Newsletter No. 669
News-Analysis
July 7, 2007

 

JAPAN’S COMMITMENT TO MINDANAO SHOWING POSITIVE RESULTS

Since Sandra Leavitt has temporarily withdrawn from newsletter writing we have not covered any stories on Japanese involvement in the Mindanao peace process. This is largely due to the fact that I am spread too thinly and really need more assistance from the membership than I am currently receiving. Help on Islamic Southeast Asia is a particularly critical need.

At any rate, there are some significant recent developments in the Mindanao peace at this time.

Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Meets with MILF Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim

The Japanese ambassador to the Philippines, Ryuichiro Yamazaki, traveled to a remote camp on the island of Mindanao and met with the Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). The meeting was held at the MILF's Camp Darapanan on the 4th. Accompanying Ambassador Yamazaki was Yoshihisa Ishikawa, Political First Secretary; Shinichi Kakui, Economic First Secretary; and Masafumi Nagaishi, Japanese contingent to the Malaysian-led International Monitoring Team (IMT). Also were the bureau chiefs of NHK, the Asahi Shinbun, the Yomiuri Shinbun, and the Mainichi Shinbun.

Yamazaki and Murad seem to have had a very positive discussion. Yamazaki said that “Japan is deeply committed to the peace process even though their contributions are more of economic in nature but nevertheless have a significant political impact because they provide direct support to the peace process.” In response, the MILF leader said that he “credited the commitment and support of the Government of Japan and her good people under the leadership of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as among the factors that continually pushes the peace process towards its successful conclusion.” He then “appealed to Japan to strengthen and step up its support of the peace process while the negotiations are underway and, even more so, after the hoped-for signing of the comprehensive peace pact.”

First J-BIRD Projects Reaching Fruition

The economic contributions that were mentioned by Ambassador Yamazaki come under the heading of the Japan-Bangsamoro Initiatives for Reconstruction and Development (J-BIRD) that were launched in December 2006, and have been previously mentioned here in Shingetsu Newsletter No. 539.

One Filipino media outlet describes the J-BIRD framework as follows: “J-BIRD is the umbrella project of the Japanese government in support to the GRP-MILF peace process. It is being implemented in close collaboration and coordination between the Japan Embassy in Manila, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP), and the Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA).”

On the 3rd, before his visit to the MILF camp, Ambassador Yamazaki inaugurated the newly rehabilitated Parang National High School, in which the J-BIRD project funded the restoration of 28 dilapidated classrooms and two comfort rooms of the school to benefit over 3,000 students.

At the ceremony, Yamazaki spoke as follows: “We strongly hope that peace between the Philippine government and MILF will be ultimately achieved as Japan is determined to take an active role in rebuilding the war-torn areas of Mindanao… I have learned that the school has always been at the receiving end of displaced families during war. I can imagine the difficulties of the teachers and students had to go through, when regular classes were disrupted… May the school building remind us of the collective effort of Japanese and Filipino people to make education conducive for learning and eventually contribute in the long-term goal of peace.”

This project forms only part of the J-BIRD initiatives in Central Mindanao that include the renovation of over a dozen public schools, water systems, post-harvest facilities, and a training center for Muslim women.

JICA Will Stay as Long as the Guns Remain Silent

In June, Shozo Matsuura, resident representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, said as long as a ceasefire continues, “we are prepared to assist for the people of the conflict-affected areas.”

Japan’s policy in this regard is out ahead of many other donor agencies, which are said to be waiting for a formal agreement between MILF and the Philippine government before they get directly involved. Currently, there is a de facto ceasefire, but no official agreement.

This is a rare case in which Japan is taking a risk for peace. Their usual reputation is to be the first to flee when the conditions are unstable. Their degree of commitment here is unusual for them.

The Philippine Government Hails Japanese Peace Efforts

The role of Japan in the Mindanao peace process is winning plaudits not only from the Muslim rebels, but from the Filipino government as well. When President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was in Tokyo in late May to attend the Nikkei Conference, she and her spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye praised Japanese efforts.

Arroyo was said to have called Japan and Malaysia “valuable allies in our quest for permanent peace in Mindanao.”

Presidential spokesmen Bunye added, “With their help, as well as the help of other countries like Indonesia, the United States, and the European Union countries, we have forged a new paradigm for peace in Mindanao that relies on ‘soft power,’ interfaith dialogue, and an expanding cast of international players to keep the peace.”