Posted to the MILF Webpage (Jul 8): Moro-Christian People’s Alliance issues statement on plight of Zamboanga IDP’s
The Moro-Christian People’s Alliance or MCPA issued a press statement on the plight of Moro internally-displaced persons (IDP’s) on Zamboanga City.
The statement dated June 28, 2014 entitled “Moro Victims of 2013 Zamboanga Siege observe Ramadan in squalid evacuation center”, said as follows:
Muslim Ramadan starts today. But more than 3,000 Moro families displaced in the Zamboanga siege last year are forced to observe Ramadan in the Joaquin F. Enriquez Sports Complex evacuation center in Zamboanga City. The evacuation center, an emergency and supposedly temporary shelter for the internally displaced persons (IDPs) of the infamous 20-day Zamboanga siege is congested, filthy and unsanitary. The Muslim IDPs are both sad and angry of their present situation. They find it very difficult to faithfully observe Ramadan’s obligations of fasting and praying.
Ramadan, one of the five pillars of Islam is a month-long religious event that obliges every Muslim to fast from sunrise to sunset; a compulsory religious duty that must be observed every day.
“The hard life situation of my fellow Muslims in the evacuation center in Zamboanga City makes them victims twice over due to the BS Aquino government’s turtle-paced action and negligence, Ahmad Hamja , a member of the Moro-Christian People’s Alliance (MCPA) said.
Hamja further stated, “This harsh situation poses serious distraction in fulfilling our Ramadan obligations of deep meditation and worship by reading the Holy Quran “.
President Benigno Simon C. Aquino III who ordered and personally supervised the military operation against the forces of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) allied with Prof. Nor Misuari promised immediate shelter and livelihood rehabilitation for the estimated 100,000 displaced people, majority Moros. The presidential promise and commitment remain unfulfilled to this day.
Nine months have passed since the September 2013 Zamboanga siege, there are still thousands of internally displaced Moro families who are suffering in the evacuation center facing uncertain future. And the holy month of Ramadan has caught them in a situation unfit for observing their religious duties.
The Moro Christian People's Alliance (MCPA) is a Communist Party of the Philippines front organization focused mainly on Moro-related issues. The group is one of several CPP fronts active in various Moro-related sectors. The other Moro-linked front groups are KAWAGIB (Rights), a Moro-based human rights front; Suara Bangsamoro (Voice of the Moro People), a political/Moro sectoral front; Liga ng Kabataan Moro (LKM-League of Moro Youth), a student/youth front; and Khadija (First wife of the Prophet Mohammad), a sectoral front for women that falls under the main CPP women's front organization the General Assembly Binding Women for Reform, Integrity, Equality, Leadership and Action (GABRIELA).
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