Peace advocates worry for Mindanao with Malaysia pullout
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 11/29/2008 7:59 AM
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Peace advocates said Friday that the Malaysian government's turning down of the Philippines' request for an extended stay of its peacekeepers is an indication that peace efforts for Mindanao is not in good shape.
"It is sad because we were hoping and waiting for a group that will help us. Without the IMT (International Monitoring Team), it would be difficult for us to start all over again," Father Angel Calvo of the Inter-Religious Solidarity Movement said.
Professor Octavio Dinampo of the Mindanao People's Coalition and convenor of Bantay Ceasefire said the Malaysian peacekeepers' absence in Mindanao is a "black eye" in the Mindanao peace efforts.
Dinampo said the total pullout of the peacekeepers brings out the grim reality for Mindanao as it came while the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front are engaged in renewed hostilities.
"Just imagine what's in store for us given an ongoing costly war, food and agrarian crisis and bickering politicians," the professor said.
The government, through presidential peace adviser Hermogenes Esperon, had been asked the Malaysian government to extend its peacekeepers' stay in Mindanao until December.
However, the Malaysian monitors decided to pull out from Mindanao on November 30.
"If their extension is not going to b e renewed, it is going to be a different set up all together," Esperon told reporters.
Meanwhile, the Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom) said the Malaysian peacekeepers' withdrawal will not mean an escalation of conflict in Central Mindanao.
Wesmincom chief Lt. Gen. Nelson Allaga said peace advocates should also trust the participation of other IMT members from Japan, Brunei and Libya who have also proven their commitment to help the country achieve peace in Mindanao. -- Dyborrhae Jewel M. Reyes, ABS-CBN Zamboanga
