MERGED: MILF-GRP Peace Process, Related Issues and Developments

[gareb]

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question: where is MILF leadership in ARMM? is MILF a part of ARMM?

no. ARMM (Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao) is an administrative region comprising of several provinces created by the GRP supposedly for the Bangsamoro.

MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front) is a secessionist rebel movement initially aiming for an independent Bangsamoro state outside of GRP.

[æRLO]

Thanks.

A similar video came out right around the time when our Marines were beheaded last year. Since it was posted in the internet, it spread pretty quickly but good thing our own Filipino soldiers who also frequent forums helped stop the spreading by contacting the uploaders and requesting them to take down the video.

Several copies even reached 2 American military forums but they knew exactly what to do before other members had the chance to view it.

yeah videos like those, unfortunately, end up becoming viral as soon as it hits the net--at which point lisud na kaayo ma-contain ang spread.

[æRLO]

no. ARMM (Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao) is an administrative region comprising of several provinces created by the GRP supposedly for the Bangsamoro.

MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front) is a secessionist rebel movement initially aiming for an independent Bangsamoro state outside of GRP.

bai, thank you for the info regarding my last queries. Anyway, I have read somewhere that the MILF has dropped their their demands for independence from the GRP--meaning conventional secession from a present state like East Timor. Instead they are trying a bid for sub-statehood. Similar to Hong Kong-China. Now, I'm not exactly sure what they mean though because, right now the dimensions for the proposal is still ambiguous. But I hope they can compromise and avert war (though I still think it could be a last resort). Personally, I do not agree that the MILF should gain independence, but a bid for a sub-state, I think needs to be entertained by the GRP.

[gareb]

bai, thank you for the info regarding my last queries. Anyway, I have read somewhere that the MILF has dropped their their demands for independence from the GRP--meaning conventional secession from a present state like East Timor. Instead they are trying a bid for sub-statehood. Similar to Hong Kong-China. Now, I'm not exactly sure what they mean though because, right now the dimensions for the proposal is still ambiguous. But I hope they can compromise and avert war (though I still think it could be a last resort). Personally, I do not agree that the MILF should gain independence, but a bid for a sub-state, I think needs to be entertained by the GRP.

let me re-quote Prof. Randy David on that (highlights mine):

The MILF program was secessionist at the beginning. It specifically drew its vision of a desirable community from the core ethics of Islam. Basing itself in Maguindanao, it sharply distinguished itself from the Tausug-dominated MNLF. But what is truly remarkable about it is that in addition to the support it received from the Islamic countries, it managed to get the active backing of the United States. This gave it the standing and clout in the international stage that Misuari, in his heyday, never enjoyed.

Though it fell short of the dream of an independent state, the Moro “substate” concept that the MILF introduced into the 2008 Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MoA-AD) promised a more substantial autonomy than the MNLF got from the Ramos administration. Negotiators from both sides had worked on it for five years, hoping the agreement would be sealed before the end of the Arroyo term. Alas, the unpopularity of the Arroyo regime gave the whole enterprise the unwarranted stigma of a midnight deal being rushed. After the Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional, there was no choice but to abort it.

One has to understand the sense of frustration and betrayal that this has created within the ranks of the MILF. In a sense they are back to zero. For trusting in a process that, in the end, yielded nothing, their leaders have suffered a great loss in credibility. Now, we expect them to rein in the hotheads among their commanders, and threaten them with all-out war if they don’t behave. It is as if it were so easy to end this conflict by sheer military means.

[PaYaSo]

@gareb: thanks for the input. im learning a lot from you.

[gareb]

@gareb: thanks for the input. im learning a lot from you.

the feeling is mutual. i am also learning a lot about how people perceive things and how shallow media reportage can greatly influence people's opinions on certain sensitive things such as this.

[jumper_stage]

Peacetalk is over, Kinahanglan na jud ni silang hiposon ( MILF ) og tinud-on og arangkada sa pag-gira !!!
We dont need A-team and Ramboo for this !!! Kaya ra man ni nato ba, atong dagko lang nga mga official mga kolokoy og otok lang !

[gareb]

Peacetalk is over, Kinahanglan na jud ni silang hiposon ( MILF ) og tinud-on og arangkada sa pag-gira !!!
We dont need A-team and Ramboo for this !!! Kaya ra man ni nato ba, atong dagko lang nga mga official mga kolokoy og otok lang !

consider the following:

• humanitarian cost: how many civilians can die and will be displaced because of this? hundreds of thousands.
• financial cost: money spent on medicines and schools now spent on guns and ammunition. who will benefit for the billions of pesos worth of expenses?
• political cost: it will not just be the MILF you will be waging war against, but an entire people. can we risk a genocide?

the MILF is but a manifestation of the underlying issues of the Bangsamoro that need to be addressed. we can try to annihilate each and every MILF member out there, but since we have not eliminated the root-cause of the entire problem, another group is bound to emerge in MILF's place.

and how certain are we that this group will become suicide bombers a la Al Quaeda, this time blowing up buildings in major urban centers like Manila and yes, Cebu?

it's called 'radicalization'. do we risk this scenario?

[trollaccount]

consider the following:

• humanitarian cost: how many civilians can die and will be displaced because of this? hundreds of thousands.
• financial cost: money spent on medicines and schools now spent on guns and ammunition. who will benefit for the billions of pesos worth of expenses?
• political cost: it will not just be the MILF you will be waging war against, but an entire people. can we risk a genocide?

Not against the MILF you say but against a different class of people? Are you trying to say that there is a distinction between "Bangsamoros" and Filipinos?

You sound so apologetic for being Filipino.

[amingb]

Ayaw pud nang Genocide mga bro ... kay hasta bata apilon mana ug patay hutdon tanan way mabilin .... kato lang mga MILF ...