Committee for Conflict Transformation Support |
CCTS
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Peacebuilding in Mindanao, Philippines, after 9-11by Carino Antiquisa [The author explains the situation in which he works as follows: 'This is not a religious war between Christian and Muslim communities. It is an armed confrontation between the Philippine military and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Both Christian and Muslim religious leaders recognize and respect the values for justice, peace and compassion in each others' religious traditions. We condemn the formation of any extremist vigilante groups, which will only polarize cultural communities.'] The events in September 11, 2001 have had both a positive and a negative impact on our peacebuilding work in Mindanao. The positive effect of the event is that it made many individuals involved in peacebuilding realize the urgent need to explore more creative ways of addressing the root causes of conflict, rather than simply its visible manifestations, like war. It made many of us reflect how urgent is the need to address the psychological dimension of the conflict. We started to seriously address not just the psychological impact of the conflict on individuals but the collective consciousness of groups directly involved or affected by it. Perhaps one proof of this realization is the greater effort put into grassroots peacebuilding, with special attention given to the young people. According to one of my Muslim friends, an Aleem [a Moslem religious leader] who has extensive experience abroad, 'there is a real and urgent need to redirect the energy of the young, especially the Moro Muslims, in Mindanao'. My friend told me that the action of the hijackers was not simply viewed as suicidal but as a form of sacrifice worthy of emulation. At the same time, the events of September 11th also allowed the real issues behind the conflict here to be obscured. Instead of concentrating on how to resolve the centuries-old land problems, the government gives more attention to running after terrorists. Instead of pouring more resources into peacebuilding efforts, they are spending more money on defence against terrorist attacks. And at the community level, instead of more efforts being focussed on peace and development, resources are earmarked for law and order. This attitude, which is prevalent among local people as well as in government circles, is based on the assumption that all those who rise up against the government are now to be regarded not only as rebels but as terrorists. No matter how legitimate are the issues raised by the armed groups, this is the label the government is quick to give them. All in all, however hard we have tried to see the post 9.11 trends as new challenges, we cannot fail to acknowledge that these challenges are accompanied by more headaches. Indeed, the post 9.11 peacebuilding work in Mindanao demands more resources, energy, patience and creativity than ever.
Carino Antiquisa
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