In the early 1980s, a group of folk singers in the southern Philippine region of Mindanao wondered in a song why their Filipino brothers were always fighting each other. “When will we ever come to terms? When will peace reign?” the band called Asin (Salt) asked.
More than two decades have passed since then and peace still remains an elusive dream in Mindanao, home to the overwhelming majority of the Philippines’ more than five million Muslims. The fighting seems worse between government forces and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), now the most prominent secessionist group in the Southeast Asian archipelago. Thousands of civilians from just one town who were forced to flee fighting in February are still in refugee centers. Violence has even spilled over to places previously immune from trouble, notably Davao, the Philippines’ third largest city, where a succession of bombings has claimed many lives.
Manila and the MILF have been talking since 1997. The two sides have in fact forged a cease-fire agreement and drawn up so-called “confidence-building measures” as a first step. Follow-up meetings have been held, with the help of Malaysia, but the talks appear not to be progressing — because neither of the parties is willing to back down an inch from their stated positions. The MILF wants to create an Islamic state comprised of provinces, towns or cities which are traditionally Muslim strongholds. On the other hand, the government says there is no way it can agree to the dismembering of the republic.
Given the evident inflexibility of each position, combatants from both sides get into the act in a bid to wear the opponent into submission. Force is met with force, fire is answered with fire, and the unfortunate result is that those who bear the brunt of the hostilities are always the local residents and civilians. Obviously, a middle-ground solution is the way to go.
What is incomprehensible is the failure of the peace committees on both sides at least to explore a suggestion made by some MILF leaders that a referendum be held in places which would be in their proposed Islamic state. Albeit made unofficially, the proposal is significant in that the separatists’ leaders have said they are willing to accept a rejection of their maximum demand as long as the referendum is conducted in a fair and clean way and supervised by the United Nations and the Organization of the Islamic Conference. The MILF is in effect saying it wants to throw the question of creating an Islamic state to the people. What makes the MILF’s planned Islamic state more realistic is that it is much smaller compared to what Nur Misuari, Moro National Liberation Front chief and former governor, had been demanding: About two-thirds of Mindanao plus the island group of Palawan in the southwest.
While Misuari spoke only of autonomy — not secession — his insistence that the dream be delivered to him on a silver platter was too much, even for some Muslim Filipino leaders. Of course, there are those in the MILF, the military as well as Muslim and non-Muslim leaders in Mindanao who would object even to the holding of a referendum. But unless they have a more viable option that would be acceptable to both sides, every party is sure to be a loser if the violence is allowed to drag on.
