Fight for peace

At the age of 14, I was displaced for three months in a violent civil war, without the protection of my parents. As a first hand witness of widespread carnage and having seen a dead baby clinging onto a lifeless mother, fighting for peace is an all consuming priority for me.

The pursuit of peace requires courage, commitment and compromise.  History rightly holds in high regard those who have forged peace in the midst of conflict. Naysayers and shallow opportunists fail to register even as a footnote. When a settlement is within touching distance, it is time for statesmen to step up and push through the last remaining obstacles and overcome setbacks.

In the UK, we have had to fight hard to secure and maintain peace in Northern Ireland.  A conflict deeply rooted in history was ended 17 years ago with the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.  Since then, issues have been resolved through political institutions and negotiations. This year, we will see the first generation of graduates from high school in Northern Ireland who have never experienced soldiers on their streets or the sight of bombed out buildings.

Four months after the Good Friday Agreement was signed and just as the enacting Bill was in the hands of Parliament, a bomb exploded in the town of Omagh in Northern Ireland. Twenty-nine people were killed including 12 children and a mother pregnant with twins. With anger and emotion, some said there could be no peace deal with terrorists. Others said if the perpetrators could not be prosecuted there was no justice.  Instead, former combatants and political enemies worked for the good of their community. Today, Northern Ireland is a prosperous self-governing part of the United Kingdom and no one wants to return to troubled times.

Those who are most opposed to peace are driven to more desperate and devastating measures when a resolution is imminent. The power barons and racketeers who benefit from the status quo are more likely to step up their efforts to undermine the process.  Others might look to exploit the emotions of those who suffered violence to suit their own political agendas.  In the midst of prejudice, ignorance and at times misplaced patriotism, lies the opportunity for informed and constructive action.

The Bangsamoro, as a devolved administration underpinned by the proposed law, is a step in the direction of long term peace. In exchange for limited autonomy, all who have been engaged in armed conflict have to submit to the rule of law and a system of democratic government that is not the exclusive purview of any one faction. If the MILF wants to play a part in the future Bangsamoro government, then its political party will have to secure support from the outlying islands, the indigenous people, Christians as well as their core base. The proposed form of government for Bangsamoro is designed to create a coalition of interests rather than a unilateral victory for one side.

In Britain, we know what the real costs of war are both at home and abroad. We face the continuing threat of terrorism and the corruption of religion. We have our own self-interest and that of the global community at the heart of our concern for countering radicalism. In lending our support to goals of the Bangsamoro, we are equally fulsome in our support for tackling the bankruptcy of those claiming to be ISIL, BIFF or some other abbreviated deviance. The Bangsamoro agreement is not just for the communities who have long suffered from conflict but for the entire country.  The world does not discern between parts of the Philippines that claim to be unaffected by the violence. With peace comes prosperity and investments that now flow to other parts of the region would come to all parts of the Republic. Instead of facing inwards, the Armed Forces of the Philippines would be better able to address external threats or to respond to natural disasters.

Mamasapano was an avoidable tragedy and there is an understandable desire for truth and justice for not just the immediate victims but for the many thousands who have perished in Mindanao. The most fitting tribute to those who have suffered would be the legacy of a Bangsamoro that is well governed, at peace and where the people are included in the future prosperity of the Republic of the Philippines.

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(Asif Ahmad is the British Ambassador)