International Peace Dialogue to be held in Mindanao on June 6-7

From the Philippine News Agency (Jun 3): International Peace Dialogue to be held in Mindanao on June 6-7

Various religious groups, government and political representatives will gather in Mindanao this week for a major international peace conference to promote dialogue and cooperation to achieve lasting peace in the region.

The two-day peace conference, dubbed as “Peace is Living Together Religions and Cultures in Dialogue for Peace and Reconciliation in Mindanao,” is sponsored by the European Union, the Italian government and non-government Italian organization, Community of Sant’Egidio.

It will be held on June 6-7 at the Notre Dame University in Cotabato.

“We are at a crucial point where we need to keep the momentum and make sure that there’s no opportunity for spoilers to damage fantastic work that has already been achieved by the MILF and the Philippine government,” EU Ambassador Guy Ledoux told a press conference.

The Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front concluded in March a new autonomy deal in what has been praised as a major step to ease decades of Muslim unrest that has killed more than 120,000 people and held back progress in Mindanao.

“More than 100,000 people have died and more than a million displaced and I think this leaves scars and these scars need to be healed so this dialogue needs to take place. This event is certainly a contribution to the reconciliation process,” Ledoux said.

The peace conference will be attended by representatives of the government, the MILF, senior religious leaders, political representatives, local administration officials, as well as personalities from education and culture.

It is aimed primarily to promote and intensify the dialogue between the different religions and political stakeholders in Mindanao.

The conference also “seeks to encourage the actors of today’s peace process to meet the challenges of building the new society built on peaceful living together, respect for human rights, and the participation of minority in public life,” an EU conference primer said.

“Italy has a long tradition as an upholder of interfaith and intercultural dialogue as a powerful tool to foster social harmony and mutual understanding,” Italian Ambassador Massimo Roscigno said.

Culture and religion, he said, “can be unifying, rather than divisive” amid a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society.

“(It) brings to surface the common aspirations of people towards peace and prosperity,” Roscigno said.

Professor Alberto Quattrucci, secretary general of Peoples and Religions Community of Sant’Egidio, for his part, emphasized the need for inter-faith dialogue to prevent conflict.

“It is the only medicine against violence,” Quattrucci said.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=649805