Wednesday, August 22, 2007 Nalzaro: Military’s might By Bobby Nalzaro Saksi
WHO does not want peace? We all want peace because, through it, we can achieve harmony and inevitably political and economic prosperity.
Peace is a relationship characterized by respect, justice and goodwill. But we can never achieve peace if there are groups or elements who want to destroy our peaceful existence.
The deterioration of the peace and order situation in some parts of Mindanao is very complicated. I said “some parts” because of the misimpression by non-Mindanaoans that the ongoing conflict between government and some of our misguided Muslim brothers has escalated throughout the island.
It's not the entire Mindanao that is under siege but only parts of it.
The military offensive against the terrorist Abu Sayyaf and a faction of the Moro Islamic Liberation Fornt (MILF) is confined to the provinces of Basilan and Sulu, which are hundreds of miles away from Zamboanga, Davao, Cagayan, Agusan, Surigao and Bukidnon.
The other parts of Mindanao are still safe to visit and live in. You should believe me because I am a full-blooded Mindanaoan. That is why my heart bleeds every time I hear reports about the conflict there.
But while I believe that guns and bullets are not the ultimate solution to the conflict in Mindanao, I support military action against Muslim groups or factions sowing terror in the area. What they did was too much. They committed grave offenses like kidnapping, extortion, banditry and terrorism.
They are no ordinary criminals but are a bunch of misguided elements.
Should government tolerate and ignore them and their abuses in the name of peace? It would be a big slap on the face of the government if these bandits commit heinous crimes and are not punished.
I disagree with the call of Catholic and Muslim religious leaders to stop the military operations in the area because of the casualties and the displacement of hundreds of innocent civilians. In war, there are always casualties. In the first place, the military did not initiate the war. It just retaliated after Muslim bandits ambushed their comrades while on routine patrol and even mutilated the bodies of the dead soldiers.
Instead of calling on government to halt its offensive, why don't our religious leaders appeal to the enemies of the state to stop their nefarious activities so we can achieve peace? Since they violated our laws and challenged our government, they should taste the military's might.
