By BENJIE OLIVEROS Bulatlat perspective The headlines of major dailies trumpeted the symbolic decommissioning of 145 fighters of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the turning over of 75 high-powered firearms. It is supposed to be a positive step toward peace. Also it was used as an occasion by the Aquino government to push for…
“Those who would reject it will continue the struggle. The tragedy here is we are repeating history.”
Many Moro heroes in Philippine history have been ignored and forgotten because of a legacy from the colonizers: the alienation between Christians and Muslims.
By LUIS V. TEODORO Vantage Point | BusinessWorld If truth is the first casualty of the Mamasapano incident, the peace agreement between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Philippine government is fast emerging as the second. Thanks to the likes of JV Ejercito, Alan Peter Cayetano, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and their like- minded…
“Instead of querying in order to sift the truth out of this whole mess of an operation, Senator Alan Cayetano only stated his own conclusions in the matter, biases and chauvinism in tow.”
At the Senate investigation, MILF chief peace negotiator Mohagher Iqbal enumerated some of the injustices wrought against Moros throughout history.
“We share the pain of the widows of the 44 slain elements of SAF.”
Progressive groups lambasted President Aquino, who, in a nationally-televised message, passed the blame to the head of the elite police commando unit for the deadly Mamasapano clash.
“We do not know what made the review team look at the Moro Question as a purely legal matter.” – Moro Islamic Liberation Front
With the fresh government offensive, Muslim rebels branded the Philippine Army “terrorists” and the “true spoilers” of peace negotiations.
Peace advocates in Mindanao worry that only one of the four annexes contained in the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro was signed by the GPH and the MILF panels.