RP Troops, Muslim Rebels Join Forces For Peace

COTABATO CITY – Filipino soldiers and Muslim rebels waging a decades-old separatist war in the southern Philippines are taking up a peace and development course at a Catholic-run university, in a bid to find a lasting solution to conflict that has claimed over 120 thousands lives in the Philippines' southern island of Mindanao, the Adnkronos International (AKI) reported Saturday.

An influential peace advocate, Catholic priest Roberto Layson, told AKI that among those attending the course at Notre Dame University in Cotabato City are members of the military and of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) cease-fire committee.

"It's really a good venue where they can discuss and find a solution to the problem," Layson said.

Army Major Joselito Tocaldo, a member of the Manila cease-fire committee and one of those attending the class, said the advantages of the safe environment provided by the course.

"The exchange of ideas during the class is perfect because we understand each other's view, like the reason they [the rebels] are fighting for. On the academic side, we are talking about how we could resolve the problem in Mindanao. All of us are happy that there is a peace negotiation although it hit a snag on the issue of territory," Tocaldo said.

"This kind of set-up helps a lot in our confidence-building measures with them. At the same time, people like me, who are not natives of Mindanao, can gain knowledge about the real history of the region," Tocaldo added.

Von Al Haq, member of the MILF cease-fire committee chief, told AKI the course is helpful as it is a preparation for when Manila and the MILF will sign a peace agreement. "We need people who have skills in peace and development. We are learning some skills here," Al Haj said.

Aside from members from Manila and MILF, peace advocates from non-governmental organizations are also attending the weekend course that began in December and will end in April.

The MILF, which is engaged in peace talks with government, signed a cease-fire agreement with Filipino government on July 19, 2003. In September last year, the peace talks stalled after both parties failed to agree on the issue of ancestral domain.

The MILF, estimated to have 13,000 members, wants at least 1,000 villages included in the proposed Muslim homeland but Manila said it could only allow the inclusion of about 600 villages. The government also insists that the formation of the future Bangsamoro entity would have to be decided in a plebiscite.

The Mindanao conflict first flared in the 1970s when the Muslim minority, known as the Moros, launched an armed struggle for their ancestral homeland in the south. But over the years, the Moro campaign for self-rule has become only one of several sources of bloodshed on Mindanao that include communist insurgency, violence linked to militant Islamist groups, bloody ethnic vendettas, clan wars and banditry.