A special meeting between the representatives of the GRP and MILF Peace Panels took place in Cyberjaya, Malaysia on September 27, 2007. During the meeting, the two parties expressed a common decision to move forward and reached a consensus in requesting the Malaysia, Brunie, Libya and Japan to extend the International Monitoring Team tour of duty for another 18 months till October of 2008. The special meeting took place after a call from the Malaysian government to start the resumption of talks as well as lobbying work in this regard was done by the non governmental organization. However, both parties were unable to reach a decision on the date of the resumption of official peace talks. The MILF maintained its firmed stand on ancestral domain, Bangsamoro juridical entity (BJE) and rejected the Philippine government’s proposal that it has to be subjected to plebiscite.
During the 11th anniversary of the GRP-MNLF Final Peace Agreement, the 57-member Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) urged the Philippine government, the Moro National Liberation Front and the Committee of the Eight to find a way to remove the impediments to the full implementation of the peace accord signed in September 2, 1996 between the GRP and MNLF. The OIC called for a greater government effort to bring peace and stability in Southern Philippines and in their statement noted that “progress has not met the high expectation” from the time both parties signed the accord to implement the 1976 Tripoli Agreement. Tripartite meeting were postponed for few times and Prof. Nur Misuari is until now under house arrest. The OIC Secretary General also urged all parties involved to “exert their utmost effort” in convening a tripartite meeting and preserving the gains made since the peace agreement was signed.
Small scale armed skirmishes took place between the MILF and certain militiamen in Datu Piang and Datu Saudi, Maguindanao in the month of September. Two MILF were killed in the encounter while three others got wounded. According to the military, militiamen clashed with MILF, who happened to enter in Government area without prior coordination. A firefight took place in Basilan between the Philippine army and Abu Sayyaf Group on September 26, 2007 that resulted in small casualties. Although, in some areas of Mindanao armed groups and security forces remained on high alert but overall security situation stayed relatively calm and peaceful during the month of September as compared to the previous months.
NP’s Work
Sulu Team
In line with the policy of keeping all parties informed, coordinating and maintaining good relationship with relevant authorities, the Sulu team paid a courtesy visit to the WESTMINCOM to give update on NP presence and progress while also trying to clarify information/rumors that NP team heard from various sources about some of the armed encounters in Sulu and Basilan. The visit to WESTMINCOM was quite timely and useful as recently there was a major shake up in the personnel and officers of the Western Mindanao Command. NP Team met new officials and oriented them about NP work in Basilan and Sulu.
As a follow up of previous activities NP Sulu team visited Basilan and during the stay NP team further consolidated various relationships established during the earlier visits and establishing new contacts as well. The team in company of local partners met the Governor of Basilan and introduced Nonviolent Peaceforce and its mandate. The Governor warmly welcomed NP and expressed gratitude to NP organization for coming at the right moment when the peace process seemed stalled and the military was conducting several operations on the Island. The Governor further expressed to provide any necessary assistance that might facilitate NP work and stay in Basilan. NP team visited areas and communities that faced violence and high tension during the critical time in Basilan.
The team visited a local NGO named sustainable Health Improvement through Empowerment and Local Development (SHIELD) in the ARMM, involved in various IDP and relief activities like medical mission and relief. NP team relayed information to NGO staff on the vulnerable situation of IDPs who have been living in some of the Barangays after the violence in Basilan. The organization requested NP team to accompany them for future missions due to the issues of insecurity in some areas of Basilan.
NP Sulu team established contacts with Bangsamoro Lawyers Network which is relatively a new organization composed primarily of lawyers and formed with the sole purpose of providing inexpensive or completely free (pro bono) legal services to deprived Moros who are often arrested without warrants, tortured and eventually jailed. They are at the forefront of protecting the rights of Moros and ensuring their access to the courts, fair trial and protection of their rights. During our meeting with the BMN representative in Zamboanga, the attorney expressed her gratitude and appreciation to NP and expressed a strong desire to collaborate and cooperate with NP in human rights violation cases.
NP team met the head of the Philippines Commission on Human Rights-Region IX in Zamboanga. The mandate of the commission only covers region IX which does not cover human rights cases from Sulu and Basilan. Sulu team discussed at length with the head on possible areas of cooperation in the near future. One of the areas jointly identified was documentation and reporting of cases of human rights violations especially with the newly promulgated Anti-terror law in the Philippines
As a follow up visit, NP team met ICRC Delegate in Zamboanga and passed on the information gathered on the ground regarding IDPs situation in Basilan and Sulu and discussed the ways and means of collaboration between NP Sulu team and ICRC Zamboanga office.
The team visited representative of OMI Church Father Villanueva who is active in Peace and Interfaith Dialogue in Sulu and updated him on NP activities. He is Director of Justice, Peace and integrity of Creation-(JPIC) organization in Sulu. The organization is a grassroots based organization with members cutting across tribal and religious lines. NP invited Father Villanueva for NP Advisory body in Sulu and NP Advisory Board at Mindanao level. He assured to assist and cooperate with NP to actively carry out NP Mandate in Sulu.
After the approval from NP Programme Director, NP Sulu team started to find a suitable and secure location/building for an office/residence for ICPs. With the help of NP local partners from CSOs like Tanjung and CBCS, the team was able to identify a suitable building in the Kakuyagan Village, a very secure neighborhood in Jolo. NP team consulted all local partners and Philippine National Police to check the safety and security of the location. NP team carried out due diligence by researching the history of the place, the background of the owner and the actual ownership of the house and land, the team made due consultation and coordination with the main office and eventually decided to secure the building in Kakuyagan village for use as the NP office/residence in Sulu.
Central Mindano Team
After choosing the field office location in the vicinity of barangay Dapiawan, in Datu Saudi Ampatuan municipality and securing approvals and endorsement from the local authorities and all the relevant parties, the ICPs focused on renovating and preparing the building which will be used as an office and as residence for the team members. At the beginning of September the team also welcomed a national staff member who joined NP as a translator and local facilitator/driver. As the traditional period of fasting (Ramadhan) started, CMT members intensified their efforts to prepare the opening of the office by meeting more community leaders and members and by physically taking part in the renovation process.
While focusing on completing the office renovation, CMT remained alert regarding the volatile situation in Datu Piang municipality, especially in the barangays along Rio Grande (West from Datu Piang poblacion). In the first few days of September an encounter took place between MILF and CVOs in barangay Balnaken; as an immediate effect hundreds of people evacuated their homes and the area remained tense for a few days. CMT contributed in controlling the rumors and stayed in touch with the civilians on the ground and also communicated with the local and international monitoring bodies, authorities and parties involved. The team also communicated with UNICEF regarding a child who was caught in the crossfire and was injured in his shoulder. CMT showed regular presence in the affected area in the days following the incident.
In the second half of September an incident took place in barangay Kitango, Datu Saudi Ampatuan municipality. According to the civilians, a few CVO members ambushed a ground commander of MILF in the public market place as the commander was unarmed. The situation escalated and combatants from both sides started firing along the main highway. One civilian was wounded in the fight and many others temporarily evacuated their houses. CMT together with members from NP main office visited the area for a few days after the incident and tried to ensure the safety and security of civilians and coordinated with partner civil society organizations.
Overall CMT members are maintaining good contacts with the civil society and communities in the municipalities of Datu Piang, Datu Saudi Ampatuan and Miydsayap. Since in some of the barangays the security situation is constantly fragile, ICPs frequently communicated and coordinated their activities with representatives of the different parties involved in the conflicts.
Main Office
The Cotabato Main Office continued to support the ICP field teams by offering advice and supporting filed work on the ground. This included all the programmatic aspects, with a special emphasis on ways to carry out NP activities in close collaboration with partner organizations. It also helped field offices to identify and select local field staff in each field site.
To facilitate the work of both field sites, the Main Office maintained regular communication links with various top-level arms of the Government of Philippines and the two revolutionary groups. These included the GRP and MILF Coordination Committees on Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH), the MNLF political leadership, and relevant Mayors. The main office held detailed meetings with the key members of the advisory board and strategized NP programmatic activities to further consolidate the role of civil society in streamlining peace in their respective barangays.
The main office in coordination with NP international identified and facilitated the visit of two representatives of NP partner organizations to participate in the International Assembly of Nonviolent Peacforce in Kenya. The participation of partners in NP IA helped them to further understand the operational dynamics of NP at International level.
The Project Director met the representatives of various donor organizations and updated them on the work of Nonviolent Peaceforce in Mindanao. The Project Director in close coordination with NP Brussels office wrote additional documents to support NP project proposal to European Commission.
NP main office commenced with the initial phase of human security/protection network and started sharing relevant situation updates from the ground with NP partner organizations, local/national/international NGOs/INGOs, International organizations and other networks contributing for peace in Mindanao Philippines.
Report written by Atif Hameed (Project Director) and Christine Schweitzer (Programme Director)