Thursday, August 14, 2008 Oledan: Transitions By Radzini Oledan Slice Of Life
THERE are prophets of doom.
Even before the GRP-MILF peace agreement had been signed, some groups are looking at the possibility of its failure. Failures of the past peace pacts have made some sectors wary that inking the peace deal will finally result to peace.
Still, suspicions have been raised that the peace agreement, like the previous pacts, might be use by the government mainly to appease MILF leaders and defuse the armed conflict.
For now, top government officials have pushed for constitutional change to enable government to expand the autonomous areas, based on the MILF peace agreement.
Under the agreement, a semi autonomous Muslim region would be enlarged and granted expanded powers. These would include permission to conduct international trade negotiations and exploit its huge mineral reserves.
The expansion of autonomous areas has been received not with lukewarm attitude but with disgust by local leaders who have complained of a lack of consultation. Some have pointed out that putting in place transitional structures, just like what was agreed upon in a peace agreement with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) will not redound to the interest of Mindanao.
But a closer look at previous transitional structures SPCPD and Consultative Assembly have failed to provide a good test not only because of mismanagement but also due to the fact that the structure itself were too powerless to make an impact.
Those who were directly involved in it have complained that it had very limited funding and no control over national projects and programmes that were supposed to be within their jurisdiction.
The previous peace accord has not produced many of its expected benefits. Most significantly, it has not yet led to an improvement in the living standards of Muslims.
But this should not be the basis of those who envisions the failure of the GRP-MILF peace process.
What was lacking in the previous peace agreement with the MNLF was the lack of strong commitment from the government.
In the current Agreement, there may be a need for a wider consultative process to demonstrate to Christians, Muslims, and Lumads alike that autonomy and the entire peace agreement is in their interest.
This could lead to the crafting of a package that promises to further enhance local government roles and start the long process of redistributing wealth and the benefits of development.
One lesson that could be drawn from this experience is the need for civil society groups to assert themselves more. These groups may improve transparency and scrutinize the kind of strategies government is pursuing to promote "peace and development."
The Mindanao People's Caucus, an umbrella of peace advocates in the region has responded to the challenge of informing the Agreement to the population at large. The document has been translated into local languages and distributed to local communities.
This is a simple gesture that could have been done by the government if it was serious in building consensus on the matter.
The bottom line is to enable the public to actively participate in the peace building efforts in Mindanao. After all, the discourse on peace and development should go beyond the blabbermouths of politicians.
