Hashim, in response, wrote to Bush on May 20, 2003 stating that the MILF “has repeatedly renounced terrorism publicly as a means of attaining its political ends,” to which U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly replied that the U.S. “recognizes that the Muslims of the southern Philippines have serious, legitimate grievances that must be addressed” – while at the same time reiterating that his government “is concerned about the links between the MILF and international terrorist organizations and asks that those links be severed immediately.” Kelly added that if these alleged links were severed, the U.S. would be ready to politically and financially support the GRP-MILF peace talks.

“The U.S. offered the MILF economic assistance to entice them into the peace talks with the GRP,” Ocampo said.

Ancestral domain workshop

The report by Martin and Tuminez relates how the PFP organized and facilitated a workshop on ancestral domain for members of both the GRP and MILF peace panels. States the report:

“PFP Senior Research Associate Astrid S. Tuminez undertook extensive research on the history, substance, and likely trajectories of negotiations over ancestral domain. She wrote a white paper, which was submitted to members of the GRP and MILF peace panels. Subsequently, PFP conducted a three-day workshop on ancestral domain in Mindanao, bringing together members of the GRP peace panel, MILF-designated representatives, and a small group of Mindanao experts and observers to listen to, and interact directly with, international scholars and practitioners who had dealt firsthand with conflicts in their own countries related to ancestral domain (e.g., land, resources, and governance). International participants shared the cases of Native Americans, Maoris, Sri Lankans, Sudanese, Inuits, Northern Irish, and the Bougainvillean peoples. Each expert underlined common threads of conflict over ancestral domain, highlighted successes and failures in negotiations, and analyzed arrangements reached in their respective case studies. None suggested a ‘right way’ of addressing ancestral domain, but all attested to the difficulties associated with negotiations over land, resources, and governance. Several experts also emphasized the need to buttress any ancestral domain agreement with institutions, procedures, and other forms of support toward effective implementation…

After the ancestral domain workshop, Dr. Tuminez wrote a USIP Special Report, ‘Ancestral Domain in Comparative Perspective,’ which became a reference document for the GRP and MILF teams. Copies were provided to the negotiating panels, and discussions were held with panel members and advisers. PFP also sponsored subsequent visits to Manila and Mindanao by international experts on ancestral domain, conflict resolution, and comparative autonomy… PFP also shared with the peace panels analyses, literature summaries, and materials pertinent to ancestral domain, autonomy, and self-determination. When members of the negotiating panels requested assistance on specific issues or source materials, PFP responded promptly. USIP’s initiatives on ancestral domain also motivated the Canadian embassy in Manila to sponsor a visit to Manila and Mindanao by Canadian government officials and leaders of indigenous groups to share their experience on land claims agreements with the government, Moros, and civil society.”

Ocampo said the U.S. involvement even in the issue of ancestral domain, the negotiations for which led to the drafting of the MOA-AD, explains why the Arroyo administration allowed provisions seeking to establish the BJE. “The Arroyo government allowed this agreement because it has the support and involvement of the U.S.,” he said.

Roots of conflict

Moro historian Salah Jubair traces the roots of the present conflict in southern Philippines to the U.S. annexation of Mindanao and Sulu into the Philippine territory in 1946. Jubair argues that the Bangsa Moro is a people with a socio-political, economic, and cultural system distinct from that of the Filipino people.

The inclusion of Mindanao and Sulu in the scope of the 1946 “independence” granted to the Philippines paved the way for large-scale non-Muslim migration to the two islands. This large-scale migration, which began in the 1950s, brought with it the problem of land grabbing.

At some point the government even instituted a Mindanao Homestead Program, which involved giving land parcels seized from Moro peoples to landless peasants from the Visayas islands and Luzon and also to former communist guerrillas who availed of amnesty.

This was intended to defuse the peasant unrest and the revolutionary war that was staged in the late 1940s and early 1950s by the communist-led Hukbong Mapagpalaya ng Bayan (HMB or People’s Liberation Army), which was basically a peasant army.

The Jabidah Massacre triggered widespread outrage among the Moros and led to the formation of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) that same year. The MNLF, led by former University of the Philippines (UP) professor Nur Misuari, waged an armed revolutionary struggle against the GRP for an independent state in Mindanao.

The Marcos government, weighed down by the costs of the Mindanao war, negotiated for peace and signed an agreement with the MNLF in Tripoli, Libya in 1976. The pact involved the grant of autonomy to the Mindanao Muslims.

Conflicts on the issue of autonomy led to a breakdown of talks between the GRP and the MNLF in 1978, prompting a group led by Hashim to break away from the MNLF and form the MILF. Since then, the MILF has been fighting for Moro self-determination.

In 1996, the MNLF signed the Final Peace Agreement with the GRP. That same year, the MILF began peace negotiations with the GRP.

While the peace agreement with the MNLF supposedly holds, armed skirmishes between the AFP and MNLF did not stop. On Nov. 19, 2001, Misuari declared war on the Arroyo government for allegedly reneging on its commitments to the Final Peace Agreement. The MNLF then attacked an Army headquarters in Jolo. Misuari was subsequently arrested in Sabah, Malaysia for illegal entry and was turned over to the Philippine government by Malaysian authorities. He is currently under house arrest.

Liguasan Marsh

Among the main areas claimed by the MILF as part of the Bangsamoro’s ancestral domain is Liguasan Marsh, the country’s biggest wetland, of which they occupy a significant portion.

Covering 288,000 hectares, Liguasan Marsh cuts across four provinces: North Cotabato, South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, and Maguindanao. The area is rich in oil and natural gas reserves that as yet remain untapped. MNLF founding chairman and former ARMM Gov. Nur Misuari, citing estimates by American oil engineers, said total earnings from the natural gas reserves of the Liguasan Marsh could amount to $580 billion.

Tuminez stressed the importance of the Liguasan Marsh in a USIP presentation she delivered in 2005. “Because of the marsh’s tremendous actual and potential resources, it is likely going to be a focal point of ancestral domain talks,” she said.

Trap

Ocampo stressed that the MILF needs to be vigilant in its negotiations with the GRP particularly on ancestral domain.

“There is a trap for the MILF, laid by the U.S., in the MOA-AD,” he said. “The MILF should be on guard because the gains it expects from the MOA-AD may end up being plundered.” (Bulatlat.com)

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