no peace talks without a cessation of hostilities. But the desire for peace must be genuine and the renunciation of violence as the form of solution to whatever disagreements there are in Mindanao must come from the conviction that violence and terrorism not only cannot solve, but further aggravate the misunderstanding in Mindanao. All progress starts with peace. As it is, Mindanao is lagging behind Luzon and the Visayas because of the lack of peace and order. Mindanao has all the potential for development. Properly developed, it could be the richest part of our archipelago. We recall that even before the war, President Manuel L. Quezon was calling on all graduating students to go to Mindanao.

What is the image of Mindanao today? The Abu Sayyafs and the MILF –two internationally known terrorist groups. And abroad, investors do not draw the line between Mindanao and the rest of the country. Many foreign investors see the Philippines as another country associated with the likes of Osama bin Laden.

We really cannot understand terrorist groups. What is it that they hope to achieve? All underdeveloped nations are trying to attract foreign capital that will help develop their country. Terrorists even want to destroy developed nations. What could have been more senseless than the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center in New York? What good has been attained by the senseless bombings and burning of villages in Mindanao? The best proof that terrorists have no positive purpose is the fact that, first, they do not own the atrocities they commit; second, they have no demands. They simply kill and destroy for its own sake.