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
