Thursday, December 04, 2008 Bishops, ulamas to hold talks to end Mindanao conflict By Edwin G. Espejo
KORONADAL CITY -- Bishop Dinualdo Gutierrez of the Diocese of Marbel said Friday the Bishop-Ulama Conference (BUC) will hold dialogues with residents in their respective communities to draw up plans and direction to solve the Mindanao conflict.
Gutierrez, one of the more outspoken members of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), said the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) only represents a faction of the Moro people and residents in Mindanao, and that all sectors in the islands must be involved in the peace process.
He said the new tact represents a "paradigm shift" in the involvement of the clergy and religious in the peace process.
"We want to find out what the communities want for the attainment of justice, peace and development," Gutierrez said in an interview.
He said the BUC "will take the lead in the peace process."
Gutierrez also said he was against the provisions of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Doman (MOA-AD) because the document reportedly did not undergo "consultation" and it was crafted without "transparency."
The BUC held its 35th meeting in Jolo on November 19 to 20 amid growing clamor for the Catholic bishops to take an active stand on the Mindanao conflict.
Protests, however, marred the BUC meeting after several sectors claimed they were excluded in the consultation process.
The new paradigm shift described by Gutierrez appeared to toe the line of government officials to hold direct dialogues with local communities rather than directly resuming the peace negotiations with the MILF.
The peace process was scuttled after MILF rebels launched simultaneous attacks in several provinces in Mindanao following the failed signing of the territorial deal.
Scores of civilians were killed and thousands fled their homes in the ensuing counter-offensives from government forces.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo practically pronounced the peace negotiation with the MILF dead when she said the government will shift its focus on local communities instead of pursuing peace talks with the Moro rebel group.
MILF vice chair Ghazali Jaafar, however, said they are not negotiating with the BUC.
"We will welcome any suggestion from their end. But at the end of the day, it is still the MILF and the government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) who will negotiate (for a peaceful solution to the Mindanao conflict)," Jaafar said.
Jaafar said it "is the Bangsamoro people who are aggrieved in this conflict."
The MILF also said that as long as it receives official communication from the Malaysian government that is facilitating the peace talks, there is no reason to believe that the peace negotiations are dead.
