Wednesday, August 20, 2008 Barrita: Terror in Mindanao By Eddie O. Barrita Small Bites
MORO separatists on Monday went on a bloody rampage in several towns in Mindanao, torching houses and killing at least 41 civilians and soldiers.
Many civilians were also used as “human shields” by fleeing rebels.
Officials of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), with which the state is negotiating for peace, said the rampage was done by a “lost command.”
That’s what we got for negotiating peace with a group that could not control all of its commanders.
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The rampage came after Christian leaders in Mindanao opposed the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on Ancestral
Domain that would have carved out a Bangsamoro Juridical Entity.
So, how can an unsigned MOA intended to bring peace to Mindanao and dismissed as “just a piece of paper” instead bring death and terror to Mindanao?
Beware a MOA that can only give false hopes.
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We long to see the day when a just and lasting peace will finally reign in Mindanao, when they beat swords into ploughshares.
But recent events in Mindanao may instead make people there beat ploughshares into swords.
An escalation of fighting in Mindanao may also make politicians busy beating swords into pork barrels.
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President Arroyo ordered the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police “to defend every inch of Philippine territory” against MILF forces.
“We will not tolerate and will crush any attempt to disturb peace and development in Mindanao,” the President said.
Those were fighting words from the President.
But it’s rather unfortunate when peace can only be achieved through war.
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American swimming phenomenon Michael Phelps broke his own records in the pool in Beijing, hauling eight gold medals in a single Olympics.
Filipino swimmers Christel Simms and Ryan Arabejo broke their swim gear even before they could splash into the pool at the Water Cube in Beijing.
For the first time, Filipino athletes broke something in the Olympics.
