The Undeclared War in the Southern Philippines: A Symposium

A marine battery pounding rebel positions. June 2000	In recent months, international attention has focused on the southern Philippines because of the kidnapping of a number of Filipinos and foreigners by the Abu Sayyaf, a Moslem rebel group. Up to US$10 million has already been paid to the group, reports say, though some hostages remain. In the process, the escalation of a more serious and dangerous war has been hidden. Last April 28, after three years of uneasy truce, Philippine government forces launched an all-out military offensive against the country's largest Muslim insurgent group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Aerial bombing and artillery bombardment supported major ground troop advances. There is now widespread fear that this troubled region is slipping back into the all out war that blighted its development and terrorised and impoverished its peoples in the '70s and '80s. The conflict has now resulted in: An estimated 800,000 civilians have fled their homes. More than 400,000 are camping in overcrowded, unsanitary and ill-supplied evacuation centres, where 153 people, mostly children, have died between May and July. Peace talks between the government and the MILF have been abandoned. After government forces captured their main bases, MILF troops broke up into smaller bands waging guerrilla warfare. MILF Hashim Salamat, a Muslim cleric, has called for a jihad (Holy War) against the government. The government has started the reactivation of 10,000 paramilitaries known as CAFGUs (Civilian Armed Force Geographical Unit). The military wants an additional 30,000 trained. CAFGUs are the most notorious human rights violators in past regimes. It is feared their re-emergence will legitimise the spread of 'Christian' vigilante groups seeking to 'cleanse' the southern Philippines of Moslems.
Government troops hoist the Philippine flag on top of a bombed-out mosque.
The rebels have launched a jihad and resorted to guerilla warfare.

The United Kingdom is currently the biggest overseas investor in the Philippines and deeply involved in developments. In 1999, UK businesses, led by Shell, poured over US$2 billion in direct and portfolio investments. UK companies, including Mabey and Johnson, Blue Circle, Commonwealth Development Corporation, and others, are involved in the south. The Philippine government says the war in the south is necessary to remove the obstacles to foreign investment and 'development.' It has taken emergency powers to suppress opposition claiming foreign investors demand them.

BRITISH MAN-O'-WAR. Officers and men of the HMS Cornwall, flagship of the United Kingdom's Naval Task Force Group 2000, relax on the warship's deck. The Cornwall is in Manila to participate in the first Philippines-British joint naval exercises in Subic.  August 3, 2000

The Philippine military is accused by observers of igniting the conflict to promote military demands for updating their weaponry and equipment. British arms companies are poised to offer war materiel to the Philippine military. (British Simba armoured vehicles are currently in use in the campaign against the MILF).

What can be done?

The drift to war is not inevitable. Many groups in the Philippines are making appeals to both sides to return to negotiations.

1. Come to the symposium set up to discuss the crisis and support the moves to peace. The main speaker, Fr Eliseo R Mercado, OMI, is a leading Christian expert on the Moslem south and the peace process. He also played a key role in the aborted negotiations as chair of the Independent Fact Finding Commission that monitors compliance to ceasefire agreements by both sides.
2. Write letters of appeal to either or both the Philippine President and the British Prime Minister, urging them to press for policies that might peacefully resolve the current conflict. A wide range of groups in the Philippines are calling for:
   1. An immediate ceasefire, withdrawal of troops and resumption of negotiations that will ultimately address the underlying causes of conflict. The Bishops-Ulama Forum has offered to act as mediator.
   2. The immediate suspension of all military equipment sales and licenses to the Philippine military.
   3. The Philippine government to drop plans to reactivate local armed militias (CAFGUs).
   4. Sustaining and supporting efforts to release all hostages held by the Abu Sayyaf rebels through negotiations and peaceful means.

Letters of concern can be addressed to:

The Prime Minister
The Right Honourable Tony Blair MP
10 Downing St, London SW1

The President of the Republic of the Philippines
His Excellence Joseph Estrada
Malacanang Palace, Manila, Philippines

For more information or if you want to help, contact: Mindanao-UK Forum c/o PIP Links, 111 Faringdon Rd Stanford, Oxfordshire SN7 8LD E-mail: tongtong@gn.apc.org Centre for Filipinos St. Francis Centre Pottery Lane, London W11 4NQ E-mail: cf@clara.net

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