COTABATO CITY (MindaNews / 21 Nov) – A delegation from the House of Representatives of Thailand conducted a study tour in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) to learn and possibly replicate best practices in the Bangsamoro peace process.
Interim Bangsamoro Chief Minister Ahod “Al Haj Murad” Ebrahim welcomes the delegation of lawmakers from Thailand. Photo courtesy of the Chief Minister’s office.
Interim Bangsamoro Chief Minister Ahod “Al Haj Murad” Ebrahim welcomed the delegates led by Hon. Romadon Panjor on Wednesday at the Bangsamoro Government Complex here.
The Thai legislators arrived at the BARMM on Monday, and will proceed to Manila Thursday afternoon to meet with officials of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity led by Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr.
Ebrahim said the Ad Hoc Committee on Peacebuilding in Southern Thailand visited him for a cross-learning exchange with the BARMM and to gain insights from the experiences of the Bangsamoro people in the peace process.
“The work of the Ad Hoc Committee on Peacebuilding in Southern Thailand resonates deeply with our own initiatives in Mindanao, where we face the complexities of conflict,” Ebrahim said in a statement.
“Both the Muslim communities in southern Thailand and the Bangsamoro in the southern Philippines are united by rich cultural heritages founded in Islamic traditions and a collective desire for peace, autonomy, and recognition in the face of numerous challenges,” he added.
The Muslim minority in southern Thailand – particularly in the provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat, as well as in parts of Songkhla – have been waging a separatist insurgency for decades. The conflict between the Thai state security forces and Muslim separatist groups like the Barisan Revolution Nasional Melayu Patani (BRN) has claimed around 7,500 lives, according to The Diplomat.
In the southern Philippines, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which Ebrahim chairs, and the government signed the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) in 2014 after 17 years of peace negotiations.
Before the peace agreement with the MILF, the Philippine government also forged an amity accord with the Moro National Liberation Front in 1996.
In Thailand, the past two years have brought a measure of progress, at least on paper, in the nation’s Deep South peace process. In February of this year, the Thai government and the BRN agreed on a roadmap to try to end the region’s long-running conflict, The Diplomat reported.
Malaysia has been helping mediate the Southern Thailand Peace Dialogue Process.
In Mindanao, Malaysia mediated the peace negotiations between the government and the Moro fronts. The Moro rebellion had reportedly claimed 120,000 lives, including civilians.
Ebrahim said their “histories have shaped resilient and proud identities as Muslims, fostering a strong commitment to dialogue, collaboration, and co-existence.”
Ameen Andrew Alonto, Bangsamoro Information Office head, said the purpose of the Thai lawmakers’ visit is to learn from the Bangsamoro peace process as they are also experiencing an armed conflict in southern Thailand.
The signing of the CAB between the government and the MILF provided for the establishment of an autonomous region, now called the BARMM.
The Bangsamoro region was created in 2019 following a plebiscite that ratified its enabling law, Republic Act 11054 or the Organic Law for the BARMM.
It is governed by the Bangsamoro Transition Authority, an 80-member body led by the MILF. (Bong S. Sarmiento / MindaNews)
