Youth urged to be proactive peacebuilders

From the Philippine News Agency (Apr 7): Youth urged to be proactive peacebuilders

The youth is the key to achieving just and lasting peace in the Philippines.

This was the message imparted to the participants of the recently held MasterPEACE boot camp in Tagaytay City and Cotabato City on 4-7 April 2016.

The training program is a classroom- and experience-based workshop aimed at enriching and deepening the youth’s understanding of the Mindanao peace process through lectures and interactive activities. There were a total of 70 participants, ages 18-25, from across the country.

“In proactive peacebuilding, we have to deeply understand ourselves and others. In reality, conflict is a natural thing. Conflicts can definitely be managed and resolved constructively,” said Teach Peace Build Peace founder Bai Rohaniza Sumndad-Usman, who was one of the lecturers.

“We have to teach peace so we can build a culture of peace because it is in that culture that we can see a future generation of peace builders. Peace is like a tree. It can grow if we choose to nurture it. Not just advocate for it but let us have a concrete action plan when we get back to our schools and communities,” she added.

Rohaniza pointed out that misunderstanding and misinformation breed conflicts in beliefs, biases and prejudices.

“These may trigger violent views that require a culture of peace as a counter narrative instilled in the hearts and minds of those at risk. [There is a] kind of culture of peace that teaches about all values, attitudes and forms of behaviors that reflect respect for life, for human dignity and for all human rights. It is also about imparting why violence should be rejected,” she said.

Muslim antipathy, discrimination are roots of Mindanao armed conflict

Meanwhile, Miriam College Center for Peace Education Executive Director Jasmin Nario–Galace encouraged the youth to break the cycle of Muslim antipathy as this would feed unnecessary direct violence and abuse to the society.

“Peace is in your hands. Each day, throughout the world, people are killed or hurt because of hate as they differ from the rest in terms of ethnicity, religion, sex, ideology, gender, and class, among others,” Galace said.

“Conflicts have given rise to violence, terrorism and discrimination within societies. It is an ethical imperative that major religious traditions teach their flock the values of respect, love, nonviolence, justice and oneness of the human family,” she added.

In one of the activities during the workshop, participants identified the different causes of conflict in Mindanao. They pointed to misconception, stereotyping, and poverty as the roots of the Moro armed insurgency and underdevelopment of the region.

“Many people don't know yet the root of the conflicts. Many people don't know yet who the Bangsamoro people are. Because of the lack of education or the lack of awareness, there is stereotyping,” Jamil Adiong, a student from the University of San Carlos and one of the participants of the MasterPEACE Boot Camp, explained during the discussion.

“There is a notion that Moro people are dangerous. Because of the ethnocentrism, stereotyping, and lack of education, there is conflict and discrimination. From the conflict, there are internal wars and there is displacement,” he added.

Support for the Bangsamoro peace process

The 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) signed by the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) contains a roadmap not only for the legislative track concerning the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) but also a socio-economic track that involved normalization processes such as the decommissioning of MILF combatants and weapons and transformation of their camps into peaceful, productive communities.

Maj. Gen. Leo Cresente Ferrer of the Joint Normalization Committee (JNC) called on the youth to become agents of peace and support the current actions of the government in sustaining the gains of Bangsamoro peace process.

“Becoming a peace master, you should develop life-long skills on how to handle conflict,” Ferrer said. “Conflict transformation is a process leading to a transformation in the relationship between parties of a conflict. This also means the fundamental social and political changes to correct inequities and injustices.”

National Commission on Muslim Filipinos Commissioner and former Government of the Philippines (GPH) legal panel member Atty. Al-Amin Julkipli maintained that the implementation of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) prevailed despite the non-passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law in the 16th Congress.

“The implementation of the roadmap has been stalled but it doesn't mean that the peace process stops there. We should focus on initiatives to sustain the gains of the Bangsamoro peace process,” he said.

In one of the learning sessions, Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) Undersecretary Atty. Jose Lorena said that the passage of the BBL is important for the peace process to continue and end the decades-long negotiations.

“We are hoping that the BBL will be passed. There is only one Bangsamoro area, one Bangsamoro region, so there is a need to have a convergence of the MILF and the MNLF through the BBL. Currently, the [draft] law is the only [proposed] legislation [that seeks to address] the aspirations of the Bangsamoro,” said Lorena.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=874326