Special Article
Muslim Struggle in Southern PhilippinesI
By Dr. Mozammel Haque

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), a hostage crisis perpetrated by the extremist Abu Sayyaf group, and a wave of bombings in Manila’s main shopping malls – all these events helped to bring the South Philippines issue into focus, injecting gloom in the political outlook in the country. Thus the political, economic and cultural scenario of the Philippines has undergone a radical transformation recently. Violence is rife in the south where Moro Muslims are fighting for an independent homeland. This ongoing conflict in the Mindanao region has to be studied in the context of the social, cultural and economic issues of the region, as some of the worst-off areas in central and western Mindanao are inhabited by a sizeable Muslim population.

The question is: what are the grievances and demands of these Moro people? How have the successive Manila governments been responding to their demands? What are the alternatives which can be tried to resolve the crisis? Before attempting to find the answers to these queries, it is worthwhile to find out who these Moro people are and where do they stand in relation to their fellow-countrymen.

Historical Background

Land, people and their history: Mindanao is inhabited by millions of Moros who are the indigeneous inhabitants of these islands. “Mindanao is often cited as a potential engine of economic growth for the entire Philippines. The country’s second largest island is home to tropical idylls perfect for tourism; its fertile soil and position outside the typhoon belt make it ideal for agri-business. Its seas are rich in fish and the land boasts deposits of copper and gold,” wrote Deidre Sheehan in the Far Eastern Review recently. But Mindanao also has 15 of the poorest provinces in the country, the lowest literacy rate (75 percent), and the lowest life expectancy (57 years). Some of the worst-off areas, in central and western Mindanao, have 19 percent of the region’s population, which is largely Muslim. Inspite of that, Mindanao contributes 18 percent of the country’s economic output.

The Spanish and American colonization never reached these isolated Muslims. Unlike Moros, the Filipinos surrendered their land, honour and dignity to become subjects of the Spanish Crown and remained thereafter in bondage for 377 years. On the contrary, the Moros resisted and fought the Spanish colonizers for the same length of time. It is for this reason that the Moros survived as a people with distinct religious, social, cultural and political identity for centuries. In the beginning of the 20^th Century, the Americans had come into terms with the Bangsamoro people under the Bates Treaty of 1902 and the Carpenter Agreement of 1915. Under the terms of the Treaty of Paris in 1898, The Philippines was bought by the US from Spain.

Through a series of unjust and inhuman legislations, the whole island was declared public property, and, as such, all land-holdings of the Moros were confiscated and subsequently expropriated by the Christian settlers from Luzon. The government simply grabbed the lands of the Moros and gave the same to its “own people” – the Christian Filipino settlers from the north. One example of “legalized “ injustices committed against the Moros is the Quirino Recto Colonization Act of February 12, 1935 – a law without the slightest reservation in calling Mindanao and Sulu its colonies.

The floodgates of resettlement of the people from the north were opened in 1935 and continued until 1976 through 1986, that resulted in the settlement of nearly four million Christians from the northern and central Philippines, which consequently increased to their current number to form a majority. Thus, the demography of Mindanao and Sulu was changed in favour of the Christians.

In fact, the inhabitants of Sulu and Mindanao protested violently against the US-Filipino conspiracy of incorporating their homeland as part of independent Philippines, immediately after the July 4, 1946 declaration of independence till date, the Moros, particularly the Taosugs, continue their struggle against the Philippine government’s illegal usurpation of their ancestral homelands. It is for this reason that Manila adopted the Torren System of land distribution by sending nearly four million northern Christian Filipino settlers to Mindanao and Sulu between 1933 and 1976 with the sole purpose of changing the demography of the islands. Thus the contrast in history between the Filipinos or Indios and the Moros speaks well of the spirit of freedom and aspirations for sovereignty of the latter.

Jolo island, 960 kilometres (600 miles) south of Manila, which is in the limelight presently for the hostage crisis, is a stronghold of Abu Sayyaf. It is 98 percent Muslim and survives on fish and seaweed for nourishment. Except for its seaweeds that find their way to the US and European markets, it has no significant businesses. More than half the population is unemployed and illiteracy is rampant.

The mayor of Jolo town traces fishing rights to the core of the rebellion and the abject poverty of the predominantly Muslim Jolo, 70% of whose population is dependent on small-scale fishing, but trawlers from Manila and other major ports “are the ones invading our seas; there is no means of controlling it. The navy and the coast guard do not have sufficient patrol boats to drive the trawlers away.”

Conflict with Muslim fighters has raged on and off since the early 1970s, leaving more than 120,000 dead by government estimates, and stunting economic growth in the impoverished region. Moro Muslims have been fighting a secessionist war for the last 24 years for a separate state in the region. The Manila government adopted a divide-and-rule strategy that culminated with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) signing a peace treaty in 1996 that granted the large Muslim minority limited self-rule in four Mindanao provinces and had Nur Misuari elected the governor of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). This left out the 15,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), a 1978 offshoot of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), most of whose members were former fighters of the MNLF.

Thus, at present, there are mainly three parties: the Manila government; the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), which is mediating the dispute and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), which signed a peace agreement with the government in September, 1999. Another breakaway faction is the 15,000-strong armed men belonging to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which has kept on fighting for an independent state in Mindanao. Then there is a small band headed by the notorious Abu Sayyaf, which is holding more than a dozen hostages on Jolo Island, with no clear-cut objectves.

Present Crisis

The recent hostage crisis and an upsurge in fighting between government troops and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) – the second largest Muslim armed group - in recent months are seen as the biggest security challenge for President Joseph Estrada since he took office in July 1998. There are four facets to these threats representing different orientations. First, there is Abu Sayyaf group which, while fighting for an independent state, uses kidnapping as an instrument to force the enemy to sign the peace treaty. Second, the MILF, with an estimated 15,000 fighter-supporters, which also claims to be fighting for independence and lasting peace. Third, the MNLF, whose hopes for a lasting peace flickered into life in 1996, when President Fidel Ramos persuaded it to lay down arms in exchange for limited autonomy. Fourth, the the Manila government to whom independence for Mindanao is not acceptable and national integrity not negotiable.

Grievances and demands: Muslims in the country’s south resent and denounce what they call the oppression of the Muslim people in the country, the neglect of Mindanao and the Estrada government’s all-out war in the region, which led to countless deaths and desecration of the Muslim places of worship. Except for inclusion of Mindanao and Sulu as part of the Philippine territory, the Moro people are really strangers in their own homeland. Even the national flag does not recognize the Moros. Under this situation, who would not revolt? Though the Moros are also against the war in Mindanao, but they complain about the lack of opportunities in the region. “The Muslims are not responsible for the bombings in Metro Manila. We are being used as convenient scapegoats to divert public attention from the real perpetrators. Innocent Muslims are being blamed for the government’s failure to solve the bombings case,” Faizal Makusa, Secretary-General of the Bangsamoro Students Association said and added that the lack of livelihood in Mindanao had forced many of his Muslim brothers to come to Manila.

The Abu Sayyaf is the smaller and more radical of the two armed groups fighting for an independent Islamic state in the southern Philippines. The group’s formal demands so far include creation of an independent Islamic state and formation of an international commission to examine the plight of Philippine Muslims in nearby Malaysia, whose Sabah region, on the island of Borneo, which lies an hour’s boat ride to the nearest southern Philippine island, is home to about half a million Filipino illegal immigrants and workers. Sabah authorities have long complained about the rate of crime committed by the illegals, and in the wake of hostage-taking, have rounded up about 1,000 Filipinos around Sipadan and deported them back home.

The radical militant groups demand international recognition of Muslims’ right to self-determination and have vowed to fight until “final victory” is achieved. In a “manifesto” distributed to journalists, the Abu Sayyaf called on the United Nations, European Union, Islamic organizations and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to set up a commission probe to violations of human rights of the Muslims in the southern Philippines and also in the nearby Malaysian island of Sabah. “This is our demand, the aims we are fighting for until final victory,” said the document. The manifesto of the Abu Sayyaf movement, backed by historic references, sets out in great detail the essence of their fight for independence and for setting up an Islamic state. “About 100 years already, the Bangsamoro people have been made hostages under the rule of democracy,” it stated. “We are fighting for political reasons,” one of their leaders, Commander Nadjmi, alias Global, explained. Abu Sayyaf justify their acts as a “strategy of war, an instrument to force the enemy to sign a peace treaty.”

No sane person will support extremism and terrorism, as Arab News editorially condemning this hostage saga, said, “Abu Sayyaf, with its kidnapping of innocent civilians, especially children, has earned well-deserved worldwide condemnation, including that of the entire Islamic world. No matter how hard some apologists of the extremists may try, there is nothing in Islam that makes the kidnapping of civilians permissible.” In the same vein, the daily did not approve the way the hostage drama was orchestrated, saying, “The sad aspect of all of this is that non-Muslim Filipinos and foreigners are being galvanized in their dislike of Muslims after watching endless pictures of the kidnapped on their TV screens over the past four weeks.” (“Give Peace a Chance,” editorial in Arab News, 24 May, 2000).

Abu Sayyaf also asked for a ransom of $2 million for aid to build schools, health centres, water systems and livelihood projects such as seaweed farming for the region. The kidnapping, in fact, is part of a wave of recent violence in the southern Philippines triggered by fighting between Muslim rebels and government troops that has displaced more than 200,000 people.

While the Abu Sayyaf’s demand for an independent Islamic state has been ruled out by the government, the rebels informally expressed interest in development projects for their province of Sulu, a group of islands that includes Jolo, as a more realistic alternative.

Government’s response: The Estrada government has totally ruled out the establishment of an independent state for Muslims in Mindanao. Instead, it has focused media attention on the Abu Sayyaf holding hostages in Jolo to divert attention and gain support for Manila’s all-out war against the MILF. The human rights violations being committed by the government troops in the area are being ignored by the media generally in its coverage of the conflict.

Ethnic Cleansing in Southern Philippines

The roots of the Mindanao conflict are deep and complex and can be resolved only by a comprehensive political, economic, social, cultural and even ecological approach. The military approach will not resolve the problem and cannot bring about a just, genuine and lasting peace there. Manila has used 60 percent of the armed forces or about 70,000 soldiers in Mindanao to fight not only the MILF, but also the Abu Sayyaf, the Communist New Peoples’ Army, and numerous groups of bandits.

War in Mindanao: Many observers believe that the Philippine authorities are giving a free hand to the military on the Mindanao conflict. A meeting of the Christian, Muslim and other communities of the region voiced similar concern.

The governors and mayors of the region too made a similar presentation detailing the disruptive impact of the war in Mindanao, calling for cessation of hostilities. Former Rep. Mike Mastura, a Muslim, echoed Father Mercado’s concern over the domination by the military in shaping the direction of the war in Mindanao and raised the question of whether President Estrada had lost control of the military in determining the course of the conflict, or whether the military had ignored whatever preferences the President had in controlling the tempo of the Mindanao events.

The Philippine daily newspaper, Business World, claimed recently that militarily the Estrada administration had already “crossed the Rubicon” adding that unofficial estimates of the costs to the government of daily military operations in Mindanao had reached about $700,000. Another analyst, Marie Hilao Enriquez, head of Human Rights Group Karapatan, likened the war in Mindanao to a “genocide of the Moro people.” President Estrada’s “all-out-war” has killed hundreds of Moros and maimed thousands, while an estimated 500,000 people have have been displaced from their homes. The authorities have turned down a plea even from Christian religious groups to have a cease-fire.

Ethnic cleansing in Mindanao: It is alleged that the specific aim of the Estrada government is the eradication of Moros from Mindanao. In a press statement, the MILF cited the continued shelling and aerial bombing of civilian centres that has forced tens of thousands of villagers to abandon their homes. More than half a million people have fled their homes due to the fighting in Mindanao. The press statement cited the destruction of mosques, madaris (Muslim religious schools), markets, crops and residential houses of Muslim civilians in the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Lanao del Norte and North Cotabato. The same document also mentioned the recent rounding up of Muslims in Taguig town of Metro Manila as another evidence of the government’s “ethnic cleansing.”

The military offensive has also disrupted plantings in key agricultural areas. As fighting escalated, authorities said the number of displaced villagers has surpassed the half million mark. The fighting led to 548 homes burned or destroyed. Foreign aid and development agencies are postponing projects in the southern Philippines because of escalating hostilities. Around 1,000 residents of Muslim-dominated village in Taguig denounced what they called the oppression of the Muslim people in the country, the neglect of Mindanao and the Estrada government’s all-out war in the war-torn region which led to countless deaths and desecration of mosques...

(to be continued)

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