The following newsletter has been contributed by Sandra R. Leavitt (Shingetsu Member No. 55) of Georgetown University.

MINDANAO CIVIL SOCIETY SEEKS INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY’S AID IN RESUMING PEACE TALKS

A civil society organization in Mindanao, Republic of the Philippines (RP), has approached representatives of several embassies and religious organizations, asking them to help convince the Philippine government to continue peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

The Mindanao People’s Caucus (MPC) is concerned that the recent impasse could be used by the RP government, the RP military, or insurgents as an excuse to discontinue talks and break the ceasefire agreement, which has held since 1997, but has been threatened since September 2006 by disputes over ancestral domain issues and accusations last week by the government of MILF leadership involvement in renewed bombings.

Members of the MPC met with embassy representatives for Japan, the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom and Canada. They also appealed to the World Bank’s Mindanao Trust Fund, Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, and the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches, requesting their assistance in persuading the government to continue peace negotiations.

Japan and the other diplomatic offices were chosen because of their influence with the Arroyo government, their experience in peacekeeping, and their significant investment in the peace process. According to MPC’s Secretary-General Ana Arnado, “We want to make them [the diplomatic community] understand that all their previous, present and future efforts face voidance in the event the GRP-MILF peace talk collapses. I think they also realize that with their development programs in the island, they are also stakeholders here.”

Japan has worked in close partnership with several Mindanao-based civil society organizations to implement its humanitarian, reconstruction, and economic development programs in the region.

In a similar development, the Grassroots Lobby for Peace traveled last week from Mindanao to Manila to meet with representatives of 16 embassies, including Japan’s, and the Office of the Presidential Assistant on the Peace Process (OPAPP).

According to the MindaNews, the civil-society lobbying coalition wants the President to “renew her earlier commitment to adopt an all-out-peace policy for Mindanao,” while expressing their wish for the Chief Executive to “exercise greater political will to effect a resumption of the GRP-MILF talks. Various news reports indicate that civil society organizations believe the government is primarily responsible for the stalemate.

In another example of the pressure being exerted on the government by Mindanao civil society, an “All-Mindanao Leaders Peace Consultation” met earlier this month to develop new suggestions for resolving the territorial disputes. Participants included the Bishops-Ulama Conference, the Mindanao PeaceWeavers, and the MPC. Participants suggested the government apply international laws, such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, as a way to overcome intra-governmental resistance.