The Mamasapano clash and the clamour for peace

Source: http://www.insightonconflict.org/2015/04/mamasapano-clash-clamour-peace/

About the author

Rey Ty is Insight on Conflict's Philippines Correspondent.

April 2 2015: A recent – and unintended – clash between the government and rebel forces appeared to derail the Mindanao Peace Process in the Philippines. But as Insight on Conflict’s new correspondent Rey Ty reports, activists fighting for peace have had the strongest message.

In Muslim Mindanao – and all over the Philippines – people rejoiced at the prospect of

peace with the drafting of the Bangsamoro Basic Law last year. The law is intended to

provide for the establishment of a distinct political entity to satisfy the demands of those

who wish for an autonomous Muslim region in the southern Mindanao area of the

Philippines.

However, fears were raised after what has become known as the Mamasapano clash in

January.

A secret operation called Oplan Exodus was launched by the Special Action Force

(SAF) of the Filipino police to capture Zulkifli Abdhir. Also known as Marwan, he was on

the FBI’s most wanted list.

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Marwan was in the territory controlled by the rebel Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)

group, which had been in the middle of peace negotiations. However, the SAF began its

operation without informing the MILF, as stipulated in the agreement between the

Government and the MILF.

The SAF and MILF never intended to engage in conflict

The SAF and MILF never intended to engage in conflict. The SAF intended to serve a

warrant of arrest for Marwan. The unplanned result was armed violence and the killing

of 44 SAF personnel, 18 MILF forces, five Bangsa Moro Freedom Fighters rebels, five

civilians, and Marwan himself.

There is a backlash taking place against the prospects for a peace deal as a result of

these deaths. The predominantly Christian population of the Philippines has described

the 44 commandos as fallen heroes. At the same time, many civil society organisations

have cautioned against automatically blaming the MILF for what happened.

The public clamour for transparency resulted in separate Senate and MILF Reports on

the Mamasapano clash. Fingers are now being pointed in different directions as to who

was responsible for what is being described as a ‘misencounter’ between the

government and rebel forces. Some have reported US funding for the operation.

Clamouring for peace: activists and archbishops join forces to reject violence

At the grassroots level, civil society organisations are continuing to call for the

reinvigoration of the peace process between the Philippines government and the MILF.

The Lanao Peace Partnership and its partner organisations have said that there must

be a comprehensive peace agreement between the government and the rebel group.

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An SAF officer involved in the Mamasapano operation has anonymously posted

anonline petition calling for the every effort to be made in pursuing the peace process in

Mindanao.

The “true face of war is not that dead soldier or rebel on the battlefield. It is a mother

fleeing home with a cartload of offspring, amid sounds of gunfire,” he said. At the time of

writing, the petition has over 6,500 signatures.

Hundreds of advocates walked barefoot to show their support for a peaceful resolution

In February, hundreds of peace advocates walked barefoot for an hour in the

Autonomous Region of Mindanao to drumbeat their desire for a peaceful resolution of

the fallout of the Mamasapano clash.

And in March, the Mindanao region itself organised a peace caravan in the capital,

Manila. More than a million people have signed another petition supporting the peace

process in Mindanao.

In a show of support, a huge variety of people joined: students and faculty from different

universities, politicians, employees of the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos, and

members of the public.

In Cotabato City, peace organisations held another caravan and peace rally only last

week, to celebrate a year after the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the

Bangsamoro.

Leading the Mindanao-based Friends of Peace, Cardinal Orlando Quevedo has invited

representatives of peace organisations to meet on April 6, 2015. They will discuss the

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problems with the peace process, including issues related to the Bangsamoro Basic

Law, and different ways forward.

At the same time, President Begnino Aquino has named several Manila-based activists,

including the Archbishop of Manila, Antonio Cardinal Tagle, to lead a National Peace

Summit to discuss the Bangsamoro Basic Law.

With all the clamour for peace, the Filipino people will hope that their calls for a just and

peaceful settlement of the conflict in Mindanao fall not on deaf ears, but on the

reasonable minds of the legislators.

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