Australia reaffirms support to Bangsamoro peace process, invests in education

From the Philippine News Agency (Jul 9): Australia reaffirms support to Bangsamoro peace process, invests in education

Australian Ambassador Bill Tweddell has reiterated his country’s support for the peace process in Mindanao and their initiatives to improve the educational system in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM.)

"The Australian government remains steadfast in our support for the current peace process and for development in the ARMM and the Bangsamoro. As a strong supporter of peace, Australia would like to see peace and stability in Mindanao – to allow development and prosperity to take place in the region," Ambassador Tweddell said in a speech delivered during an Iftar dinner attended by foreign dignitaries, international development organizations, and members of the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) peace panels.

Tweddell added that "a successful peace process can create the conditions for stability and economic development in the region – bringing about an improvement of the lives of all people who live in the Bangsamoro, in Mindanao and indeed in the Philippines."

The ambassador also said that the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) offered the basis for a durable political settlement for the people of Mindanao and the Philippines after many decades of violence and conflict in Mindanao.

"Australia has been a long-time supporter of peace in Mindanao – Australia has been providing funding to support peace since 1996. As I said at the Iftar here last year, and as many of you here will attest, the road to lasting peace is a long one. It’s important to stay the course; even when the road is difficult," he said.

The dinner was attended by Bangladesh Ambassador (Ret.) Major General John Gomes, PSC; Malaysian Ambassador Dato’ Mohd Zamri bin Mohd Kassim; diplomats from the Embassies of Brunei, Turkey and UK; World Bank and UNDP representatives; GPH peace panel chair Prof. Miriam Coronel-Ferrer; MILF peace panel chair Mohagher Iqbal; Secretary of the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos Yasmin Busran Lao; Maguindanao Governor Esmael Mangundadatu and Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Secretary Teresita Quintos Deles. Muslim community leaders and members of the academe and the government bureaucracy also came to break their fast at the reception.

Australian support to education in Muslim Mindanao

"Beyond our support to peace, Australia has been a long standing supporter of education in Muslim Mindanao. Our current program, which builds on its predecessors, is the Basic Education Assistance for Mindanao in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao: BEAM-ARMM," Ambassador Tweddell explained.

BEAM-ARMM is a program launched by the Australian Government in the ARMM that covers a wide range of educational interventions, including early childhood care and development; basic education access; training out-of-school youth in vocational and technical skills; improving sanitation and health in schools; and rolling out an alternative delivery model to get as many children learning as is possible.

"BEAM will continue until 2017 and I am pleased to let you know that we have just started the process of determining how we can continue to support education in the Bangsamoro to 2020 and beyond," he said.

Tweddell also revealed that a team in the Australian Embassy would start working with all stakeholders on how they could best support the education needs of the Bangsamoro in the future, and that they have extended their gratitude of the local government's support on their initiatives.

"We are pleased to have been able to support teachers and education staff from ARMM to study in universities around the Philippines and we are extremely happy to have been able to send ARMM teachers to Australia under the Australia Awards program to study at our world-class universities undertaking Masters Degrees in education policy, administration, and pedagogy," Tweddell expressed.

He noted that the chief reason for the low educational rating in the ARMM was the decades of armed conflict that had long denied communities access to a stable and productive education. "Peace and education are like two pillars holding up one bridge. Peace and education are intertwined and this is why Australia will continue to support both," Tweddell said.

Shared experience with Australia

Similar to the Philippines, Muslims in Australia has had a long history dating back to the 1600s. Aboriginal people living along the northern coast of Australia traded with the people from Makassar, now known as Indonesia. Tweddell shared that this trade influenced the language and culture of the Aboriginal people.

“Within the first decades of Sydney’s establishment, Muslims from as far afield as Oman and Bengal were active in the new town,” added the ambassador. He also mentioned that Afghan camel drivers in the 1860s proved invaluable during the construction of the Australia’s Overland Telegraph Line.

Australia Prime Minister Julie Bishop, meanwhile, recognized as well the long history of Islam in the country in her Ramadhan message. “More than 200 years later, Australia’s Muslim community remains diverse, tolerant and inclusive. Respect for one another, tolerance of our differences and celebration of our diversity are our great strengths as a nation,“ Bishop said.

“Muslims from all over the world have played an important part in developing Australia and will continue to play an important role in the years and decades ahead,“ the prime minister added.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=781077