Moro Group Urges Govt To Educate Public On Bangsamoro Juridical Entity

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (August 7, 2008) - Moro militant group said government has the responsibility to explain and educate the public on the issue of Moro people's claim to ancestral domain.

Amirah Lidasan, national president of Suara Bangsamoro said in a statement that it is the responsibility of the government to correct the pervading notion that the Moro people are out to forcibly take the lands of the Christian settlers and the Lumads.

Lidasan said government should provide venue to the people to discuss the issue of ancestral domain and land rights of the people of Mindanao before the Memorandum of Understanding-Ancestral Domain signing.

She said the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE) is the Moro people's way of correcting historical injustice mentioning the decades of massive forcible evacuation and various human rights violations against the Moro people wrought by the government policies such as all-out wars, military operations and the accumulation of lands by the few business and landed elite families affecting Christians, Lumads and Moros alike.

Lidasan also stressed that even the settlers and lumads in Mindanao also lost their lands due to the same reasons.

Lidasan sees the importance of including the people to the peace process or any agreement that government entered into.

"The decision of which and how many villages should be included in the Moro people's territorial claims should not solely be at the hands of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo or be limited at the negotiating table of the GRP-MILF peace talks," Lidasan said.

However, the Supreme Court's issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO) impedes the signing of MOA-AD scheduled today at Putrajaya, Malaysia. This development is a victory to the opposing groups on the inclusion of the 735 predominantly Moro areas on the BJE.

Protesters against the BJE in Iligan and Zamboanga City and North Cotabato are gaining confidence to win the battle. But Cotabato vice-governor Emmanuel Pinol said that their victory is just a temporary therefore, the battle against the inclusion of expanded ARMM continues.

Mohager Iqbal said in MILF website Luwaran, they do not consider the TRO as "setback" that could hinder the signing of the already initialed agreement today. He added that the MOA-AD is a done deal. (Sittie Monato)