The Mindanao Peoples Caucus considers the Ancestral Domain agenda in the GRP-MILF peace talks as an opportunity for us Mindanawons to revisit ourcolonial past and correct the historical injustices committed against the indigenous and Bangsamoro peoples in Mindanao. This, for us, is the very essence of the negotiation on Ancestral Domain; to address and resolve the root causes of the armed conflict.

Recognizing the complexity of the issue at hand, the progress that the peace panels have achieved up to the supposedly 15th Exploratory Talks last December 2007 can be considered phenomenal and deserves to be seriously regarded as a viable peace formula.  We call upon our leaders and stakeholders to seriously evaluate what has already been agreed upon under the Consensus Points on Ancestral Domain, this being a product of a tedious, scholarly and an honest-to-goodness process of negotiation under the auspices of the Government of Malaysia as third party facilitator.

The MPC supports the rule of law and the Constitution but we do not regard the Constitution to be cast in stone, rigid and unshakeable.  In fact, the whole challenge is how to make the Constitution more relevant, dynamic and adaptive to changing times; one that mirrors the aspirations of its citizens and our shared vision of peace.

We take pride in saying that the Philippines, like the rest of the international community of nations, recognizes the right to self determination of indigenous peoples and "by virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development. (Article 3, UN Declaration on the Rightsof Indigenous Peoples).

We call on both the Philippine Government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to summon the necessary push that will give birth to an era of peace, unity and development in Mindanao. A milestone towards that goal will be the successful conclusion of the Ancestral Domain agenda. We appeal to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to give the fullest mandate and authority to the government peace panel to realize what has already been agreed upon as consensus points in the Ancestral Domain agenda.

Finally, we call upon our leaders in the country to refrain from issuing provocative statements that will only fan further animosity and trigger the guns of war.  We also call upon the Bangsamoro leaders to set aside personal, political and economic interests and unite in advancing the right to self-determination of the Bangsamoro people through the negotiations.

Let the last words of the late Dr. Mahid Mutilan, co-convenor of the Mindanao Bishops-Ulama Conference,  spoken in a peace conference in Davao City four days before he died in a vehicular accident in Cagayan de Oro City in early December 2007, reverberate in all corners of Mindanao and the country: "The Mindanao problem is a problem that can be solved… that must be solved in our time rather than passed on to the next generation and on and on."

Let us not pass this on to the next generation.

Let us do it Now!

Mindanao Peoples Caucus (MPC)

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Last update : 21-01-2008 18:18

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