“It is you, the youth and young of today, who will reap the fruits of peace in the future. I urge you, therefore, to join our journey of peace! Speak up and be heard! Ask questions. Propose solutions. The future is yours. You have a stake in it.”
These was part of the acceptance speech pitched by Mohagher Iqbal, Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chief peace negotiator, after being conferred with the Fr. William F. Masterson, SJ Award for contributions to social development during the 76th Commencement Exercises of the Xavier University in Cagayan de Oro on March 26, 2015.
Government of the Philippines (GPH) Peace Panel Chairperson Professor Miriam Coronel-Ferrer who was bestowed with the same recognition was also present in the occasion.
Joining the two peace negotiation chiefs was Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos Deles who delivered the Commencement Address: Interweaving Narratives, Journeying to Peace.
Iqbal acknowledged the difficulty and the conversations that ensued within the university as a consequence of the decision for conferring him the award.
“I guess that this is the challenge to every one of us who had the opportunity to go to school. That once we have acquired the rudimentary skills and knowledge in school, we should all immerse ourselves in the problems of our times,” he said. “For what good is education if not to solve the more complex problems of our times,” Iqbal said.
Iqbal, also the Chair of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC), narrated his personal journey that after completing his master’s degree in Political Science in 1972 he went to the jungle to join the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in a struggle aimed to defend the lives and properties of the Moros.
“Furthermore, it was not bravery that made me stay to this day in the service of the MILF. It was rather my commitment to the cause of my people for deliverance that made me persevere in all those four decades of trials and tribulations,” he pointed out.
He related the deaths of thousand Moros in the hands of state forces and paramilitary allies beginning with the Jabidah Massacre in 1968 and that the mass slaughter was worsened since the declaration of Martial Law in September 1972 and onward.
“At that time, the only things the government offered to us were bullets and bombs or surrender,” Iqbal revealed.
He said, “Frankly speaking, peace negotiation is not an easy endeavor. The truth is that it is easy to make war than to make peace. In war, one party can start war but in peace-making, it requires both parties to agree to talk.”
The MILF peace panel head related the peace negotiation with the Moro people that commenced in 1975 with the Tripoli Agreement and culminated with the signing of the 1996 Peace Agreement between the government and the MNLF.
“But judging from what had ensued therefrom, those agreements were not meant to solve the armed conflict in Mindanao and secure permanent peace therein but rather they were used to perpetuate the effective strangulation of the Moros,” he stressed.
He said peace talks with the MILF started in 1997 and “interspersed with fighting and three major wars, 2000, 2003 and 2008, has dragged on for 17 long and hard years.”
“Is this too short a period and easy engagement that many people including some legislators can easily call for a new negotiation?“
Iqbal said the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) is a solution that came out of 17 years of negotiations and problem solving.
“Should we disregard history and the long and hard work put into crafting the BBL? These are tough questions which every Filipino and Bangsamoro must answer in the next few days,” he added.
“And all of these work, commitment and sacrifice are for people like you,” Iqbal told the graduating students.
“Finally, let me say once again my heartfelt gratitude for this recognition of our efforts at building peace. I say “our” because while I personally accept this award, I accept this on behalf of all those who seek and strive for peace — both Bangsamoro and Filipino,” Iqbal added.
In closing his message, he quoted Thomas Paine who said, “We fight not to enslave, but to set a nation free and to make room upon the earth for honest men and women to live.”
And added “As you graduate from formal schooling this morning, let that be our common resolve: not to enslave but to make space for honest men, women and children to live their lives in peace, in abundance, in faith.”
http://www.luwaran.com/index.php/welcome/item/815-milf-peace-panel-chair-today-s-youth-will-reap-the-fruit-of-peace-in-the-future
Government of the Philippines (GPH) Peace Panel Chairperson Professor Miriam Coronel-Ferrer who was bestowed with the same recognition was also present in the occasion.
Joining the two peace negotiation chiefs was Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos Deles who delivered the Commencement Address: Interweaving Narratives, Journeying to Peace.
Iqbal acknowledged the difficulty and the conversations that ensued within the university as a consequence of the decision for conferring him the award.
“I guess that this is the challenge to every one of us who had the opportunity to go to school. That once we have acquired the rudimentary skills and knowledge in school, we should all immerse ourselves in the problems of our times,” he said. “For what good is education if not to solve the more complex problems of our times,” Iqbal said.
Iqbal, also the Chair of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC), narrated his personal journey that after completing his master’s degree in Political Science in 1972 he went to the jungle to join the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in a struggle aimed to defend the lives and properties of the Moros.
“Furthermore, it was not bravery that made me stay to this day in the service of the MILF. It was rather my commitment to the cause of my people for deliverance that made me persevere in all those four decades of trials and tribulations,” he pointed out.
He related the deaths of thousand Moros in the hands of state forces and paramilitary allies beginning with the Jabidah Massacre in 1968 and that the mass slaughter was worsened since the declaration of Martial Law in September 1972 and onward.
“At that time, the only things the government offered to us were bullets and bombs or surrender,” Iqbal revealed.
He said, “Frankly speaking, peace negotiation is not an easy endeavor. The truth is that it is easy to make war than to make peace. In war, one party can start war but in peace-making, it requires both parties to agree to talk.”
The MILF peace panel head related the peace negotiation with the Moro people that commenced in 1975 with the Tripoli Agreement and culminated with the signing of the 1996 Peace Agreement between the government and the MNLF.
“But judging from what had ensued therefrom, those agreements were not meant to solve the armed conflict in Mindanao and secure permanent peace therein but rather they were used to perpetuate the effective strangulation of the Moros,” he stressed.
He said peace talks with the MILF started in 1997 and “interspersed with fighting and three major wars, 2000, 2003 and 2008, has dragged on for 17 long and hard years.”
“Is this too short a period and easy engagement that many people including some legislators can easily call for a new negotiation?“
Iqbal said the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) is a solution that came out of 17 years of negotiations and problem solving.
“Should we disregard history and the long and hard work put into crafting the BBL? These are tough questions which every Filipino and Bangsamoro must answer in the next few days,” he added.
“And all of these work, commitment and sacrifice are for people like you,” Iqbal told the graduating students.
“Finally, let me say once again my heartfelt gratitude for this recognition of our efforts at building peace. I say “our” because while I personally accept this award, I accept this on behalf of all those who seek and strive for peace — both Bangsamoro and Filipino,” Iqbal added.
In closing his message, he quoted Thomas Paine who said, “We fight not to enslave, but to set a nation free and to make room upon the earth for honest men and women to live.”
And added “As you graduate from formal schooling this morning, let that be our common resolve: not to enslave but to make space for honest men, women and children to live their lives in peace, in abundance, in faith.”
http://www.luwaran.com/index.php/welcome/item/815-milf-peace-panel-chair-today-s-youth-will-reap-the-fruit-of-peace-in-the-future
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