Fragmentation, not peace.

Written on Friday, August 8th, 2008 at 11:57 pm | by J

I can’t argue Constitution with our distinguished colleague Abe Margallo. But I have to disagree with him- not as a lawyer but as a Filipino- that the agreement between the Arroyo regime and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) creating an all-powerful Bangsamoro juridical entity (BJE) will, as if by magic wand, bring about lasting peace in southern Philippines.

With the massive protest actions being staged by the affected stakeholders- some of them even threatening to take up arms if need be- it will not be an exaggeration to say that this agreement will only fuel more conflict in the area, further bogging down efforts to stabilize Mindanao.

If there’s one thing that will come out of this agreement, it’s the further fragmentation of the Philippines, not peace.

First of all, the fact that the government, in the agreement, recognizes the “Moros” as a “distinct and dominant” people, I think, is tantamount to saying that they are not Filipinos. This, in my book, removes the fundamental moral reason for the Philippines to assimilate the Muslims into the Filipino society. And this, in turn, would give them another moral reason to secede.

Secondly, not only will the unprecedented autonomy for this BJE lay the grounds for the potential creation of Islamic laws that could discriminate against Christians living in the area, it will also result into the further isolation of our Muslim brothers and sisters from the Filipino nation, which will further sow separatism in their mindset.

If the BJE will have a free hand in the area’s educational system, how sure are we that they will not remove lessons about Jose Rizal, patriotism and even the national language from their curriculum? What can we do if the BJE begins to teach Filipino Muslim children in schools that they are not Filipinos but an oppressed people who should strive for independence or for unification with other Muslims in Southeast Asia?

How can we be sure that the BJE will use Mindanao’s natural resources to improve the living conditions of our countrymen there, instead of channeling the funds to pursue the MILF’s ultimate agenda? How can we stop this BJE from declaring independence or from joining the Federation of Malaysia in the long run?

In the end, what this agreement does is to widen the polarization between Filipino Muslims and Christians, which is bad for a nation that aims to build a united secular society where Christians, Muslims and atheists alike can co-exist in harmony.

Sure, the government has neglected Mindanao in the past, but this is not a reason for us to carve our territory and create an isolated “juridical entity” for the Muslims.

Indeed, I see no reason for us to strike a deal with the MILF- who doesn’t even represent the majority of the Filipino Muslims in Mindanao and Sulu- especially after we had already made one with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in the 1990s.

I believe the creation of the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) removes the moral reason for the MILF to continue its armed struggle against the Philippine government. If the group has problems with the creation of the ARMM, why can’t it air its grievances through peaceful means?

As Dean Bocobo keeps on saying, the ARMM is not succeeding simply because the MILF insurgency is not giving it a chance to succeed. Why? Because the MILF will never settle for anything less than independence. And the group sees this BJE as a mere springboard towards that end.

And if we are not vigilant, the MILF might just get its Islamic state. The earlier meetings between US Ambassador Kristie Kenney and MILF chairman Al Haj Murad, the provisions in the memorandum of agreement granting this BJE the authority to establish trade ties with foreign countries, the subsequent support of the US to the creation of the BJE, and the fact that there exist vast reserve of energy resources in the Sulu Sea and the Liguasan Marsh say a lot about the stake of the United States on this issue. This makes me wonder whether or not Washington would support an MILF declaration of independence the way it supported Kosovo’s if the creation of BJE does not push through.

We should prevent this worst case scenario from happening.

And the best way for us to do so is to get rid of the MILF. Let them take an oath of allegiance to the Philippine flag and lay down arms voluntarily. Then let’s talk about and resolve their grievances within the frameworks of our laws.

If they refuse to do so, then we should enforce our laws and use the full might of the Armed Forces of the Philippines to disarm them forcefully.

The Republic need not negotiate with these rebels from a position of weakness.

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About The Author: J is a 19 year old varsity debater and a sophomore taking up International Relations at the Lyceum in Manila. He loves to write about geopolitics. His personal blog is The Nutbox.

Filed Under Local News, National News, Politics

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Comments

10 Responses to “Fragmentation, not peace.”

  1. Philman on August 9th, 2008 12:34 am

    J, I think in the present global scenario, moral per)suasion will not work.

    The extreme competition for earth’s limited resources plus the present multi-polarity (after the Cold War, rise of BRIC powers, etc), necessitates a re-thinking of RP’s approaches in its domestic and foreign policies, including the Muslim insurgency, i.e. go beyond the moral and legal arguments.

    We must be prepared to use power, i.e. realpolitik. I read somewhere

  2. J on August 9th, 2008 1:12 am

    I agree, Philman. Although I still believe we should not totally ignore moral considerations. But in this case, there’s no moral ascendncy for the MILF because they’ve been rejected by the Musilm Filipinos and Mindanaoans a lot of times in many plebiscites. We should therefore use force to pursue lasting peace.

    But I admit it’s easier said than done though. We might have better arms, soldiers and funding than the MILF, but we don’t have a compact chain of command.

    Given the political will, though, I believe we can easily defeat the MILF. We almost did when they fled Abu Bakar in 2000 and Hashim Salamat fled to Malaysia. I just don’t know what happened afterwards and why Arroyo pursued negotiations with them again.

  3. cocoy on August 9th, 2008 6:16 am

    The Republic need not negotiate with these rebels from a position of weakness.

    j, by accepting the draft— this government is already in a position of weakness. the cat is out of the bag.

  4. cvj on August 9th, 2008 3:54 pm

    It is naive to think that us ordinary citizens can participate in ‘real politik’ as the latter is practiced behind the scenes. The best the public can hope for is to make itself a big enough factor to the practitioners of such real politik. This happened twice before, during EDSA when Laxalt had to advice Marcos to ‘cut and cut cleanly’ and once again in 1992 when the US had to pull out its basis after the Senate’s rejection of the treaty.

  5. Philman on August 9th, 2008 11:27 pm

    cvj,

    If I want to know such views, I’d Google it myself.

  6. Bencard on August 10th, 2008 12:20 am

    philman, are you saying this particular “views” of cvj is in google? which part of it, and under what tag? i want to see it for myself.

  7. cvj on August 10th, 2008 12:52 am

    Philman, i’m not here to give you what you ‘want’.

  8. retsy on August 10th, 2008 2:39 am

    I do agree, Muslims are Filipinos. We belong to one country the Philippines. Then why should the Muslims wanted to have their very own Islamic State?????
    Why is that the Arroyo government is stressing the idea in creating distinction towards the Filipino-Muslims???
    What kind of scenario the president is creating, she added more chaos in Mindanao…We are going to dig a little deeper, The Muslims are not majority in Mindanao, in fact they are Minority groups only. Then, why should the Arroyo Government wanted to have this agreement, The Bangsamoro Juridical Entity [BJE], for what purpose this will serve??????
    It will create more chaos as a whole upon seeing the total concept in different perspective!!!! Thus chaos sorrounded already some parts of Mindanao because of this, No justification at all among the christians living in Mindanao!!!!!!

  9. retsy on August 11th, 2008 12:47 am

    It is so annoying!!!! the agreement between Arroyo administration & the MILF created so much chaos in Mindanao. Look at the scenario now, there is no Peace at all!!!!!! The war Sprung because of this “BJE”!!!!!
    How could she conceptualized this stuff?????
    The Philippines is an archipelago, a fragmented shape, there between the 3 biggest islands [Luzon, Visayaz & Mindanao. the big question marked is the fact that if this “BJE” will come towards its realization, then the philippine WILL LEAD ITS WAY TO separation particularly Mindanao!!!!!

    Can they survive, if they will create an Islamic State????? How about the christians who are considered majority in Mindanao area, what will happen to our fellows?????

    Our’s is a democratic country, thus I am in titled in my own opinion. My point of view pertaining to this scenario is an absolute fact that our President is aiming to declare a “State of Emergency or even worst to declare “Martial law”!!!!!!!
    If we will look at it in different perspective, She can declare any of those as chief executive. Therefore, if the affected area in North- Cotabato will worsen their situation, then it will be an alarming point hence she might declare a “State of Emergency” or the worst one the “Martial Law”.
    Your brillant, Madame President!!! It is certain that in your remaining term as president “, gumagapang na lahat ng galamay mo” just to stay in power……….

    MALIWANAG, TAKTIKA ANG LAHAT NG ITO NG ARROYO ADMINISTRATION!!!!!!!

  10. taxj on November 21st, 2008 10:08 pm

    A few points missed here. Not all Muslims are for Islam rule. Already FM’s Martial Law is better than Gloria’s regime. Less evil, I mean. Not that the rest were any better! Any successor will not bring relief. The fault is in the system.

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