BASILAN ISLAND - Thousands of human rights activists, justice fighters and peace advocates from conflict-ridden Mindanao will gather for a weeklong peace summit in the former terrorist heartland of Basilan.
The event, which started Tuesday, will aim to firm up plans to build enduring peace in Mindanao through the involvement of Muslims, Christians and indigenous groups, collectively known as 'tri-people' in the country’s south.
"It is our foremost belief that the key to lasting peace in Mindanao is through the realization of the right to self-determination of all people living in this island," summit organizers, the Mindanao People’s Peace Movement (MPPM) secretary general, Amabella Carumba told Adnkronos International (AKI).
"We want to live on this island in perfect harmony and that could be possible if the tri-people here are united and have their common understanding," she added.
Dubbed as the 4th Mindanao People’s Peace Summit, the theme for this year’s biennial peace meeting is also centered on the rights of Muslims, Christians and indigenous groups.The venue for the six-day gathering is the town of Lamitan, scene of the infamous 2001 'Lamitan siege' on Mindanao between the Filipino Army and the al-Qaeda linked Abu Sayyaf local terror group.
Two Americans and one Filipino hostage as well as four Abu Sayyaf guerillas were killed in June 2002 during a botched attempt by the Philippines army to rescue the hostages seized one year earlier by Abu Sayyaf. Seven soldiers were also wounded.
"We chose Lamitan because we would like to tell the whole world that every place in Mindanao is now safe. We want also to prove that any threats posed by the Abu Sayyaf have already evaporated,” Carumba explained.
She said the summit will also bring leaders and individuals with expertise on Muslims, Christians and indigenous groups in the area. "They will expect to give the participants some achievable inputs on tri-people issues and policy," she said, adding that past discussions of key issues concerning Mindanao have not covered or included all the three groups of people in the island.
"If we want to see a real peace, we suggest that all the stakeholders here should be informed and consulted," Carumba stated.
According to her, crucial issues affecting the region's Muslims, Christians and indigenous groups - e.g. the ongoing peace negotiations between Manila and the country’s largest Muslim separatist group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) - should also be raised at the summit.
"We hope to arrive at some meaningful proposals that echo the general voice of the tri-people,” said Carumba.The Basilan summit follows the recently held Mindanao-wide peace week, she added.
This organized rallies and concerts to promote the "tri-people's entitlement to self-determination, human rights and peace," in various cities and provinces in Mindanao. Besides the MPPM, participants from the Muslim provinces of Sulu, Basilan and Tawi-tawi are due to attend the summit, as well as delegates from the island of Palawan in the western Philippines.
Foreign observers including civil society organizations and government agencies are expected to broaden attendance at the summit.The MPPM has been in close coordination with Basilan officials to ensure security and smooth organization at the summit, Carumba said.
An armed struggle for independence in Mindanao waged by Islamist and Communist rebels has been ongoing for some forty years, causing over 120,000 victims. Sporadic violence has continued despite a 2003 ceasefire and peace talks.
Some 85 percent of the population of the Philippines is Christian, while Muslims, who make up around 4 percent, are concentrated on Mindanao and the neighboring Sulu Archipelago. (AKI)
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