To have peace in Mindanao

KUALA LUM-PUR – Malaysia’s Prime Minister for Foreign Affairs Dato Seri Syad Hamid Albar brought up significant points regarding the Muslim strife in Mindanao. 1) The Muslims are part of the indigenous population of Mindanao and must be considered as such, 2) Development must be brought to Mindanao after the security situation is resolved, 3) The Philippine President, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, is sincere in her efforts to solve the conflict, 4) The Philippine government must convince the Muslims about its sincerity and that it will not renege on its promises, and 5) The Muslims must recognize that they are sincere about their commitment to peace after reaching an accord with the government.

But, the Prime Minister said, all the Moro tribes must be made part of the peace talks which the Malaysian government is hosting as a mediator. Exploratory talks will start after the proclamation of President Arroyo.

His statement confirmed what the chairman and CEO of the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) chair and CEO Tan Sri Dr. Noordin Sopiee said and I quoted this in my column last Saturday, about the need for all Moro tribe representation in the GRP-MILF talks.

Having the tribes participate in the talks will avert the birth of splinter groups and possible armed conflict. This position has been expressed by the director-general of The Center for the Promotion of Peace and Development in Mindanao, Saeed A. Daof in his article and letters to the press and Speaker Joe de Venecia.

Possible resistance is seen to be staged by the MILF-Bangsamoro People’s Army, which feels left out in the negotiations. And yet the conflict can be avoided, says Daof, who respect the present MILF chair, Al Hadj Ibrahim Muhrad.

Going back to Prime Minister Albar, his remarks were made at a session with the 15 participants in ISIS’ Malaysian International Visitors Program the other day. The program has enabled journalist and academicians to interact with Malaysia’s Cabinet members and top civil society leaders. PM Mahathir bin Mohamad met with participants in some of the past 12 MIVPs, over the last 14 months. PM Seri Abdullah Haji Badawi would have met them had he not attended meetings in China and Japan.

Foreign Affairs Minister Albar struck the participants as knowledgeable, sincere and simple, as he described his country’s foreign policy as "pragmatic independent and principled." Malaysia’s policy of dealing with problems, he said, consists of winning "the hearts and minds" of the protagonists. "You must know what cause people to be angry, the reasons why they feel marginalized."

Turning to the recent flare-up of violence in Thailand in which more than a hundred Muslims were executed, the Prime Minister said he did not believe in separatist moves, but he deplored the killings. Similar to what he said about solving the Mindanao Moro problem, the Muslims’ reasons for their feelings of discontent and hostility must be looked wholistically.

He was emphatic about people’s struggle, citing a new term that has gained currently – "The Jihadis". This means "struggle". He said, "Human beings should be allowed to struggle "for legitimate causes".

As to US-Malaysia relations, he said both countries have good economic relations, but not in the political front. "The US may not agree with us (on certain matters), but that does not mean we are anti-United States."

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