Substate-of-a-Gun

THE MORO ISLAMIC Liberation Front (MILF) boldly declared that Muslims be allowed to run their government even "if they go to hell by their own making, so be it." I go for a lasting peace in Muslim Mindanao; but I have serious doubts on real peace when these armed Muslim leaders cannot accept the fact of life that Mindanao is no longer a Muslim territory after Muslim settlers took the land from the Lumads in the prehistoric Philippines.

I came from Zamboanga, and grew there. Despite MILF's claim of representing the dream of Muslims in Mindanao, I have serious doubts if the leaders are merely using this separatist slogan for their own aggrandizement. Look at ARMM under MNLF's Nur Misuari who had nothing to show for the tax shares it received from the government. And reports had it Misuari kept a huge sum from this money for his own accounts.

So I have so much reservations on the lasting peace settlement with the MILF can bring.

First, how much really of our Muslim siblings in Mindanao that MILF really represents? Certainly, it does not represent MNLF's ARMM. Neither does it represent the supporters of its splinter group under Kato. Most Muslims in Mindanao are peace-loving people. And it is not difficult to suppose that armed strugglers are in the minority there. Will the voice of firearms then determines whose demands get followed in Muslim Mindanao?

Second, Mindanao is no longer an island with Muslims in majority. In fact many provinces have Christians in whooping majority. Will MILF settle for a small city that will be populated with Muslims in huge majority? And which city will that be considering that a large part of Muslim Mindanao already belongs to ARMM.

Third, the history of Muslims in Mindanao cannot be separated with violence, and even involvement with international terrorist groups. A realization of a substate may not become a solution towards peace, but instead may become a sore cancer of dissention that may fuel an outright civil war of separation from the Philippines. Once that Bangsamoro becomes a well-financed state from whichever sources may be, it is not a long shot to believe that they will arm themselves and defy the national government to get themselves fully independent.

These are fears that came from living with Muslims in a largely Christian community. The rule of the gun cannot easily translate into peace.

I believe it is high-time that the government perform a broad-base consultation with Muslim Filipinos in Mindanao to really hear their sentiments on Bangsamoro government. I have reasons to believe that with clean national government leadership, which we have right now, Muslims will not care of independent government so long as graft and corruption will not make their lives harder than they are. Better if the government's care and attention finally seep through the sieves of bureaucracy, and touch them real-time.

At the end of the day, unarmed Muslims dreams nothing more than peace in their communities along with Christians, and a government who truly takes care of their needs. Not a substate ruled by firepowers even if this government is run by fellow Muslims.

UPDATES

BIFF's Kato again launched an attack on Tuesday, 9 August 2011, displacing 200 families in Mindanao. This simply indicates that MILF has no control of Kato. And after any settlement with MILF this time will not stop the conflict because Kato will again resurrect it.

In addition to that, MILF seems to be demanding whimsically right now, even including the ARMM in their demanded Bangsamoro substate. They simply want to insist that they own Muslim Mindanao, which they don't. Muslims and Christians own it; not the MILF. [Read report]

The Philippine government rejects MILF proposal for a Bangsamoro sub-state. [Read report]