All-Out Peace statement
SEEKING HEALING and PEACE ON MAMASAPANO and for
MINDANAO
Today January 25, we remember with grieving the tragic
event that took the lives of 5 civilians, 44 members of the PNP Special Action
Forces (SAF) and 18 members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and
other armed Moro combatants. Each life so suddenly ended and leaving families,
communities, and our nation in lingering pain.
Despite investigations by both Houses of Congress and the
Department of Justice, as well as by the PNP Board of Inquiry, the MILF, and
the International Monitoring Team among others, the truth of the tragic event
still has to be fully known. Unfortunately, the variations in the
initial reports of these bodies indicate that the way to this truth will
never be easy, and may not be helped by further investigation at this
time when the electoral season has begun.
Sadly, looking back at the long history of conflict in
Mindanao, there have been many incidents that still cry for truth and justice.
These include the Jabidah massacre of 1968 that occurred on the eve of the
Martial Law declared by the dictator Ferdinand Marcos, the massacre of 1,500
Moros in Tacbil Mosque in Malisbong, Palembang in September 1974, the killing
of 124 soldiers on Pata Island in February 1981, with retaliation
brought to bear on more than a thousand civilian victims, and the
‘burning of Jolo City’ in February 1974 wherein almost 10,000 were killed –
Muslims, Christians and Chinese alike due to the ensuing armed hostilities.
As a people, we still need to learn and understand the history of the
peoples of Mindanao and undertake the necessary healing task of transitional
justice.
Let us however strive to bring this healing now where we
can, even as our efforts for justice need to continue. The families of
the victims of Mamasapano should be supported in their basic and psycho-social
needs. They should exemplify our efforts at healing, not division.
We hope that small discreet initiatives for dialogue and reconciliation
among these torn and suffering families and communities bear fruit and be
allowed to grow.
Let us also realize that Mindanao and the country have
had many stories, not just of conflict, but also of interfaith and
intercultural dialogue and peacebuilding. Let us continue to nurture these
national and local efforts to bring healing, restorative justice and
reconciliation to individuals and communities affected by conflict and violence
in Mindanao.
These countless decades of peace efforts and small steps
taken collectively by a multitude of actors and communities, both here and
around the world, have led us to celebrating the signing of the Comprehensive
Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), not too long ago.
We therefore appeal to all Filipinos, and especially our
legislators, to find the will and the peace of heart, to support and pass a
Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) faithful to the peace agreement and the aspirations
it is founded upon.
For those who have fallen, and especially for the
bereaved who face the future, let us grasp the peace that is at hand!
~ ALL-OUT PEACE (AOP) Network
Agong Peace Network
Ateneo Public Interest and Legal Advocacy Center (APILA)
Balay Rehabilitation Center
Center for Peace Education - Miriam College
Civil Society Organization Forum for Peace Inc.
Coffee For Peace, Inc.
Generation Peace Youth Network (Genpeace)
Initiatives for International Dialogue (IID)
Inter-Cultural Organizations' Network for Solidarity
& Peace (ICON-SP)
Kapamagogopa Inc.
Lanao Peace Partners, Inc (LPP)
Mindanao CSO Peace Platform (MCSOPP)
Mindanao Alliance for Peace and Development (MAPAD)
Mindanao PeaceWeavers (MPW)
Mindanao Solidarity Network (MSN)
MSU-IIT Institute for Peace and Development in Mindanao
NGO Basic Sector Council - National Anti Poverty
Commission (NAPC-NGO)
Pailig Development Foundation Inc.
PeaceBuilders Community, Inc.
Philippine Misereor Partners, Inc (PMPI)
SUCCEED - Global
Waging Peace – Philippines (WPP)
Women and Gender Initiatives (WAGI)
Women Engaged in Action on 1325 (WEAct 1325)
Women Peace Collective
Women’s Peace Table (WPT)
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