Sánchez: In this together

Friday, February 10, 2012

THE recent 6.8 earthquake reminds me of the Indian Ocean earthquake that spawned the powerful tsunami that slammed and wiped out the western coastal areas of Aceh, Indonesia.

There is a similarity with a natural disaster that began with an earthquake. When the Philippine Army recently halted its offensive operations against the New People’s Army (NPA) to focus on humanitarian efforts operations in the earthquake-devastated areas of central Negros, the 3rd Infantry Division spokesperson appealed to the Negrense Communist Party leadership to spare the rescue workers from hostile actions.

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The 302nd IB deployed the 11th, 79th Infantry Battalions, and the 32nd Division Reconnaissance Company to spearhead rescue and retrieval operations of the earthquake victims.

A sound appeal to the armed opposition for a ceasefire in the central highlands of Negros Island. According to news reports, 100 NPA guerillas under the Leonardia Panaligan Command roam central Negros which covers the Guihulngan and La Carlota hinterlands.

Focused on rescue operations, the soldiers would be like fish in a barrel that anyone with a gun could easily hit and neutralize. It could turn out to be an easy haul of firearms for the communist rebels when the soldier are busy doing humanitarian work. For these troops, saving—instead of taking—lives would be paramount over security concerns.

I pray that the communist leadership heed the humanitarian appeal over militarist opportunism to haul in firearms. The Maoist call to serve the people means use this opportune time to implement an undeclared ceasefire in central Negros.

If the communists believe that they are fighting for a superior cause, they should hew to the call of Major General Jose Mabanta, who described the rescues efforts as the “true essence of Bayanihan,” of coming together “to help those in need, be they enemies or friendly forces.”

Naiveté, you say?

If anything, natural disasters could bring enemies together, of seeing victims as fellow human beings. That is what happened in the tsunami aftermath in Aceh where the belligerents invoke gotong royong, the Indonesian equivalent of our bayanihan or dagyaw in Hiligaynon.

The 2004 tsunami helped trigger a peace agreement between the secessionist Gerakan Aceh Merdeka (GAM) and the Indonesian government. Like the internal armed conflict in the Philippines, the bloody secessionist struggle killed 15,000 Indonesians from both sides.

The international community tried to broker peace talks but failed over and over. In the late 1990s, GAM began peace talks with Jakarta, brokered by the Swedish government.

But after the massive tsunami, GAM declared a ceasefire of hostilities to allow aid to reach disputed areas. To its credit, the Indonesian government reciprocated by temporarily removing restrictions in northern Sumatra to allow for rescue efforts in that area.

The horrendous tsunami that killed 230,000 Acehnese and left 500,000 people homeless convinced both sides of the armed conflict to release the doves of peace so that Aceh can recover from the disaster.

Then on February 2005, GAM and the Indonesian government peace panel undertook another round of peace talks in Vantaa, Finland. Moderated by former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari, both sides took four months of negotiations to hammer a peace agreement to end the 30-year insurgency.

I doubt, though, that a local peace accord could happen in Negros Island. But for now, stilling the deadly staccato of blazing guns could save the lives of the poor mountain farmers that both sides of the armed conflict purport to serve.

We are all in this together to pull everyone up on our feet, whatever our opposing credos.

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