OFFICIAL STATEMENT
A Call for Sincerity and Political Will
The pull-out of the International Monitoring Team (IMT) led by the Malaysian Government has created several reactions or statements from various sectors.
The Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) has declared it was surprised of the pronouncement by Malaysia regarding IMT’s “phased pull-out” but it “respects and accepts their latest decision.” The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has asserted that Kuala Lumpur “is doing the right thing”.
Let it be noted however that said pull-out is not at all a surprise. The Malaysian Government has been sincere and honest in mediating the GRP-MILF Peace Talks. And we value and treasure this very much. Nevertheless it must have already been fed up by the way the Philippine Government has been “playing around” with the peace talks.
Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno has said government should not give in to MILF’s demand for a Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE) without a plebiscite, and Armed Forces Vice Chief Lt. Gen. Antonio Romero said peace talks would not continue without disarming the MILF.
Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has said in his television program “Gikan sa Masa, Para sa Masa” (From the masses, For the masses) that he thinks the government is just playing around in the talks with the MILF.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita had once told a group of non-government workers from Mindanao that the Arroyo administration policy vis-à-vis the GRP-MILF Peace Talks is ‘paikutin lang’ (to play around).”
Secretary Jesus Dureza, the presidential adviser on the peace process, assessed the impasse as “among the most serious to stall the rocky talks, a big hump” upon which the Philippine government has no “magic formula” while “looking for a way out”.
To recall, when GRP-MILF Peace Talks was in full swing, the Bangsamoro was so hopeful that finally a just and lasting peace will shine again in their homeland. United States Ambassador to the Philippines Kristie Kenney even visited the MILF camp and expressed support to the peace process.
However, the IMT pull-out has again pushed the prospects of restoring peace in Mindanao—which has been a long yearning of both the native inhabitants and migrants in this land—to uncertainty.
This is not amazing because the government’s record or performance in peace talks is not fulfilling. GRP forged a peace accord with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in 1996 but a decade later the MNLF has not been satisfied with the implementation and cried for tripartite review of said accord. GRP also engaged peace talks with the National Democratic Front (NDF) but the latter withdrew because while the peace talks was ongoing, military offensives were launched by the GRP against the New People’s Army (NPA). And now the MILF suffers the same situation.
Ahead of Malaysia ’s pull-out from IMT, GRP has now been busy in flexing its arms: spreading propaganda and boosting its military capacity. The military wanted an “emergency procurement” for nearly 1.6 billion pesos worth of artillery and explosives; procurement of thousands of rockets, howitzers and mortars as part of its “regular build-up”. Furthermore, the Department of Defense has been asked to scrap bidding procedure for said weapons in favor of an “emergency procurement.” What GRP has been doing sends a strong message of preparation for large-scale war— an undisputed threat to national security! God forbid!
Given all these scenarios, the Bangsamoro people could only hope that— if only Manila has the strong political will and creativity to pursue peace talks and implement agreement, it can adopt the experience of other countries without invoking constitutional process. For at the onset of the GRP-MILF peace talks, the consensus between the two parties was clear: GRP will not refer to Constitution and MILF will not demand for independence.
We therefore urge Her Excellency President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to exercise her full power both as President of the Republic of the Philippines and as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines to uphold the primacy of the peace talks over military solution to address the centuries-old Mindanao problem!
The civilian is at all times superior over the military as demonstrated by her positions. Military actions and circumventing peace talks are inutile as proven in history. They can only produce superficial peace because they are not based on justice. Justice delayed is justice denied.
Let neither the forthcoming ARMM elections nor the pushing for Constitutional Change impede the resumption of GRP-MILF the talks and signing of a peace agreement, or be a stumbling block in honest review of the government-MNLF final peace accord.
We appeal to the MILF and MNLF to exercise extra patience in dealing with the GRP in peace talks.
Likewise, we call on both the local and international community to help us Mindanaoans to attain the kind of peace that we want, not what others want for us! Be with us in pushing the talks forward!
(Sgd.) TEMOGEN TULAWIE
Chairperson, CBCS Sulu Region
(Sgd.) MAGUID MARUHOM
Chairperson, CBCS Sibugay Region
(Sgd.) NATHAN INSUNG
Chairperson, CBCS Basilan Region
(Sgd.) MUNIB KAHAL
Chairperson, CBCS Zamboanga Region
(Sgd.) RAHIB KUDTO
Chairperson, CBCS Kutawato Region
(Sgd.) SALIC IBRAHIM
Chairperson, CBCS Ranaw Region
(Sgd.) OSCAR SULAIMAN
Chairperson, CBCS Rajah Buayan Region
(Sgd.) SAMMY BUAT
Chairperson, CBCS Dabaw Region
(Sgd.) SAMMY P. MAULANA
Secretary General, CBCS
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Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society, Inc. (CBCS)
KFI Compound, F. Tamse St, Poblacion IV9600, Cotabato City
Telefax No.: +63 (064) 421-5420
Website: http://www.cbcsi.org/
E-mail: http://us.f570.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=cbcs_04@yahoo.com
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
Stop dilly-dallying! Mindanao peace is long overdue!
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Friday, April 4, 2008
Manifesto against Balikatan
RANAW CRESCENTAGAINST BALIKATAN EXCERCISES (RACABE)
Marawi City
Marawi City
MANIFESTO
We, the concerned leaders representing the different sectors of the Meranaw Bangsamoro Society, vehemently manifest our opposition to the upcoming RP-US joint military activities dubbed as Baliktan Training Exercises to be held in the Ranaw areas starting February 18, 2008 on the following grounds:
1. The U.S government is responsible for the contemporary sufferings of the Bangsamoro people under the tyranny of the Philippine neo-colonialism when it granted independence to the Filipinos on July 04, 1946 and at the same time allowed the illegal annexation of the Bangsamoro Homeland to the Philippine territory notwithstanding the protests of the Bangsamoro people as expressed in a number of documents such as letters, declarations and the like. As a consequence, the birthright of the Bangsamoro people for freedom and independence was immorally usurped resulting to the centuries-old Bangsamoro in Mindanao .
2. The RP-US Balikatan Exercises is essentially a component of the US Global War on terror, a war that is premised on blatant lies and deception presented to the American people and the whole world by no less than President George W. Bush himself of which the real motive is foreign military occupation and economic exploitation such as what happened, and is still happening , in Iraq, a Muslim country that was invaded and occupied the false pretext of the presence of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) that was to proven untrue.
3. The US War on Terror is being utilized by the Philippine government to modernize its military hardware and has caused the destruction of Muslim places, death of innocent people who were caught in the crossfire and incarceration of Muslim civilians for being mistakenly apprehended as “terroristsâ€. The US global war on terror is in its true sense a hostile act against Islam and Muslims. The people’s mind-set has been conditioned through media type that terrorism is an ideology of the Muslim freedom fighters.
4. The US presence in the Bangsamoro Homeland is essentially to maintain its military presence in the Far East to monitor and prevent possible threat and pre-empt attack to the US mainland. The Bangsamoro areas may be used as military command base or launching pad for US military attacks against any countries hostile to US interests. Consequently, the Bangsamorp Homeland will become a potential target of military reprisals against the US .
5. The US continued stay in Ranaw may bring social ills. They will surely disregard the cultural sensitivity of the local populace such as what happened in much-publicized Nicole rape case in Luzon .
6. The US imperialistic design in the Bangsamoro Homeland is far from over after they left; they might exploit all resources that may be discovered in the Bangsamoro areas. They will be occupying strategic places with rich natural resources in the Bangsamoro Homeland. With all their advance technologies, they can siphon off in a few moments our natural wealth. Hence, the Bangsamoro people are wary that they will be deprived of their God-endowed natural resources.
7. Lastly, the presence of US troops in Ranaw will be a serious threat to the on-going peace process in Mindanao since the US troops may also help organize counterinsurgency groups to contain the progressive revolutionary movement of the Bangsamoro Mujahideen. On one hand, it will awaken painful memories of the past American invasions of the Ranaw areas such as the massacres in Padang Karbala, Bayang, Lanao del Sur that almost wiped out all able-bodied men in the said municipality except for seven who are either minors or infirm, in Tugaya, Lanao del Sur, and Pantar, Lanao del Norte, that may trigger violent retaliatory actions against US troops. On the other hand, spoilers of peace can exploit the presence of US troops to sabotage the on-going peace process.
By the foregoing reasons, we believed that any move of any individual or groups with vested interests that will help the realization of the proposed RP-US joint military exercises in the Ranaw areas is considered as betrayal of the Bangsamor nation especially the Meranaw people and must be condemned to the strongest terms possible.
Finally, we appeal to the us government in the name of heavenly relations and the brotherhood of Humanity, if indeed you are champions of peace, justice, and democracy, to respect the sovereign will of the Bangsamoro people, particularly the Meranaws by refraining from taking part in this military exercises in order to avoid igniting remorseful feelings of historical origin.
In the same vein, we demand from the Philippine government to show its genuine sincerity and strong commitment to peace in Mindanao by stopping this unwelcome RP-US Balikatan exercises.
Done in the Islamic City of Marawi on February 05, 2008.
Cartoon row hits Denmark—again
Over two years after the publication of the controversial cartoons that mocked Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and have elicited fury and boycott of Danish goods in Muslim countries, unrest has again gripped Denmark.
Danish police arrested some people allegedly planning to assassinate the cartoonist who drew the cartoon.
Danish paper Jyllands-Posten, which first published the cartoons in September 2005, reprinted one of the caricatures as a response to the news of the arrest.
Critics slammed the cartoons as Islamophobic, racist, blasphemous to the Islamic faith, intended to humiliate a Danish minority, and a demonstration of ignorance in the history of Western imperialism, which supposedly dates from colonialism to the current conflicts in the Middle East.
Denmark has said, “freedom of expression has a wide scope and the Danish government has no means of influencing the press. However, Danish legislation prohibits acts or expressions of blasphemous or discriminatory nature. "
But such cases often lose in Danish courts because they contradict with the country’s putting forward of freedom of expression to the primacy.
The cartoons had been widely published throughout Europe and in some countries outside in 2005 and 2006, except in the US.
At the height of the tensions in 2006, CNN said it was not publishing the cartoons “because the network believes its role is to cover the events surrounding the publication of the cartoons while not unnecessarily adding fuel to the controversy itself."
Some of the caricatures depict Prophet Muhammad as: wearing a lit bomb for a turban; holding a sword while his eyes covered are by a black rectangle; his arms raised at the gates of heaven, saying to men who seem to be suicide bombers, "Stop, stop, we have run out of virgins;" has devil's horns emerging from his turban; and two women entirely veiled, with only their eyes showing, and the prophet standing between them with a strip of black cloth covering his eyes, preventing him from seeing.
Former US President Bill Clinton warned that anti-Semitism would be replaced with anti-Islamic prejudice.
The Organization of the Islamic Conference appealed “to the Muslims to stay calm and peaceful in the wake of sacrilegious depiction of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), which has deeply hurt their feelings” because “Islam being the religion of tolerance, mercy and peace teaches them (Muslims) to defend their faith through democratic and legal means.”
Protesters in Manila, Marawi, Cotabato and Basilan demanded for Denmark's apology and for President Arroyo's condemnation of the caricatures. They ripped apart Danish flags and set them on fire.
The Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society and other Moro concerned groups denounced the publication of the cartoons, called for solidarity of the Bangsamoro people, and urged dialogue and respect with other faiths.
Fr. Roberto C. Layson, interreligious program coordinator of the Archdiocese of Cotabato, condemned the publication of the cartoons and assailed the “Western media's lack of sensitivity to what other people hold as dear to them.”
“It could only come from a society that does not anymore regard religion as a value because they have made gods of themselves," he said
He described the publication of the cartoons as “tantamount to inciting violence,” adding that he could not imagine how Christians would have responded if the Pope were caricatured with an armalite as crozier (staff) and a swastika in his cap.
Dr. Abdulwahab Meddeb, a known French Muslim scholar, and France Ambassador to the Philippines Gerard Chesnel, in a recent visit to Mindanao State University in General Santos, cited the importance of dialogue in resolving interreligious conflicts, such as the ones caused by the publication of the Danish caricature.
“If you read Sura Al-Maida, you will learn that we can merge and live with the Christians and the People of the Book (Jews),” Meddeb said.
Many Muslims in the country have experienced being discriminated against in job employments, denied of credit in appliance stores, becoming immediate suspects in terrorist incidents and facing illegal detention.
A film that attacks the Qur’an will be shown in the Netherlands soon. The brain of the movie is Geert Wilders, a fiercely anti-Islam Dutch politician.
Reportedly Wilders is a populist who often badmouths against his political opponents, migrants, and Islam, while avoiding dialogue.
Concerned Dutch groups have already expressed anxiety over the possible ramifications of the movie in the Netherlands’ relationship with the Muslim world.
International human rights groups attribute the attacks on Islam in Europe to racism and xenophobia.
Danish police arrested some people allegedly planning to assassinate the cartoonist who drew the cartoon.
Danish paper Jyllands-Posten, which first published the cartoons in September 2005, reprinted one of the caricatures as a response to the news of the arrest.
Critics slammed the cartoons as Islamophobic, racist, blasphemous to the Islamic faith, intended to humiliate a Danish minority, and a demonstration of ignorance in the history of Western imperialism, which supposedly dates from colonialism to the current conflicts in the Middle East.
Denmark has said, “freedom of expression has a wide scope and the Danish government has no means of influencing the press. However, Danish legislation prohibits acts or expressions of blasphemous or discriminatory nature. "
But such cases often lose in Danish courts because they contradict with the country’s putting forward of freedom of expression to the primacy.
The cartoons had been widely published throughout Europe and in some countries outside in 2005 and 2006, except in the US.
At the height of the tensions in 2006, CNN said it was not publishing the cartoons “because the network believes its role is to cover the events surrounding the publication of the cartoons while not unnecessarily adding fuel to the controversy itself."
Some of the caricatures depict Prophet Muhammad as: wearing a lit bomb for a turban; holding a sword while his eyes covered are by a black rectangle; his arms raised at the gates of heaven, saying to men who seem to be suicide bombers, "Stop, stop, we have run out of virgins;" has devil's horns emerging from his turban; and two women entirely veiled, with only their eyes showing, and the prophet standing between them with a strip of black cloth covering his eyes, preventing him from seeing.
Former US President Bill Clinton warned that anti-Semitism would be replaced with anti-Islamic prejudice.
The Organization of the Islamic Conference appealed “to the Muslims to stay calm and peaceful in the wake of sacrilegious depiction of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), which has deeply hurt their feelings” because “Islam being the religion of tolerance, mercy and peace teaches them (Muslims) to defend their faith through democratic and legal means.”
Protesters in Manila, Marawi, Cotabato and Basilan demanded for Denmark's apology and for President Arroyo's condemnation of the caricatures. They ripped apart Danish flags and set them on fire.
The Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society and other Moro concerned groups denounced the publication of the cartoons, called for solidarity of the Bangsamoro people, and urged dialogue and respect with other faiths.
Fr. Roberto C. Layson, interreligious program coordinator of the Archdiocese of Cotabato, condemned the publication of the cartoons and assailed the “Western media's lack of sensitivity to what other people hold as dear to them.”
“It could only come from a society that does not anymore regard religion as a value because they have made gods of themselves," he said
He described the publication of the cartoons as “tantamount to inciting violence,” adding that he could not imagine how Christians would have responded if the Pope were caricatured with an armalite as crozier (staff) and a swastika in his cap.
Dr. Abdulwahab Meddeb, a known French Muslim scholar, and France Ambassador to the Philippines Gerard Chesnel, in a recent visit to Mindanao State University in General Santos, cited the importance of dialogue in resolving interreligious conflicts, such as the ones caused by the publication of the Danish caricature.
“If you read Sura Al-Maida, you will learn that we can merge and live with the Christians and the People of the Book (Jews),” Meddeb said.
Many Muslims in the country have experienced being discriminated against in job employments, denied of credit in appliance stores, becoming immediate suspects in terrorist incidents and facing illegal detention.
A film that attacks the Qur’an will be shown in the Netherlands soon. The brain of the movie is Geert Wilders, a fiercely anti-Islam Dutch politician.
Reportedly Wilders is a populist who often badmouths against his political opponents, migrants, and Islam, while avoiding dialogue.
Concerned Dutch groups have already expressed anxiety over the possible ramifications of the movie in the Netherlands’ relationship with the Muslim world.
International human rights groups attribute the attacks on Islam in Europe to racism and xenophobia.
CBCS’s Humble Beginnings and the Long Road to Peace
Reading the golden pages of history would reveal how the Bangsamoro people had faced through time certain situations and entities that challenged their existence both as a people and as a nation. The Spanish, American, and Japanese invasions and the contentious inclusion of Bangsamoro homeland in the formation of the Philippine republic in 1946 are, to name a few, some concrete examples of these instances.
If one would look at these historical accounts and delve into the actors involved, the agenda behind, and the strategies employed, one could see that the present major conflicts and injustices that continue to inflict the Bangsamoro and the Mindanaoans in general are rooted in the past and multifaceted in nature.
To put it simple, before the coming of the colonizers the Bangsamoro people were living in peace; after they left all (including the non-Moros) were shattered. It is for this reason that the Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society was formed in 2003.
The CBCS, faced with the challenge of picking up the pieces back again for the Bangsamoro people, struggled to invite Moro non-government and people’s organizations Mindanao-wide to join the network. However, like any other endeavors, it had never been easy for the CBCS at the outset, and there had been setbacks along the way.
Nevertheless the CBCS stood tall against all odds, and through its barely six years of existence as a network, it has already gone a long way in bringing together Bangsamoro civil society organizations.
The secret? Sustained cooperation, collaboration and coordination in facing the challenges of creating a peaceful environment towards the realization of human rights, justice and good governance, the CBCS central office and Regional Management Committees say.
Today, the CBCS already has 164 member-organizations, and still increasing. The CBCS has become a key influential actor in the pursuit of peace and development in the Bangsamoro homeland. Today also, there are existing or emerging issues and concerns that need special attention, the CBCS admits.
These include the RP-US Balikatan Exercises, mining issues and displacement of people, elections and electoral struggles in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, 1996 GRP-MNLF Final Peace Agreement and the Tripartite Review, impasse in the GRP-MILF peace talks, national scandals and political crisis, massacres and arbitrary arrests, global anti-terrorism campaign, climate change, charter change, MNLF-MILF unity issue, proposed national ID system and the ID system in Sulu, presence of US forces, anti-insurgency program of the government, and “rido” (clan conflict) issues.
These realities are based on geographical, political, social and economic avarice and injustice; they are rooted on ignorance, discrimination and prejudice; and are results of decades of colonial hegemony, the CBCS says.
These need to be addressed peacefully or they can endanger social healing efforts in Mindanao; they can trigger renaissance of acrimony and distrust between the Bangsamoro people and the Settlers, the CBCS adds.
As for the entire Bangsamoro people? Disunited, indecisive, uninformed, and unvoiced out stance on these issues and concerns could open the room for multidimensional opportunism at the expense of the people and can cause apparent divide among ethno-linguistic groups and shattering of their right to self-determination, the CBCS admits.
Everything is still clear today for the CBCS, as it was at the onset. In the grand task of bridging the gaps and building the future, the CBCS has embraced the vision of being a network of Moro civil society organizations that is able to collectively assert its influence in helping transform social and structural changes in Muslim Mindanao; a network that is able to sustain working together to achieve peace, justice and human development in a context of plural society. It envisions a society governed by justice where all peoples are respected of their inalienable rights to exercise self-determination, co-exist harmoniously and live with prosperity and dignity.
The CBCS recognizes that the road to peace and development in the Bangsamoro homeland is long and winding. It might take many generations. Meantime, hopes and prayers must not be shattered; gaps must be filled for the future of the Bangsamoro people and the Mindanaoans as a whole. (www.cbcsi.org)
If one would look at these historical accounts and delve into the actors involved, the agenda behind, and the strategies employed, one could see that the present major conflicts and injustices that continue to inflict the Bangsamoro and the Mindanaoans in general are rooted in the past and multifaceted in nature.
To put it simple, before the coming of the colonizers the Bangsamoro people were living in peace; after they left all (including the non-Moros) were shattered. It is for this reason that the Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society was formed in 2003.
The CBCS, faced with the challenge of picking up the pieces back again for the Bangsamoro people, struggled to invite Moro non-government and people’s organizations Mindanao-wide to join the network. However, like any other endeavors, it had never been easy for the CBCS at the outset, and there had been setbacks along the way.
Nevertheless the CBCS stood tall against all odds, and through its barely six years of existence as a network, it has already gone a long way in bringing together Bangsamoro civil society organizations.
The secret? Sustained cooperation, collaboration and coordination in facing the challenges of creating a peaceful environment towards the realization of human rights, justice and good governance, the CBCS central office and Regional Management Committees say.
Today, the CBCS already has 164 member-organizations, and still increasing. The CBCS has become a key influential actor in the pursuit of peace and development in the Bangsamoro homeland. Today also, there are existing or emerging issues and concerns that need special attention, the CBCS admits.
These include the RP-US Balikatan Exercises, mining issues and displacement of people, elections and electoral struggles in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, 1996 GRP-MNLF Final Peace Agreement and the Tripartite Review, impasse in the GRP-MILF peace talks, national scandals and political crisis, massacres and arbitrary arrests, global anti-terrorism campaign, climate change, charter change, MNLF-MILF unity issue, proposed national ID system and the ID system in Sulu, presence of US forces, anti-insurgency program of the government, and “rido” (clan conflict) issues.
These realities are based on geographical, political, social and economic avarice and injustice; they are rooted on ignorance, discrimination and prejudice; and are results of decades of colonial hegemony, the CBCS says.
These need to be addressed peacefully or they can endanger social healing efforts in Mindanao; they can trigger renaissance of acrimony and distrust between the Bangsamoro people and the Settlers, the CBCS adds.
As for the entire Bangsamoro people? Disunited, indecisive, uninformed, and unvoiced out stance on these issues and concerns could open the room for multidimensional opportunism at the expense of the people and can cause apparent divide among ethno-linguistic groups and shattering of their right to self-determination, the CBCS admits.
Everything is still clear today for the CBCS, as it was at the onset. In the grand task of bridging the gaps and building the future, the CBCS has embraced the vision of being a network of Moro civil society organizations that is able to collectively assert its influence in helping transform social and structural changes in Muslim Mindanao; a network that is able to sustain working together to achieve peace, justice and human development in a context of plural society. It envisions a society governed by justice where all peoples are respected of their inalienable rights to exercise self-determination, co-exist harmoniously and live with prosperity and dignity.
The CBCS recognizes that the road to peace and development in the Bangsamoro homeland is long and winding. It might take many generations. Meantime, hopes and prayers must not be shattered; gaps must be filled for the future of the Bangsamoro people and the Mindanaoans as a whole. (www.cbcsi.org)
Thursday, April 3, 2008
DECLARATION OF RIGHTS AND PURPOSES- Addressed to the Congress of the United States of America
DECLARATION OF RIGHTS AND PURPOSES
Addressed to the Congress of the United States of America
Zamboanga, P.I.
February 1, 1924
(Ref.: Salah Jubair, “Bangsamoro: A Nation Under Endless Tyranny,”3rd Edition, October 1999, pp 298-303).
Whereas a group of politicians, leading blindly certain elements of the population who have a faith and culture different from our own, as well as widely different political aspirations, have raised a clamor and outcry against the continuation of American sovereignty in the Philippine Islands, thereby jeopardizing our hope of prosperity, liberty, and economic security, through the possibility that the Congress of the United states of America might in opportunely withdraw it sovereignty from these Islands, permitting thereby to be created an independent government under which the Mohammedan or Moro Nation would be destroyed or placed under galling yoke, we, the following representatives of the Moro Nation, do, in the same Creator, worshipped by Christian and Mohammedan alike, set forth the following solemn declaration our rights, principles and intention for which we pledge our lives and fortunes:
Assuming that in the course of time the United States of America will grant complete independence, or a larger measure to the Philippine islands, and due to the fact that insecurity of political tenure of the United states and the threat of political domination of our people by the Christian Filipino majority in the islands of Luzon and Visayas is holding back the economic development of our country, and causing no little unrest and unhappiness to our people, we hereby submit the following suggestion for the solution of our present difficulties to the consideration of the Congress of the United States of America.
First. We are not seeking temporary or palliative measures. We ask for a solution which will be permanent and lasting in its effect. Therefore, we propose that the Islands of Mindanao and Sulu, and the Island of Palawan be made and unorganized territory of the United States of America.
In order that we may be fair to the Filipinos and in order that they may not arise on outcry to the effect that we wish to dismember the Philippine islands, we proposed that 50 years after independence may have been granted the rest of the Philippine Islands, a plebiscite be held in the proposed territory will be incorporated in the government of the Islands of Luzon and Visayas, remain a territory, or become independent.
This would apply the principles of justice and equity to all elements of the population and imply a government through the consent of the governed.
Second. That a simple form of government be designed for the new territory, taking into consideration that through lack of education in English or Spanish our people can not hope to exercise suffrage for at least two generations, an with the following objects in view:
(1) Justice and equity for Christian, Mohammedan, pagan, and foreigners alike. In order to attain this we must have Americans in high places to act as referees between our tribal and religious demarcations.
(2) No dominations of one element over another.
(3) Freedom of speech and religion.
(4) Every opportunity for American capital to develop the natural resources of our country, thereby affording our people the opportunity to progress in the arts and sciences and in agriculture, as well as to use the lessons of the schoolroom after leaving school. At present, there is no outlet for the talents and energies of our youths, owing to the economic prostration of our country.
(5) That the school system be reformed under American teachers and made suitable to the needs and prejudices of the Mohammedan population.
Whereas we enjoy none of the above benefits in their fullest measure, and
Whereas we do not even enjoy the right of petition and redress of wrongs which the Constitutions of the United States insures to its citizens, owing to the fact that we have addressed petitions without number to the Governor General even when he has been disposed to grant our desires he has found himself helpless to aid us, owing to the provisions of organic act known as the Jones Law:
Therefore we, in representation of nearly half a million Mohammedan residents of Mindanao and Sulu, do solemnly affirm and declare-
That we are loyal unto death to the United States.
That in proof of this loyalty we have pledge ourselves by the most solemn oath known to Mohammedans, to die rather than submit to domination by Christian Filipinos from the north, and, if necessary, to die in order that the United States Congress, which therefore has lent a deaf ear to our petitions, may now hear us.
That in the event that to the United States grants independence to the Philippine Islands without provision for our retention under the American flag, it is our firm intention and resolve to declare ourselves an independent constitutional sultanate to be known to the world as the Moro Nation. It is the duty of the Congress of the United States to make provision at once for the security and protection promised to us when we surrendered our arms to the United States Army. This promise is just as sacred as any alleged promises you may have made to the Christian Filipinos. You have left us defenseless, and it is your duty to protect us to return to us our weapons you took from us which we freely gave you, relying on your promises.
That while it is not our desire to do so, by disregarding our rights and wishes while at the same time conceding political and economic favors to the Christian Filipinos, favors which are in turn used against us, you are forcing us surely and steadily to recourse to desperate and bloody measures, which are abhorrent to us, in view of our loyalty to the American Flag, our Governor General, and our gratitude to the United States for the liberty and security of life which we enjoyed until you delegate your power and authority to the Christian Filipinos.
We complain that we have not one representative in the Philippine legislative elected by direct vote of the people. Our meager representation is through representatives appointed by the Governor General, who must have the approval of a Senate controlled by Filipinos. Hence such representation is a farce.
We complain that the Philippine Legislature appropriates 1,000,000 pesos per annum for pro-independence propaganda, thereby forcing us to contribute through taxation without representation to the efforts of certain Christian Filipinos to severe the bonds between us and the United States, all of which is not in accordance with our wishes.
We complain that when our people, including women and children, have been shot down by the constabulary or otherwise maltreated investigations have been conducted in such manner as to gloss over the truth.
We complain that in spite of the large volume of evidence of misgovernment of our people presented to the Wood-Forbes Commission and subsequently to the Governor General, nothing whatever has been done to assure our people that reforms meeting without approval would be undertaken, for the reason that the power to institute reforms lies in yourselves and not in the Governor General, the hands of the latter being tied by the provisions of the Jones law.
Among the Signatories:
1. Sultan Mangigin of Maguindanao
2. Hadji Panglima Nuño
3. Datu Sacaluran
4. Maharaja Habing
5. Datu Abdula Piang
6. Datu Benito of Lanao
Addressed to the Congress of the United States of America
Zamboanga, P.I.
February 1, 1924
(Ref.: Salah Jubair, “Bangsamoro: A Nation Under Endless Tyranny,”3rd Edition, October 1999, pp 298-303).
Whereas a group of politicians, leading blindly certain elements of the population who have a faith and culture different from our own, as well as widely different political aspirations, have raised a clamor and outcry against the continuation of American sovereignty in the Philippine Islands, thereby jeopardizing our hope of prosperity, liberty, and economic security, through the possibility that the Congress of the United states of America might in opportunely withdraw it sovereignty from these Islands, permitting thereby to be created an independent government under which the Mohammedan or Moro Nation would be destroyed or placed under galling yoke, we, the following representatives of the Moro Nation, do, in the same Creator, worshipped by Christian and Mohammedan alike, set forth the following solemn declaration our rights, principles and intention for which we pledge our lives and fortunes:
Assuming that in the course of time the United States of America will grant complete independence, or a larger measure to the Philippine islands, and due to the fact that insecurity of political tenure of the United states and the threat of political domination of our people by the Christian Filipino majority in the islands of Luzon and Visayas is holding back the economic development of our country, and causing no little unrest and unhappiness to our people, we hereby submit the following suggestion for the solution of our present difficulties to the consideration of the Congress of the United States of America.
First. We are not seeking temporary or palliative measures. We ask for a solution which will be permanent and lasting in its effect. Therefore, we propose that the Islands of Mindanao and Sulu, and the Island of Palawan be made and unorganized territory of the United States of America.
In order that we may be fair to the Filipinos and in order that they may not arise on outcry to the effect that we wish to dismember the Philippine islands, we proposed that 50 years after independence may have been granted the rest of the Philippine Islands, a plebiscite be held in the proposed territory will be incorporated in the government of the Islands of Luzon and Visayas, remain a territory, or become independent.
This would apply the principles of justice and equity to all elements of the population and imply a government through the consent of the governed.
Second. That a simple form of government be designed for the new territory, taking into consideration that through lack of education in English or Spanish our people can not hope to exercise suffrage for at least two generations, an with the following objects in view:
(1) Justice and equity for Christian, Mohammedan, pagan, and foreigners alike. In order to attain this we must have Americans in high places to act as referees between our tribal and religious demarcations.
(2) No dominations of one element over another.
(3) Freedom of speech and religion.
(4) Every opportunity for American capital to develop the natural resources of our country, thereby affording our people the opportunity to progress in the arts and sciences and in agriculture, as well as to use the lessons of the schoolroom after leaving school. At present, there is no outlet for the talents and energies of our youths, owing to the economic prostration of our country.
(5) That the school system be reformed under American teachers and made suitable to the needs and prejudices of the Mohammedan population.
Whereas we enjoy none of the above benefits in their fullest measure, and
Whereas we do not even enjoy the right of petition and redress of wrongs which the Constitutions of the United States insures to its citizens, owing to the fact that we have addressed petitions without number to the Governor General even when he has been disposed to grant our desires he has found himself helpless to aid us, owing to the provisions of organic act known as the Jones Law:
Therefore we, in representation of nearly half a million Mohammedan residents of Mindanao and Sulu, do solemnly affirm and declare-
That we are loyal unto death to the United States.
That in proof of this loyalty we have pledge ourselves by the most solemn oath known to Mohammedans, to die rather than submit to domination by Christian Filipinos from the north, and, if necessary, to die in order that the United States Congress, which therefore has lent a deaf ear to our petitions, may now hear us.
That in the event that to the United States grants independence to the Philippine Islands without provision for our retention under the American flag, it is our firm intention and resolve to declare ourselves an independent constitutional sultanate to be known to the world as the Moro Nation. It is the duty of the Congress of the United States to make provision at once for the security and protection promised to us when we surrendered our arms to the United States Army. This promise is just as sacred as any alleged promises you may have made to the Christian Filipinos. You have left us defenseless, and it is your duty to protect us to return to us our weapons you took from us which we freely gave you, relying on your promises.
That while it is not our desire to do so, by disregarding our rights and wishes while at the same time conceding political and economic favors to the Christian Filipinos, favors which are in turn used against us, you are forcing us surely and steadily to recourse to desperate and bloody measures, which are abhorrent to us, in view of our loyalty to the American Flag, our Governor General, and our gratitude to the United States for the liberty and security of life which we enjoyed until you delegate your power and authority to the Christian Filipinos.
We complain that we have not one representative in the Philippine legislative elected by direct vote of the people. Our meager representation is through representatives appointed by the Governor General, who must have the approval of a Senate controlled by Filipinos. Hence such representation is a farce.
We complain that the Philippine Legislature appropriates 1,000,000 pesos per annum for pro-independence propaganda, thereby forcing us to contribute through taxation without representation to the efforts of certain Christian Filipinos to severe the bonds between us and the United States, all of which is not in accordance with our wishes.
We complain that when our people, including women and children, have been shot down by the constabulary or otherwise maltreated investigations have been conducted in such manner as to gloss over the truth.
We complain that in spite of the large volume of evidence of misgovernment of our people presented to the Wood-Forbes Commission and subsequently to the Governor General, nothing whatever has been done to assure our people that reforms meeting without approval would be undertaken, for the reason that the power to institute reforms lies in yourselves and not in the Governor General, the hands of the latter being tied by the provisions of the Jones law.
Among the Signatories:
1. Sultan Mangigin of Maguindanao
2. Hadji Panglima Nuño
3. Datu Sacaluran
4. Maharaja Habing
5. Datu Abdula Piang
6. Datu Benito of Lanao
Moro civil society network launches mailing list "to address info gaps"
COTABATO CITY (CBCS/02 April) -- The Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society (CBCS), a network of 164 non-government and people’s organizations announced Wednesday that it has launched a mailing list “to address the gaps in the dissemination of information about the Bangsamoro people’s rights to self-determination.”
A mailing list is a collection of names and addresses used by an individual or an organization to send material to multiple recipients. The term is often extended to include the people subscribed to such a list, so the group of subscribers is referred to as “the mailing list”, or simply “the list”.
“By logging onto http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bangsamoro-pulse and clicking on ‘Join This Group’ icon, people can sign up to automatically receive e-mails about Bangsamoro and Mindanao issues and concerns,” Guiamel Alim, CBCS chairperson announced.
“The mailing list is open to all.”
“Getting information on the Bangsamoro people’s rights for self-determination out to the people is very important to us,” Sammy Maulana, CBCS secretary-general, said. “This mailing list service would be of great help to the CBCS and to the Bangsamoro people as a whole to connect not only to the people of this country but to the international community as well especially in the face of the present uncertainty in the GRP-Moro Islamic Liberation Front peace talks.”
“We saw what happened to the GRP-Moro National Liberation Front peace pact, and a critical number of Moros have already suffered human rights violations in this country. Key facts relevant to all of these plus efforts on peacebuilding and good governance by the CBCS will be disseminated to the people via the mailing list,” Maulana said.
“This is in a way addressing the kind of information dissemination inequality that prevails in this country on subjects pertinent to the Bangsamoro struggle for self-determination. The Philippine press people are so fixated to issues on terrorism and religious extremism. Their acts advertently or inadvertently promote fear-mongering thereby unjustly watering down or, worse, associating those to the Bangsamoro people’s legitimate rights to self-determination,” Maulana said.
Aside from the mailing list, the CBCS also has a website, www.cbcsi.org, Maulana added.
Early this year the CBCS had mobilized tens of thousands of people Mindanao-wide to press Manila and the MILF to resume their stalled peace talks.
Talks between the two parties have been snagged when MILF negotiating panel refused to meet its government counterpart in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in December 15 to 17 because the government draft of a proposed memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain did not contain much of the consensus points earlier agreed by the two parties.
The GRP also inserted a provision, which provides that the implementation of the agreement will have to follow constitutional process.
Talks progressed when government promised not to use constitution as a framework and the MILF agreed to drop its demand for independence.
A mailing list is a collection of names and addresses used by an individual or an organization to send material to multiple recipients. The term is often extended to include the people subscribed to such a list, so the group of subscribers is referred to as “the mailing list”, or simply “the list”.
“By logging onto http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bangsamoro-pulse and clicking on ‘Join This Group’ icon, people can sign up to automatically receive e-mails about Bangsamoro and Mindanao issues and concerns,” Guiamel Alim, CBCS chairperson announced.
“The mailing list is open to all.”
“Getting information on the Bangsamoro people’s rights for self-determination out to the people is very important to us,” Sammy Maulana, CBCS secretary-general, said. “This mailing list service would be of great help to the CBCS and to the Bangsamoro people as a whole to connect not only to the people of this country but to the international community as well especially in the face of the present uncertainty in the GRP-Moro Islamic Liberation Front peace talks.”
“We saw what happened to the GRP-Moro National Liberation Front peace pact, and a critical number of Moros have already suffered human rights violations in this country. Key facts relevant to all of these plus efforts on peacebuilding and good governance by the CBCS will be disseminated to the people via the mailing list,” Maulana said.
“This is in a way addressing the kind of information dissemination inequality that prevails in this country on subjects pertinent to the Bangsamoro struggle for self-determination. The Philippine press people are so fixated to issues on terrorism and religious extremism. Their acts advertently or inadvertently promote fear-mongering thereby unjustly watering down or, worse, associating those to the Bangsamoro people’s legitimate rights to self-determination,” Maulana said.
Aside from the mailing list, the CBCS also has a website, www.cbcsi.org, Maulana added.
Early this year the CBCS had mobilized tens of thousands of people Mindanao-wide to press Manila and the MILF to resume their stalled peace talks.
Talks between the two parties have been snagged when MILF negotiating panel refused to meet its government counterpart in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in December 15 to 17 because the government draft of a proposed memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain did not contain much of the consensus points earlier agreed by the two parties.
The GRP also inserted a provision, which provides that the implementation of the agreement will have to follow constitutional process.
Talks progressed when government promised not to use constitution as a framework and the MILF agreed to drop its demand for independence.
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