The Institute of Bangsamoro Studies
Role of Third Parties in Mindanao Peace Process
by: Professor Abhoud Syed M. LinggaDownload Complete text of this Article as
The conflict in Mindanao between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the Bangsamoro liberation fronts has been going on for more than three decades. Although it has been violent but most of the time the protagonists are engaged in peace talks. Every time shooting war between the protagonists erupts, which usually take place in short span of time; it is always followed by lengthy negotiations, though every time war break out the consequences is painful and the costs are tremendous.
Every time the GRP and the Bangsamoro liberation fronts talk peace, a third party is always involved. In the negotiations between the GRP and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) had been actively involved. In the on-going talks between the GRP and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Malaysia is the facilitator. Lately, the United States got the interest to be actively involved in finding peaceful solution to the Mindanao conflict. This paper attempts to find out the roles of these third parties in the peace process, specifically in the areas of peace making and peace keeping. The role of third parties in the peace building phase can be a subject of separate enquiry.
In this paper, peace process denotes the efforts of settling the conflict in Mindanao through peaceful means. This specifically refers to the negotiations between the GRP and the MNLF and the on-going peace talks between the GRP and the MILF, the two mainstream Bangsamoro liberation organizations. The negotiations between the Government and the MNLF started in January 1975 and lasted until September 1996. The peace talks with the MILF started after the conclusion of the GRP-MNLF negotiations and still going on as of this writing.
Perceived Strengths and Weaknesses of GRP Peace Initiatives
Basis for an Alternative Program for Sustainable Peace in Mindanaoby: Zainal Dimaukom Kulidtod
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The cost of the ethnic conflict in Southern Philippines has already reached its alarming stage. This was revealed in a privilege speech delivered in July 1996 before the House of Representatives by the former Congressman of Batangas, Retired General Eduardo Ermita. In that session he said:
Available data from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) indicate that over a period of 26 years since 1970, more than 100,000 persons were killed in Southern Philippines. The government suffered about 30 percent of casualties; the rebels more than 50 percent; while civilians caught in the crossfire came to about 20 percent of total casualties. About 55,000 persons were wounded, not counting those from the rebel side. From 1970 to 1976 alone, an average of 18 people were slain every day.
All in all, the AFP has spent about 73 billion pesos in connection with the Mindanao conflict since 1970; or an average of 40 percent of its annual budget. If this figure could be multiplied by the inflation rate over the years, it is truly a gargantuan expense. Presently, about 30 percent of the budget of the Philippine Air Force is spent in Mindanao; so is 40 percent of our Naval Budget and 60 percent of our Army budget (Quoted in Rodil, 2000:8-9).
Speaking on the Muslim side about the staggering cost of the war was the Manifesto signed on 7 October 1983 by eleven distinguished Moro leaders supporting the call for national reconciliation and unity. In that document, it was stated that “more than 600,000 precious Muslim lives were lost in a decade of civil strife, more than one million have been rendered homeless and destitute, more than 200,000 Filipino Muslims are refugees in Sabah and elsewhere. . .” (Manifesto, 1983). These data were confirmed by Muslim (1994) who reported that from 1972 to mid-1970s there were estimated 60,000 to 80,000 persons killed; more than a million individuals were rendered homeless; and, the ill-treated 200,000 to 300,000 refugees in Sabah who evacuated their places during the height of the war in the middle of 1970s. It was also noted that during that period about 80 percent of the entire strength of the AFP was deployed in Mindanao. The government mobilized 60 battalions taken from various units of the AFP and spending 4 million pesos a day.