Giving peace a chance

The true magnitude of the Bangsamoro Peace Agreement can only be truly appreciated when viewed from a global perspective. Today, we are living in a world of armed conflicts arising from ethical, religious and cultural differences.

The Philippines is not the only country with a Muslim minority living in a territorial enclave of a nation state. In all these similar countries there are continuing armed conflicts or terrorist acts by separatist movements.

Some of these countries where there is an active separatist movement, with an armed or terrorist wing, are Russia, China, Thailand and now Myanmar.

In Thailand, the southernmost provinces bordering Malaysia are populated by Muslim Thais. And for more than a decade there has been a guerrilla war raging in those areas. The Muslim minorities have accused the Thai army and police of human rights violations including arbitrary arrests, illegal detentions and torture.

The Thai government has accused the Muslim separatists of ambushing police detachments and bombings of populated areas. As of now, there is no prospect for peace or even talks of any serious peace negotiations between these two forces in Thailand.

In the Muslim dominated areas in Western China bordering Russia, China has imposed what can only be described as martial law. Although the inhabitants are also Han Chinese, like the majority, there is a strong independence movement. In recent months, three violent incidents have been blamed on these Chinese Muslim fighters. The first one was the bombing of a bus. Then there was a bomb explosion in Tiananmen Square where even one or two Filipino tourists were injured. The third incident was a stabbing spree in a train station which resulted in several casualties of innocent bystanders.

The Chinese authorities have resorted to drastic measures aside from army rule. There has been planned migration into the area by non-Muslim Chinese. This is the same method used in Tibet to counteract Tibetan struggle for independence.

The other method is the suppression of Muslim practices including the banning of Muslim names and forced adoption of Han Chinese names by the local population. So far, the insurgency movement has shown no signs of decreasing.

Just last year, there were several reports of the Buddhist majority population in Western Myanmar physically attacking Muslim neighbors. The conflict apparently has widened, forcing many Muslims to seek refuge in other countries. For once, Myanmar’s icon of democracy, Aung San Suu Kyi, was criticized for failing to condemn those attacks. Apparently, she understood that ethnic and religious conflicts are driven by populist attitudes.

One of the most violent conflicts was the full scale Russian attack on Muslim dominated Chechnya in 1994. Russian artillery and tanks completely eradicated many Chechen towns and villages. In the end, Russia claimed victory but the conflict has not stopped. Even subway stations and opera theatres in Moscow have been bombed with hundreds of casualties. In the recent Winter Olympics in Sochi, security was very tight because of fears of Chechen threats of bombings.

The conventional wisdom, by geopolitical experts, is that ethnic and religious conflicts go through the processes of intensification, expansion, containment, interruption and rarely resolution.

Political observers also believe that moderates with more limited goals, such as autonomy rather than independence, do not achieve these goals through negotiation, which almost always initially fails and gets supplemented or supplanted by radicals committed to achieving more extreme goals.

For many decades this seemed to be the scenario in the Philippines. Both the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) were advocates of armed struggle. Then when the MILF started the peace negotiations and aimed for an autonomous Muslim region, it seemed that Nur Misuari and the more radical MNLF would take center stage. The situation worsened when the extremely radical Abu Sayyaf, affiliated with the Al Qaeda international terrorist group, became active in the Southern Philippines.

But last Thursday, after 17 years of negotiations and four Philippine presidents, the historic Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro between the Philippine government and the MILF was finally signed.

Peace between two groups, divided by ethnic and religious identities, was finally achieved not through force of arms but through negotiations The Philippines has achieved what countries like China, Russia, Thailand and Israel have failed to do.

The only parallel that is perhaps comparable in contemporary Philippine history is the restoration of democracy and the overthrow of a martial law regime and its dictator. This miraculous historical event was also accomplished, not through a violent revolution, but through a peaceful People Power Revolution.

At that time, the conventional wisdom by geopolitical experts also was that a dictatorial regime based on force could only be toppled by violent revolutions.

The other historic parallelism is that the People Power Revolution was inspired by the martyrdom of Ninoy Aquino and led to a successful conclusion by Corazon Aquino. Today, the Philippines is again showing the world that there is no limit that can be gained by peaceful means as long as the cause is just and there is a courageous and focused leader.

Even his severest critic must accept that P-Noy’s determination and focused leadership was one of the primary causes for this historic peace agreement which will give our nation a chance for peace in Mindanao after centuries of conflict. This is another lesson — like People Power — that the world can learn from the Philippines.

Young Writers’ Summer Hangout

Where The Write Things Are, a writing center which aims to nurture and nourish the writing potentials of young children, presents the Young Writers’ Summer Hangout at Fully Booked in Bonifacio Global City for would-be writers from ages 7-15. Scheduled for six sessions starting on May 5, 2014, the workshop is headed by author Neni Sta. Romana Cruz and seeks to lead the students to discover the writer in them using various creative, engaging and fun methods wherein different forms of writing and beloved books will be shared. A starter book of the student’s writing is the expected end product.   

All classes will be taught by Neni along with Roel Sta. Romana Cruz, both published authors who have mentored young writers. With the sheer enjoyment and love of words, books, and the craft at the forefront, the Young Writers’ Summer Hangout is definitely a fruitful and productive way for your child to spend the summer and make his or her own unique contributions to the wonderful and beautiful world of stories.   

For information on how to register and other inquiries, email [email protected] or call/text 0917-6240196.

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Email: [email protected]