Army’s action in Mindanao ineffective, says priest
DAVAO CITY, July 10, 2009 – Instead of solving the problem, Oblates of Mary Immaculate priest Fr. Eduardo Vasquez, Jr. said that the military action in Mindanao is not helping the already awful situation of the people brought about by sufferings and displacements.
“Our conclusion is that the military action had not been effective. Solving this problem [peace], therefore, should be done in the context of the peace process,” Vasquez said as quoted by Mindanao Peoples Caucus (MPC).
Vasquez said that it would help if the Adhoc Joint Action Group (AJAG) created by both government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to investigate and recommend punitive actions against erring MILF troops be reconstituted immediately, conduct a thorough and impartial investigation on the charges hurled against the MILF commanders and recommend punitive action against them if found guilty of the charges.”
He added that the concern on MILF erring commanders is not only exclusive to the military but also includes the MILF so both should work together.
The government, earlier, imposed a P10 million bounty for each information that would lead to the arrest of MILF commanders Ameril Umbra Kato, Abdulrahman Macapaar, alias Commander Bravo, and P5-million for Amil Solaiman Pangalian charged of murder, multiple murder, frustrated murder and arson.
“Police action is also ineffective in the past 11 months, so they should rethink,” said Vasquez, also the parish priest of Sta. Teresita Parish, home to about 300 Catholic families in Datu Piang and coordinator of the Inter-religious Dialogue Program of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate and head of the I-Watch, a media arm of the Oblates.
IDP consultations, 7/14
Meanwhile, the result of the series of consultations on the plight of internally displaced persons (IDPs ) in Mindanao will be presented for public discussion on July 14 in Cotabato City.
A series of consultation/dialogue between and among IDS from Barangay Ganta, Penditen, Bakat and Inaladan all in Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Maguindanao were conducted by a non-government organization (NGO) from May 18- June 18, 2009.
The consultation focuses on the plight of the IDPs as well their day-to-day struggles in the different evacuation camps in the province.
Abdulbasit R. Benito, executive director of Bangsamoro Center for JustPeace in the Phil’s. Inc. (BCJP), an institution working towards the advancement of culture of peace said, the consultation dialogue is triggered on the recent wave of displacement that happened sometime last April in Barangay Ganta, Penditen, Bakat, Inaladan in Datu Saudi Ampatuan where civilians are forced to flee because of unrelenting hostilities in the ground.
“[After this presentation] civilians are expected to come up with their own recommendation when it comes to their safety and security in the area and also to share the documented plight of the civilians displaced by the current hostilities and shed light on the issues of unpredictable military shelling to those barangays,” said Benito.
The result of the consultation with the IDPs will be presented at Bai Labi Hall of El Manuel Convention Center in Cotabato City.
Some of its objectives are for the civil society organizations (CSOs) to share their expertise and resources; for military to orient displaced civilians and humanitarian players regarding objectives of their operation to avoid panic and trauma and for civilians to present their recommendations and options regarding their safety and security in the ground while tensions are going on. (Mark S. Ventura)
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Friday, July 10, 2009
a call to end violence
MPC: Stop the bombings
Mindanao has again returned to the theatre of war with hundreds of thousands of people currently displaced in Cotabato, Maguindanao and Lanao plus the series of bombings launched in the region by still unidentified perpetrators.
“This is enough. The bloodshed must stop. We cannot continue to be drawn into this quagmire of war and violence. We cannot continue to watch our children die one by one. We cannot allow the civilians to pay such a high cost for this war which is not going anywhere. We are concerned with the civilians as much as we also mourn for the loss of lives of combatants, soldiers and rebels alike,” the Mindanao Peoples Caucus (MPC) in a statement said.
“We, as a people, must put an end to this carnage now. It is time to unite, Muslims and Christians alike. We have to take bolder steps to create a safer and more secure environment for our children and family. A step into that direction is to work out for a ceasefire in the conflict affected areas and allow the internally displaced persons to return home.”
The group also condemned the recent bombings in Cotabato City, Jolo and Iligan claimed the lives of innocent people, young and old. “ …we are outraged by the spate of violence happening in Cotabato and Maguindanao which only shows our collective failure to resolve this lingering armed conflict,” the group said.
CALL FOR VIGILANCE
Meanwhile, Bangsamoro Center for Justpeace in the Philippines Inc., (BCJP) Executive Director Abdulbasit R. Benito said that more than anything else the people should unite now to call for peace and put an end to all the violence in Mindanao.
“We are calling on the presence of the Bishops, Ulamas and Civil Society Organizations to observe sobriety, intensify unity at this time through dialogues and consultations,” he said.
Benito also encouraged families of those affected civilians to calm down even as they appealed to the Philippine National Police (PNP) and other security forces of the government to conduct an in-depth investigation and bring all perpetrators into justice with due process.
Since 2003, Mindanao has relatively enjoyed the dividends of peace as a result of a functional ceasefire agreement under the auspices of the Joint Ceasefire Committee of both government and the MILF. From a record of around 700 ceasefire violations in 2002, it has dramatically dropped to less than 10 violations in 2007, due to the cooperation of the government, MILF and the International Monitoring Team. The ceasefire agreement has effectively silenced the guns in Mindanao.
But, in the aftermath of the MOA-AD controversy, the gains of the peace process had been thrown into the dust bin. The ceasefire had collapsed, the IMT had packed up and left for good and the ceasefire committee had been demobilized as the hawks took over the war front. (Mark S. Ventura)
MILF: Don't blame us
MILF: Stop blaming us
Fed up by the usual rhetoric of the government of being blamed in the series of atrocities in Mindanao, Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) spokesperson Eid Kabalu said the military appears to be unreasonable in their statements.
Kabalu said that the MILF has nothing to do with the bombings in the region and blaming them will only aggravate the situation.
“As far as the MILF leadership is concerned we have nothing to do with the bombing. It will not contribute in any matter to the just cause of the MILF. [We are saddened with the reports] that the military is already preempting that the MILF is behind all the atrocities in the region,” Kabalu told DCherald by phone.
Kabalu also made an appeal to the military to be non-discriminatory to the MILF command after the Armed Forces’ Public Information Office issued statements that suspected members of the MILF are behind the attacks in Mindanao lately.
STATE SPONSORED
Kabalu, meantime called on the Catholic bishops and other concerned groups to look into the series of bombing incidents in the region seriously as this could be a product of a state-sponsored-violence to discredit the MILF leadership.
Kabalu said that they are wondering on the reasons why it is too easy for the military to put the blame on the rebels whenever atrocities take place in the region.
“We don’t want to entertain the thought but if the military is openly accusing us of all the bombing incidents in the region, [then it is high time concerned groups including the Catholic bishops to organize a fact finding body that will look into this matter],” Kabalu said.
He said that they’re tired of being dragged by the military in the bad light whenever violence erupts in Mindanao.
“We don’t want this to happen. We don’t want the military to always associate us with violence. We are pursuing a just cause and not violence. Maybe this is the military’s way of discrediting the command of the MILF. We want that our side will also be presented plainly,” added Kabalu.
Last week, the MILF central command also made an appeal to journalists coming from Manila and Mindanao to help them attain a balance and fair news reporting of the violence happening in the region.
Former Maguindanao Representative Datu Michael Mastura said the culture of fear towards Muslims and the MILF is already built outside Mindanao due to some irresponsible news reporting of the conflict including the series of bombings in Mindanao. (Mark S. Ventura) Photo courtesy of Sun Star Cagayan
MILF on Muslims-Christians relations
MILF keeps relations of
Muslim-Christian intact
SULTAN KUDARAT, MAGUINDANAO—After an improvised explosive devised (IED) exploded last Sunday, July 5, in front of the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Cotabato City, the military said that the attack was being directed to the worshippers by suspected members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)
Such statement, as a result, arouses suspicions from churchgoers that the violence in the region is now being directed to the matters of faith.
Reacting on this, MILF spokesperson Eid Kabalu said that the statement issued by the military is purely a harassment and “accusing the MILF as responsible for the bombing and saying that it is directed to the church or churchgoers is a very strong statement that might send a wrong notion to the public.”
“We are not responsible for the bombing, that’s plain and simple. We joined the Catholic bishops in condemning all the attacks which took place in front of the cathedral [in time of the holy mass]. We have a policy against violence and we are clear on that,” Kabalu said.
Archbishop of Cotabato Orlando Quevedo said that to say that the attack was intended against the Cathedral and against churchgoers would be stretching the facts to the limit.
Kabalu also commended the statement of Quevedo saying, “The MILF is never in time infusing a Muslim-Christian conflict in Mindanao. That’s not our cause, we respect our brothers in the Christian faith and we don’t even tolerate violence that will eventually brew Muslim-Christian hatred.”
He said that the MILF leadership continues to have a good and harmonious relationship with Catholic bishops and other Christian religious leaders in the region.
“Why would we allow Muslim-Christian conflict here? We have so many friends in the Catholic faith, one is Fr. Jun Mercado who helped us a lot in our early stage in the peace process,” he said.
Kabalu also corrected the statement that the MILF is behind the bombing and is directed at the cathedral or the churchgoers.
“That is a very irresponsible statement [out to ferment confusion and discredit the MILF]” Kabalu said in vernacular.
Meanwhile, a priest who refused to be named for lack of authority also appealed to the government not to immediately issue statements without further investigations.
He said “accusing the MILF rebels of being behind the explosion is also unfair. We have been working for inter-religious dialogue here in Mindanao. Some of our ulamas are also helping us including leaders of the MILF, so it is not healthy to easily blame the rebels for any violence.”
“The statement of the good Archbishop Quevedo is right that to say that the attack was intended against the Cathedral and against churchgoers would be stretching the facts to the limit. People of good will like our Muslim brothers who want peace in Mindanao will not in anyway support such a ruthless activity,” he added.
The on-going atrocities in Mindanao cannot be denied to be rooted in the century old Mindanao conflict. The 12,000–strong forces of the MILF to date continue with its fundamental cause related to ancestral lands and historic rights versus to what they called as “the imperial national government’s democracy.” (Mark S. Ventura)
Muslim-Christian intact
SULTAN KUDARAT, MAGUINDANAO—After an improvised explosive devised (IED) exploded last Sunday, July 5, in front of the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Cotabato City, the military said that the attack was being directed to the worshippers by suspected members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)
Such statement, as a result, arouses suspicions from churchgoers that the violence in the region is now being directed to the matters of faith.
Reacting on this, MILF spokesperson Eid Kabalu said that the statement issued by the military is purely a harassment and “accusing the MILF as responsible for the bombing and saying that it is directed to the church or churchgoers is a very strong statement that might send a wrong notion to the public.”
“We are not responsible for the bombing, that’s plain and simple. We joined the Catholic bishops in condemning all the attacks which took place in front of the cathedral [in time of the holy mass]. We have a policy against violence and we are clear on that,” Kabalu said.
Archbishop of Cotabato Orlando Quevedo said that to say that the attack was intended against the Cathedral and against churchgoers would be stretching the facts to the limit.
Kabalu also commended the statement of Quevedo saying, “The MILF is never in time infusing a Muslim-Christian conflict in Mindanao. That’s not our cause, we respect our brothers in the Christian faith and we don’t even tolerate violence that will eventually brew Muslim-Christian hatred.”
He said that the MILF leadership continues to have a good and harmonious relationship with Catholic bishops and other Christian religious leaders in the region.
“Why would we allow Muslim-Christian conflict here? We have so many friends in the Catholic faith, one is Fr. Jun Mercado who helped us a lot in our early stage in the peace process,” he said.
Kabalu also corrected the statement that the MILF is behind the bombing and is directed at the cathedral or the churchgoers.
“That is a very irresponsible statement [out to ferment confusion and discredit the MILF]” Kabalu said in vernacular.
Meanwhile, a priest who refused to be named for lack of authority also appealed to the government not to immediately issue statements without further investigations.
He said “accusing the MILF rebels of being behind the explosion is also unfair. We have been working for inter-religious dialogue here in Mindanao. Some of our ulamas are also helping us including leaders of the MILF, so it is not healthy to easily blame the rebels for any violence.”
“The statement of the good Archbishop Quevedo is right that to say that the attack was intended against the Cathedral and against churchgoers would be stretching the facts to the limit. People of good will like our Muslim brothers who want peace in Mindanao will not in anyway support such a ruthless activity,” he added.
The on-going atrocities in Mindanao cannot be denied to be rooted in the century old Mindanao conflict. The 12,000–strong forces of the MILF to date continue with its fundamental cause related to ancestral lands and historic rights versus to what they called as “the imperial national government’s democracy.” (Mark S. Ventura)
on cotabato bombing
Bishop appeals to people
Pray for Mindanao
Following the series of explosions in Mindanao, the bishops in Cotabato City appealed to the people to storm heaven with their unceasing prayers for the conversion of the hearts of attackers and for peace in Mindanao.
Cotabato Archbishop Orlando Quevedo asked the people to pray for peace and to ask Mary, the Queen of Peace to intercede for the suffering people of Mindanao.
“Pray…Pray…Pray for peace. Don’t be afraid. Let us all together pray for peace in Mindanao,” Archbishop Quevedo told the people on Sunday, July 5 following the deadly blast in front of the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Cotabato City.
Archbishop Quevedo also called on the people not to easily jump into conclusions as to those who are responsible for the bombing even as he also appealed to the government to conduct an in-depth investigation.
The military has immediately put the blame on the suspected members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) as responsible for the series of atrocities in Mindanao.
MILF spokesperson Eid Kabalu, in an interview with Davao Catholic Herald denied the accusations of the military and also condemned the series of violence in the region.
Meanwhile, Cotabato Auxiliary Bishop Jose Colin M. Bagaforo reminded the people that in this fragile situation of Mindanao, there’s no room for violence because it will only cause more violence.
Bishop Bagaforo said that the Church has called for sobriety and asked all sectors from the government to various religious groups and organizations to pray for the conversion of the attackers.
He also pointed out the trauma and stress that will affect the lives of the people due to violence.
In Notre Dame University (NDU)–Cotabato, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) News Service reported that the students’ trauma due to bombing will still be addressed by experts before they return to their normal classes.
He said that they never failed in informing the people to be vigilant of packages left behind by unidentified people and report the same to the authorities at the soonest possible time.
The cathedral will also implement security measures not only inside the church building but also its perimeter through the Philippine military personnel who have been trained for the purpose.
Bishop Bagaforo said that this policy is not only implemented in the city but to all churches in the Archdiocese of Cotabato. (Mark S. Ventura w/ cbcpnews)
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