ACPP Backgrounder
Working for Peace in Mindanao
May 2004

The Philippines is an archipelago of more than 7,000 islands. There are three main island groups: the Visayas; Luzon; and Mindanao.

Mindanao is populated by three main groups: eighteen ethnically distinct groups of Indigenous peoples known collectively as Lumads; the Moros, who are indigenous tribes that embraced Islam in the fourteenth century; and the Christian Filipino settlers .

Although armed conflict has been going on in Mindanao for decades, the causes of these conflicts are not generally well understood. When we read in the media of communist insurgency, terrorism and Muslim separatism, it is not easy to distinguish between the conflicts and to see the relationships between them. Over the years, the conflicts have become very complex. What is clear is that thousands of innocent people continue to suffer violence, displacement and poverty because of these conflicts.

This backgrounder will focus on the Moro peoples' aspirations for self-determination as the key to understanding the on-going conflict in Mindanao, and on inter-religious efforts to build a just peace.

The Office of the Presidential Advisor on the Peace Process notes that five major causes of the armed conflicts in Mindanao were identified by a consultation undertaken by the National Unification Commission in 1992. They were:

• massive poverty
• poor governance
• injustice and abuse of power
• control by a few of political power, and
• exploitation of cultural communities and lack of recognition of their ancestral domain.

Abhoud Syed M. Lingga, Chairman of the Bangsamoro People's Consultative Assembly takes a different approach, identifying the 'core issue' in the following way:
As a mode of self-determination, independence occupies, and will always occupy, space in the discourse of the Bangsamoro civil society because it is the core issue of the Mindanao Problem.

Archbishop Orlando Quevedo, who is President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines and Archbishop of Cotabato, in Mindanao, agrees that the root cause of the conflict is the injustice done to the Bangsamoro (from bangsa, nation and Moro):
"the various campaigns, military and otherwise, by Spanish, American, and Filipino Governments to subjugate, assimilate and integrate the Bangsamoro into the mainstream body politic, apparently without regards to their historical and cultural make-up, is an injustice to the Bangsamoro's religious, cultural and political identity".

He believes that this injustice to the Bangsamoro is the root cause of the insurgency in the south. The other causes of conflict can all be traced back to this root cause.

To understand the claim of the Moro people to exercise the right to self-determination, it is necessary to reflect on the history of the Philippines.

Archeological evidence suggests that the Philippines have been inhabited for at least 30,000 and perhaps even 50,000 years . Despite several periods of foreign occupation, between 12 and 15 million of the total population of 70 million today are Indigenous people and about 60% of them live on the southern island of Mindanao .

The Spanish occupied the Philippines for nearly four hundred years stretching from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. They came to the islands for trade purposes and to 'Christianize the natives'. An example of the mixed motives of the colonizers can be seen in the instructions given by King Philip II of Spain to Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, which instructed him in part:
To bring to the inhabitants of those places our holy Catholic Faith and to discover the return route to New Spain to the credit and patrimony of the Royal Crown of Castile, through trade and barter and through other legitimate ways, which with a clear conscience should be carried on to bring back some spices and some of the wealth found in those places.

Early attempts by the Spanish to occupy the Philippines were successfully repelled, and resistance continued throughout the Spanish period. In fact, Spain was never able to exercise political control over the whole archipelago and there were numerous local revolts .

Arab traders had already introduced Islam to the inhabitants of Mindanao and Sulu in the fourteenth century and by the middle of the fifteenth century a Muslim Sultanate had been established in Sulu. Sultanates were later established in Lanao and Cotabato, and by the end of the fifteenth century, Islam had reached the north: Muslim Rajahs ruled over the area known today as Manila.

The Muslim communities, or Moros, had their own social structures based on their faith, and political structures based on territorial sultanates. They staunchly resisted the Spaniards political and religious systems .

As Abhoud Syed M. Lingga explains:
The historical experience of the Bangsamoro people in statehood and governance started as early as the middle of the 15th century when Sultan Sharif ul-Hashim established the Sulu Sultanate. This was followed by the establishment of the Magindanaw Sultanate in the early part of the 16th century by Sharif Muhammad Kabungsuwan. The Sultanate of Buayan and the Pat a Pangampong ko Ranao (Confederation of the Four Lake-based Emirates) and other political subdivisions were later organized.

By the time the Spanish colonists arrived in the Philippines, the Muslims of Mindanao, Sulu-Tawi-Tawi archipelago and the islands of Basilan and Palawan had already established their own states and governments with diplomatic and trade relations with other countries including China. Administrative and political systems based on the realities of the time existed in those states. In fact it was on account of the existence of the well-organized administrative and political system that the Bangsamoro people managed to survive the military campaign against them by Western colonial powers for several centuries and preserve their identity as a political and social organization.

For centuries the Spanish colonial government attempted to conquer the Muslim states to subjugate their political existence and to add the territory to the Spanish colonies in the Philippine Islands but history tells us that it never succeeded. The Bangsamoro states with their organized maritime forces and armies succeeded in defending the Bangsamoro territories thus preserving the continuity of their independence.

That is why it is being argued, based on the logic that you cannot sell something you do not possess, that the Bangsamoro territories are not part of what were ceded by Spain to the United States in the Treaty of Paris of 1898 because Spain has never exercised sovereignty over these areas.

When the Spanish ceded the Philippines to the USA in 1898, and the USA subsequently sought to take control of the islands, they too met with armed resistance, especially from the Moros in the south.

The Moros saw themselves as being separate and distinct from the Spaniards and Christian 'Indios'. They had a sense of sovereignty which they never ceded. By the nineteenth century they saw themselves as a separate nation - a Bangsamoro.

Christian 'Indios' had also begun to see themselves as Filipinos, and asserted their nationhood when the revolution against Spain began in 1896.

While a sense of Filipino nationhood grew under the American rule, Muslim leaders resisted attempts to put them under Filipino rule.

The Kiram-Bates Treaty was negotiated in 1899 between Brigadier General John C Bates and Sultan Jamalul Kiran II of Sulu. There were also informal agreements with other Moro leaders in Mindanao. The treaty recognized Moro religion, customs and traditions but its content on the question of sovereignty is ambiguous. Archbishop Quevedo notes that while the English version says:
"The sovereignty of the United States over the archipelago of Jolo and its dependencies is declared and acknowledged"
the Moro version says:
"The support, the aid and the protection of the Sulu Island and archipelago are in the American nation".

There were many Moro uprisings against the Americans but gradually the American government gained de facto sovereignty over the Moro people .

In 1912 the introduction of Christian settlers to Mindanao began. Eventually the Moro population became a marginalized minority, having lost much of their land. The development of the Moro people was neglected and they lagged behind the Filipino community in terms of most socio-economic indicators.

As moves towards independence from the Unites States got under way, the Bangsamoro opposed integration into a Philippine Republic:
In a petition to the President of the United States dated June 9, 1921, the people of Sulu archipelago said that they would prefer being part of the United States rather than be included in an independent Philippine nation.

In the Declaration of Rights and Purposes, the Bangsamoro leaders' meeting in Zamboanga on February1, 1924, proposed that the "Islands of Mindanao and Sulu, and the Island of Palawan be made an unorganized territory of the United States of America" in anticipation that in the event the US will decolonize its colonies and other non-self governing territories, the Bangsamoro homeland would be granted separate independence. Had it happened, the Bangsamoro would have regained by now their independence under the UN Declaration on Decolonization. Their other proposal was that if independence had to be granted including the Bangsamoro territories, 50 years after Philippine independence, a plebiscite be held in Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan to decide by vote whether the territory would be incorporated in the government of the Islands of Luzon and Visayas, remain a territory of the United States, or become independent.

In 1942 Japan invaded the Philippines and Japanese forces occupied the Philippines until they were driven out by US forces in 1945. In 1946 the Philippines gained its independence from the USA. The Muslim communities now found themselves under a Christian Filipino central government.

Congressman Ombra Amilbangsa filed House Bill No. 5682 during the fourth session of the Fourth Congress seeking the granting and recognition of the independence of Sulu, and on 1 May 1968 Governor Datu Udtog Matalam of Cotabato issued the Mindanao Independence Movement manifesto. The manifesto called for the independence of Mindanao and Sulu.

The continuing marginalization of the Moro people and the failure of attempts to secure independence through parliamentary means led to armed resistance in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The armed struggle of the Moro National Liberation Front against the Government of the Republic of the Philippines was one of the reasons cited by President Marcos for declaring martial law in 1972.

In identical wording the first article of both the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights affirms the right of peoples to self-determination:

1. All peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.
2. All peoples may, for their own ends, freely dispose of their natural wealth and resources without prejudice to any obligations arising out of international economic cooperation, based upon the principle of mutual benefit, and international law. In no case may a people be deprived of its own means of subsistence.
3. The States Parties to the present Covenant, including those having responsibility for the administration of Non-Self Governing and Trust Territories, shall promote the realization of the right of self-determination, and shall respect that right, in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.

A people may "demand and pursue within the nation state more political power, active participation in the decision making and administration of government affairs, equitable redistribution of economic benefits, and appropriate ways of preserving and protecting their culture and way of life " - that is, they may opt for a degree of autonomy within a nation state. On the other hand, a people may choose to exercise their self-determination through a separate, independent state.

As Cornish has noted:
The right of peoples to self-determination is well established at international law in relation to peoples under colonial rule, peoples in non-autonomous territories, and peoples living under racist regimes. In other States however, the right of peoples to self-determination can enter into conflict with the legal principle of the sovereignty of the State. …

If different peoples live within a State, how can they all exercise their right to self-determination? How are such peoples to be represented within the State? Must each separate people have its own sovereign Nation-State?

In the case of a desire for an independent Islamic state, the question of the right to religious liberty of non-Muslims living within the state arises.

It is sometimes argued that past policies of dispersal, dispossession, assimilation and even attempts at genocide, have left most indigenous peoples without adequate social organization or territorial concentration on a sufficiently large scale to effectively claim nationhood or statehood . While the Bangsamoro, have disputed these arguments in relation to their claims to independence, it seems that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front leadership has recently accepted that historical developments that have restricted Moro territory can no longer be reversed.

Another approach is to use a federal structure in which all provinces or regions that are part of the state enjoy a high degree of autonomy. The federal structure of Malaysia is seen as an example. There have been a number of proposals for the Philippines to become a federal state, and Senator Aquilino Pimentel from Mindanao is a prominent proponent of this approach. This, however, would require significant changes to the Philippine Constitution.

It is an enduring principle of Catholic Social Teaching that persons and communities have a right and a duty to participate in the decisions that affect their lives whether they be in the political, economic, social or cultural sphere . This 'right to participation' can be made more concrete and specific by the application of the 'principle of subsidiarity'. According to the principle of subsidiarity, decisions should be made as close as possible to the grassroots, by those most directly affected. Only where it is necessary in order to harmonize needs and aspirations of different groups under the common good should larger or more encompassing entities intervene .

During the 1980's and 1990's Pope John Paul II visited and addressed indigenous peoples in a number of different countries. In his early addresses he spoke of indigenous peoples' right to "a just and equitable measure of self-determination" , and of "self-governing ". In later addresses he moves away from these terms which have specific technical meanings at international law in favour of speaking more directly about the principle of participation . As Cornish observes:

Speaking at Latacunga, for example, John Paul II used neither term but rather affirmed the people's desire to be 'the administrators and artisans' of their own progress without interference from those who would provoke violent reactions or keep the people 'in situations of intolerable injustice'. At Santa Teresita Mission, he referred to the people's desire to be the agents of their own development and to have their freely made decisions respected.

It is a matter of contingent judgment whether or not, in any given set of circumstances, the common good requires indigenous peoples to exercise their right to self-determination within the context of a nation state rather than opting for independence. This sort of practical and concrete moral judgment is not seen by the Catholic tradition as the preserve of the Pope and the universal teachings, but rather it is the responsibility of the local Bishop to help the people to understand the meaning of Church teaching in relation to the actual issues that they face .

Archbishop Quevedo favours a degree of autonomy for the Bangsamoro within the Philippine nation state, but a more enhanced autonomy than is envisioned by the 1996 agreement with the MNLF. The catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines does not have an official position on this question.

The Moro National Liberation Front
In the late 1960s and early 1970s Muslim armed resistance to the Central Government was spearheaded by the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). The MNLF claimed fourteen provinces in Mindanao which it wished to make into a separate Muslim state.

In 1976, with the Libyan Government acting as an intermediary, the Tripoli ceasefire negotiated an end to the MNLF/Government hostilities.

The MNLF rejected the offer of an autonomous Muslim region but none the less a referendum to form an Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao was held. In 1990 the ARMM was proclaimed. It now contains five of the fourteen provinces originally claimed by the MNLF.

A Final Peace Agreement was reached between the MNLF and the Government on 2 September 1996.

Under the current peace process, the MNLF and the Government are negotiating on the modalities of implementing the Tripoli Agreement in letter and spirit .

Moro Islamic Liberation Front
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) broke away from the MNLF when the MNLF accepted autonomy within the framework of Philippine nation state. The MILF continued the fight for independence through an armed struggle against the Government.

In May 2003 the Permanent Council of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) wrote an open letter to President Macapagal-Arroyo and Hashim Salamat, the Chairman of the MILF, urging a ceasefire, the resumption of negotiations, and the return of evacuees to their homes.

With the CBCP acting as a go-between, it became clear that the MILF and the government desired a peaceful solution by way of a negotiated political settlement and that both parties wanted the evacuees to be able to return to their homes.

Archbishop Quevedo notes that three key elements of Chairman Hashim Salamat's vision opened up new possibilities for peace:

1. his renunciation of terrorism
2. his realization that the historical circumstances that have substantially constricted the territory of the Bangsamoro can no longer be overturned
3. his declaration that the final solution is by way of negotiated peace settlement .

The death of Hashim Salamat in July 2003 leaves some question as to whether this path will be pursued by the MILF.

Talking points for the MILF and the Government under the current peace process include the resumption of discussions on the Tripoli Agreement; safe return and rehabilitation of refugees to their places of origin in Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan; cessation of hostilities and provocative acts during the peace talks process; and other matters that may contribute in arriving at a just and peaceful social, economic and political solution to the problems in the Southern Philippines particularly the issue of ancestral domain .

The Communist Party of the Philippines/New Peoples Army/National Democratic Front
The Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New Peoples Army, along with associated group, the National Democratic Front, have also been involved in an armed insurgency in Mindanao. Their objective is to overthrow the Government and establish a socialist state.

The National Democratic Front and the Government agreed in The Hague Joint Declaration to discuss human rights and international humanitarian law; political and constitutional reforms; social and economic reforms; and an end to hostilities and disposition of forces .

Rebolusyonaryong Alyansang Makabansa/Kawal ng Sambayanang Pilipino/Young Officers Union/Alyansang Tapat sa Sambayanan
These groups are composed of soldiers who have staged various coup d'etat attempts especially during the presidential term on Corazon Aquino and continue to pose a threat whenever some social unrest emerges. Their perspectives and objectives differ.

Talks with the Government are focusing on reforms to ensure clean, honest, orderly and free elections; negotiations by the government with all social and political forces; establishment of a competent, honest and nationalist-oriented government towards national renewal and reconciliation; the implementation of a nationalist economy; the adoption of a program for social justice to address the problems of poverty, unemployment and criminality; and addressing the needs for national defense and security .

Other Rebel Groups
The Abu Sayyaf Group and the Pentagon Gang are essentially criminal groups, but are believed to have links to terrorist groups in and beyond the region.

Many efforts to bring about peace in Mindanao have been undertaken over the years from the Tripoli Agreement in 1976, to a series of ceasefires and negotiations; mediation by the Organization of Islamic Countries and the Muslim World League; the establishment of a National Unification Commission; talks in Libya, and Jakarta, where an Interim Agreement was signed; the establishment of the Southern Philippines Zone of Peace and Development; and the signing of a Final Peace Agreement between the Government and Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) on 2 September 1996.

But still the violence continued.

Formal peace talks between the Government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) began, broke down, recommenced and were then suspended. In June 2001 an Agreement on Peace was signed in Tripoli by the MILF and the Government. A series of talks in Malaysia led to the signing of an Agreement on the General Framework for Unity, (7 August 2001); a Joint Communique and Implementing Guidelines on the Security Aspect of the GRP-MILF Tripoli Agreement of Peace of 2001 (7 August 2001); and a Manual of Instructions for Coordinating Committees on the Cessation of hostilities and Local Monitoring Teams (18 October 2001).

Nonetheless skirmishes continued and formal peace talks were again suspended in March 2002.

On 7 May 2002, the Government and MILF, again meeting in Malaysia, signed Implementing Guidelines on the Humanitarian, Rehabilitation and Development Aspects of the GRP-MILF Tripoli Agreement on Peace of 2001 . On 28 March 2003, the Government and MILF signed a Joint Statement affirming their commitment to resume formal peace talks and to honour and implement past agreements.

The violence continued and president Aroyo warned the MILF that she would recommend that the USA put the MILF on their list of terrorist organizations if attacks on civilians did not end by 1 June 2003.

On 28 May 2003 the MILF declared a unilateral ten day ceasefire, in response particularly to the Bishops' Open Letter. According to the military, it was almost immediately violated. The MILF say that the 'violation' took place before its troops could be informed. The ceasefire was extended for a further ten days on 12 June and on 22 June 2003 the ceasefire was extended indefinitely. A matching gesture from the military was requested.

Around the world the 'war on terror' has encouraged prejudice and discrimination against Muslim communities who are labeled terrorists. This dynamic has affected the Muslim community in the Philippines, and the increased hostility and discrimination are not helping the peace process.

A more comprehensive chronology of peace negotiations is available on the website of Conciliation Resources at http://www.c-r.org/accord/min/accord6/chrono.shtml

Work for peace requires more than peace negotiations between parties engaged in armed combat. Peace negotiations are just one of six 'paths to peace' spelt out under the Government's Comprehensive Peace Process.

Current efforts for peace are led on the Government's side by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP). The OPAPP is charged with the management and supervision of the comprehensive peace process. Its role is to:

1. Advise and assist the President in the management, direction and supervision of the comprehensive peace process;
2. Recommend policies, programs and actions to implement the comprehensive peace process;
3. Report on the implementation of the comprehensive peace process;
4. Supervise the government agencies and instrumentalities, to include their programs and activities, purposely created for the implementation of the various components of the comprehensive peace process, such as the Government peace negotiating panels and the National Program for Unification and Development;
5. Coordinate with other government agencies involved in the implementation of the comprehensive peace process, including the National Amnesty Commission and the National Anti-Poverty Commission, as well as the various departments and instrumentalities which should participate or provide support to the overall effort; and
6. Conduct regular dialogues with peace partners to seek relevant information, comments and recommendations as well as to render appropriate and timely reports on the progress of the comprehensive peace process

The peace process consists of six sets of programs, or 'Paths to Peace':

Path 1: Pursuit of social, economic and political reforms

• Policy advocacy and coordination with government agencies for the delivery of basic services and for socio-economic activities
• Support for the implementation of the Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act (IPRA) which
  guarantees the integration of indigenous peoples into mainstream society

Path 2: Consensus-building and empowerment for peace

• National peace constituency-building (expansion of partners of Government in building)
• Support for the formulation of area-based peace and development agenda and related
  programs, e.g. Integrated Culture of Peace Program for the Cordillera

Path 3: Peace negotiations

• Peace talks with rebel groups (CPP-NPA-NDF and MILF)
• Implementation of existing peace agreement (GRP-MNLF Final Peace Agreement, 1995
  Agreement with the Military Rebels, Peace Agreement with the Cordillera People's
  Liberation Army)

Path 4: Reintegration and rehabilitation of former rebels

• Provision of emergency assistance, livelihood loan assistance, capacity-building
  assistance and scholarship programs through the National Program for Unification and
  Development (NPUD)
• Amnesty for former rebels in coordination with the National Amnesty Commission

Path 5: Addressing concerns arising from continuing armed hostilities/assistance to communities affected by armed conflict

• Quick-response interventions in areas with on-going hostilities
• Assistance to victims of armed conflicts
• Development of Special Development Zones (Sagada, Mt. Province; Malibcong, Abra; Tulunan, North Cotabato)

Path 6: Nurturing and building a climate for peace

• National and area-based peace education programs (development and
  implementation of education and training programs, curricula and modules for peace)
• Various peace advocacy activities, including interfaith solidarity conferences, Muslim Leaders' Peace Summit, tribal peace initiatives, program for children in armed conflict
  

The conflict in Mindanao is not a religious war. Both Islam and Christianity, rightly understood, are religions of peace. It is true, however, that religion is an important element of the distinctive Moro identity and culture.
When lines of religion, culture, politics and resource conflicts intersect, there is rich potential for the abuse of religious sentiments. Religious differences can be misused to justify discriminatory and even violent behaviour towards minority groups or to justify armed struggle against the majority. As the Bishops-Ulama Forum (later renamed the Bishops-Ulama Conference) said in 2000:

This is not a religious war between Christian and Muslim communities. It is an armed confrontation between the Philippine military and the MILF. Both Christian and Muslim religious leaders recognize and respect the values for justice, peace and compassion in each others' religious traditions. We condemn the formation of any extremist vigilante groups, which will only polarize cultural communities .

Recognizing the religious dimension of the conflict in Mindanao, the Mindanao Bishops and Ulamas (Muslim leaders) came together to seek the 'soul of comprehensive development by pursuing peace in the common search for a unifying ground of their religious aspirations and experiences through dialogue" . The Bishops and Ulama focus on the spiritual bases for peace from their respective religious traditions, grounded in the belief in one God, a common origin, and a common destiny for all. The Bishops and Ulama focus on the "missing component in many failed peace efforts - an affirmation of the convergent spiritual and cultural bases for peace."

The Bishops-Ulama Conference (BUC) brings together Catholic bishops from Mindanao, Mindanao members of the Ulama League of the Philippines, and Mindanao Protestant Bishops/Pastors of the National Council of Churches of the Philippines.
Bishops and Ulama have been holding dialogues on a quarterly basis, on areas of common concern to promote a culture of peace since 1996. Members of the BUC also initiate and support regional dialogue fora in key cities and areas to address local issues of peace and order and inter-cultural solidarity. These include religious leaders of the Indigenous Peoples (Lumad). They also join forces with peace centers, schools and NGO's in conducting community-based culture of peace workshops and introducing peace education in the school curriculum. All of these activities are geared towards the promotion of mutual understanding, peace and reconciliation among Muslims, Christians and Lumads in Mindanao.
The Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process recently stressed the following roles of the Bishops-Ulama Conference in the promotion of peace in Mindanao:

• Moral and spiritual authorities able to influence parties involved in the conflict;
• Community elders who can be channels for correct information and educators on the peace process;
• Stakeholders who have an obligation to ensure stability on the ground, for instance by joining Local Monitoring Teams;
• Keen observers of the peace negotiations who can provide inputs to the Government and MILF panels through separate meetings .

The Bishops-Ulama Conference coordinates the celebration of the Mindanao Week of Peace, which is observed from the last Thursday in November up to the first Wednesday of December each year. They do this in partnership with the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process.
The Mindanao Week of Peace has the following objectives:

1. To elicit an appreciation of religious diversity within a common cultural heritage as a base for unity in the advocacy for peace.
2. To assess and broaden the gains of the peace process through a sharing of perspectives on local peace initiatives
3. To involve various sectors of the local community in the conduct of the special week long activities for peace.
4. To provide a venue for the expression of peace aspirations through various forms: mass media, art, academic, professional etc
5. To serve as a converging point of the various peace initiatives in Mindanao.

The theme chosen for the observance of the Mindanao week of Peace in 2003 was "Healing Through Forgiveness: Key to Total Human Development."

The BUC issued a statement calling on all Mindanaoans to celebrate the Mindanao Week of Peace and a Primer was prepared by the Peace Advocates of Zamboanga and the Catholic Relief Services-Mindanao, explaining the objectives and activities of the celebration.

As well as region-wide activities, each BUC province/diocese/sectoral area also has its own Mindanao Week of Peace Activities.

Activities in 2003 included: a region-wide Muslim-Christian-Indigenous People's Youth Peace Camp; a fast for peace; film shows and photographic exhibitions; a choral festival; a peace walk; schools essay and poster competitions; story telling; prayer for peace and various religious ceremonies; and a history and culture congress.

Since 2000, Catholic Relief Services, the Mennonite Central Committee and the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development have joined efforts and resources to bring together peacebuilders and practitioners from seventeen countries for the annual Mindanao Peacebuilding Institute.

The Mindanao Peacebuilding Institute provides a unique experience, bringing together a wide range of people with vast experience, knowledge and skills in peace-related work. The intensive training in areas such as religious peacebuilding, conflict transformation, community-based peacebuilding and other themes increases participants' skills, drawing on the shared knowledge of both the participants and the facilitators. At the heart of the learning and sharing, the Institute has been able to build upon peoples commitment and strengthen their capacity, and hence that of their organizations, to build a more peaceful and just world.

Over 450 peace builders have participated in the past three Institutes (2000, 2001, 2002) coming from areas rife with conflict and division in Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Croatia, East Timor, India, Indonesia, Kosovo, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Yugoslavia, and the Philippines. Participants and facilitators represented local and international humanitarian organizations, local NGOs, youth groups, church-based organizations, people's organizations, local and international networks, corporate foundations, academic institutions, women's groups, and socio-civic groups .

The legitimate aspirations of the Moro people for self determination must be addressed if there is to be a just and lasting peace in Mindanao. Other sources of conflict such as poverty, abuse of power, and poor governance will also need to be addressed.

Wider appreciation of the Moro peoples history, culture and religion can contribute to the negotiation of a just solution, especially in the current context in which fear and ignorance, encouraged by the rhetoric of the 'war against terror', frequently see Muslim communities inaccurately labeled terrorists.

It is our hope that this background paper will make some modest contribution to this effort.

The Bishops-Ulama Conference
The website of the Bishops-Ulama Conference carries a primer on the organization, information about the officers of the BUC, its directory, notes on each of the dialogues, and a series of reflections on peace. It can be viewed at http://www.mindanao.com/kalinaw/buf/buf.htm

Mindanews
The Mindanews is a publication of the Mindanao News and Information Cooperative Center. It provides reliable news about Mindanao from a Mindanao perspective. http://www.mindanews.com/

The Accord Programme
Working collaboratively with locally-based organizations, the Accord Programme of Conciliation Resources http://www.c-r.org/accord/index.shtml aims to:

• document peace processes and initiatives and the sources and dynamics of particular conflicts;
• increase public access, both locally and internationally to the understanding of peace processes and peace agreements
• promote learning, domestically and internationally from past and comparable peace making experiences

The Accord programme has made the key texts on the Mindanao peace process are available at http://www.c-r.org/accord/min/accord6/textsmenu.shtml
A chronology of events can be viewed at http://www.c-r.org/accord/min/accord6/chrono.shtml
A reading list from Accord is available at http://www.c-r.org/accord/min/accord6/biblio.shtml
Office of the Presidential Advisor on the Peace Process
For a government perspective on the progress of the peace process, see the site of the Presidential Advisor on the Peace Process http://www.opapp.gov.ph/index.html

Recommended Reading
Under the Crescent Moon: Rebellion in Mindanao was written by journalists Marites Danguilan and Glenda M. Gloria. It was published by the Ateneo Center for Social Policy & Public Affairs and the Institute for Popular Democracy. It is widely considered to be one of the most detailed and comprehensive accounts of the conflicts in Mindanao.
Interreligious Stories and Experiences was compiled and edited by Leonardo N. Mercado and published by Logos Publications. It adopts the approach of the parables by providing simple stories of real life experiences shared by Muslims, Buddhists and Christians.
ACPP issued UA000614(9) which urged the international community to help Stop Harassing Muslim Communities and End the War in Mindanao

Asian Center for the Progress of Peoples