Tribes reject MILF pact, gird for war

From the Manila Times (Feb 1): Tribes reject MILF pact, gird for war

Indigenous groups in Mindanao are ready to take up arms against the government if it pursues the signing of a final peace agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), according to a leader of a non-government organization (NGO) based in the South.

Deo Palma, national coordinator of the Ang Katipunan ng mga Samahang Maharlika (Ang KaSaMa Inc.), said many tribes do not want the MILF to lead the proposed Bangsamoro entity that will replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

Palma said indigenous tribes such as the B’laans, T’bolis, Bagobos, Mandayas and Tirurays have warned that they will not hesitate to wage war if the MILF takes over areas that comprise the ARMM.

The warning was issued when the Panaghugpong Mindanao, an affiliate organization of Ang KaSaMa Inc., conducted community consultations in various provinces in Mindanao to sound out the tribes on the government’s negotiations with the MILF. In these consultations, Panaghugpong Mindanao gathered that a majority of the tribal groups is opposed to the peace agreement with the MILF, and that many clans expressed readiness to go to war if the proposed Bangsamoro entity supplants the ARMM.

The ARMM, located in the southern part of Mindanao, was created by virtue of Republic Act 6734 signed by the late president Corazon Aquino. It is composed of the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Basilan.

Palma said the tribes opposed the Bangsamoro peace agreement because they regard the MILF their “mortal enemy.” He said many clans lost members of their families to the violence that erupted in the region in 2003.

Members of the indigenous tribes also believe that the peace deal with the MILF will create more bigger between the indigenous peoples and the Muslim rebels, he added.

“We have been informed that 60 percent of members of the indigenous groups are willing to go to war if ever the MILF will take over the leadership in the ARMM. This is what the Christian communities is worried about because the war is not only against the government but also between the MILF and the indigenous peoples tribes in Mindanao,” Palma said.

He said his group, which has the support of several NGOs, is preparing a manifesto urging President Benigno Aquino 3rd to withdraw from the peace agreement with the MILF.

Palma warned that a wider war will erupt in Mindanao if the government insists on implementing its agreement because it will force the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) to also take up arms.

Palma said they have information that MNLF groups in northern Mindanao are ready to launch a “big war” if Aquino will not take steps to assure the group that government will fulfill the provisions of the peace pact signed by the MNLF and the government on September 2, 1996.

“President Aquino is offering a deal to the MILF without knowing the pulse of the people. If he will personally dip his finger in Mindanao, maybe he will truly know what is really happening here,” he said.

He lamented that the government failed to consult majority of the people in Mindanao before negotiating with the MILF, which many Mindanaons consider a terrorist group.

“There would have been no problem if Aquino consulted the people to get the consensus of the majority. Aquino must consider giving priority to the peace agreement with the MNLF para naman hindi maipit ang tao sa dalawang nag-uumpugang bato. If war breaks out, what will happen to the people in Mindanao, will President Aquino be held accountable?” Palma asked.

He said fear has gripped the people in Mindanao because of the threat of the MNLF to go to war once the government gives priority to the peace deal with the MILF.

He noted that the destruction that followed after 200 MNLF fighters occupied several barangays in Zamboanga City late last year would be replicated on a massive scale if the group’s purported 70,000 armed followers decide to wage war against the government and the MILF.

Palma described Aquino as another “dictator” because he wants to impose his own peace agreement with the MILF without considering how it will affect other groups in the region.

“The lives of people in Mindanao are at stake. The people of Mindanao will be the ones affected if another cruel war breaks out. President Aquino should be blamed for the consequences,” he said.

http://manilatimes.net/tribes-reject-milf-pact-gird-for-war/72423/