Filipino bishops praise "historic peace agreement" between government and Muslims
March 28, 2014 - The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has welcomed
Thursday’s peace agreement between the Filipino government and the Moro Islamic Liberation
Front (MILF). According to CBCP president, Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan,
the deal represents a "milestone" in the peace process and an end to Mindanao separatism.
During the ceremony, attended by over a thousand people in the capital, Manila, President
Benigno Aquino said the peace agreement "can lead to a permanent change in Muslim
Mindanao". Echoing the president, MILF chief, Murad Ebrahim noted that the comprehensive
agreement is the crowning glory of their struggle. The deal brings to an end 45 years
of conflict that claimed more than 120,000 lives, one of Asia's longest separatist
wars.
About 10,000 former MILF fighters and supporters welcomed it at Camp
Darapanan, in Sultan Kudarat, a town in Maguindanao province. "Like all peace-loving
Filipinos, we rejoice with our countrymen as we mark a milestone in the peace process
with the signing of the peace agreement between the Filipino government and the MILF,"
Archbishop Villegas said. Christians will pray for the deal's success, he added, so
that "this first brave step will be followed by more steps towards a true and lasting
peace in Mindanao." In their appeal, the bishop called on the government to pursue
a path of peace that includes broad-based "consultations and an honest, open and trusting
dialogue" with groups like the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), another important
Muslim separatist group.
Bishop Villegas hopes that such consultations and
talks will include all Mindanao groups - particularly those who feel ignored or relegated
to the margins like the MNLF. In fact, for him, "The strength of the agreement lies
in everyone's willingness to reach out to those who are oppose". What is more, Mindanao's
economy needs a boost. Without human development, there can be no peace. Any delay
is too much "for the people of Mindanao who have been suffering for decades," the
Bishop Villegas explained. For several decades, the MILF has sought to win the independence
of Mindanao and its surrounding islands, a region that contains an estimated US$ 312
billion in mineral resources. In order to the end a war that left thousands of people
dead, the two sides signed a five-page Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB)
on 24 January, in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur. The deal opens the way for
the creation by 2016 of an Autonomous Government of Bangsamoro in lieu the Autonomous
Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
The new arrangement grants Muslims self-government
in parts of Mindanao in exchange of a cease-fire and the disarmament of Muslim rebels.
However, the deal is threatened by Muslim groups opposed to it as well as from resistance
within the Filipino state. Made up of former MILF fighters, the Bangsamoro Islamic
Freedom Fighters (BIFF) has a reputation for violence. Opposed to the deal, it continues
to attract fighters who are unwilling to lay down their weapons. For its part, the
Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) is equally opposed to the peace plan. Back in
September, it tried to disrupt the peace process by conducting a series of violent
attacks that left more than 200 people dead. The deal is also not going to find it
any easier among some members of the Filipino Congress, or in the Supreme Court, which
could strike down some of its provisions as unconstitutional. (Source: AsiaNews)