DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/21 May) — Representatives of civil society on Friday challenged each other to do more to help push forward the peace process between government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) which is entering a critical phase at the resumption of the talks late this month in Kuala Lumpur.
Guiamel Alim, a member of the Council of Elders of the Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society (CBCS) told the Multi-stakeholders Caucus on the GPH-MILF Peace Process that instead of asking the government and MILF peace panels for updates on the negotiations, civil society should reverse it this time by presenting its own proposals on addressing the contentious issues.
“Baliktarin kaya natin. Tayo ngayon ang mag-proposal and let us allow them to ask questions,” he said.
Earlier in the caucus, government peace panel chair Marvic Leonen asked about a hundred civil society representatives if anyone of them was talking to senators, congressmen, mayors and governors, to discuss the peace process with them.
“Are we in partnership here?” Leonen asked, adding, “hindi lang kami dapat ang gumawa nyan” (we should not be the only ones doing that).”
Memen Lauzon-Gatmaytan of the Initiatives for International Dialogue said there are several networks engaged in the peace process and working on its different aspects.
Karen Tanada of the Gaston Ortigas Peace Institute said it might be best to list the groups to find out who is talking to this congressman and other officials.
Alim said that while individual undertakings are alright, it might be more effective “if we do that as a group.”
He suggested that for the Caucus to come up with a program to reach out to political leaders.
Leonen urged civil society leaders gathered at the caucus to “participate in a thought process, understanding the situation, refining our positions so that we can find, as I said the last time, a third way, a third way.”
He said the panels are partisan for a solution “and what we are doing is trying to find commonalities between our partisan solutions. Maybe if I may make a suggestion to this caucus, be neutral. Be neutral. You know why? Do not advocate that you are for one or the other because you would want to keep us on our toes, both of us. You would want, whoever our principals are, to listen to what you’re saying. And if there is any inclination that this caucus is partial towards one side, you will lose your purpose as civil society. On our end it doesn’t help us,” he said.
“I know that you want to help in the peace process and short of asking you to replace me … to actually ask you please look at it from our end. I know it is tempting to look at it from a revolutionary perspective as an NGO. But please look at it from a government’s end. What if there are good and kind souls within the bureaucracy that want to do something right?”
Alim said “we cannot be neutral given the realities of the times.” But he added, “we can be non-partisan.”
“We will do parallel efforts sa ginagawa ng peace talks as CSOs,” he said, adding, “we are the most appropriate group looking at the situation from the third eye. Therefore we are providing the third way.”
Mary Ann Arnado, secretary-general of the Mindanao Peoples Caucus said, “we are not neutral but we are independent. Iba kasi yung netural. Neutral is nakapikit ang mata at di nakakakita”
She noted that the caucus is a “grouping of people who wants to provide a third way,” to bring in both parties to find a common ground.
Arnado later said peace advocates are “independent and impartial but not necessarily neutral. Independent in a sense that we are not politically and organizationally affiliated with either parties, impartial in that we treat both sides with respect and equality.”
“We are not, however, neutral on injustices, human rights violations, aggression and the suffering of civilians,” she said.
Alim acknowledged the difficulties the peace panels will face when they resume talks after signing last month’s Decision Points on Principles.
Alim said the panels had repeatedly said the devil is in the details. He suggested that “we do a ‘devil-watch.’”
He cited as an example the meaning of “status quo” in Decision Point 2 where both panels agreed that the status quo is unacceptable and that they would work for the creation of a new autonomous political entity in place of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
He said the panels may have different interpretations o f status quo. “Maybe for government it is the ARMM but for the MILF it is the totality of relationship between government and the Moro, social justice.”
Tanada acknowledged the difficulties of not knowing exactly what the panels are talking about.
She said it is difficult to give very specific inputs because they don’t know the details of what the panels are talking about and there are no experts on some topics the panels are discussing.
She suggested they convene a caucus involving experts and those from the academe. “Tayo mag- convene hindi government and MILF, para magkaroon ng independent (inputs) sa very difficult issues.” (Let us convene, not government or the MILF, so there can be independent inputs on very difficult issues), Tanada added.
Friday’s Caucus was organized by the Bishops-Ulama Conference, Mindanao Peoples Caucus, Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society and Mindanao Peaceweavers. (Carolyn O. Arguillas/MindaNews)
