Ramadan should prod protagonists to end Mindanao conflict

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Nene" Q. Pimentel, Jr. (PDP-Laban) today said the protagonists in the Mindanao conflict should take advantage of the month-long Ramadan to act with reason, justice and compassion in looking for lasting solutions to the problem.

Pimentel said both sides should strive to put an end to senseless violence and bloodshed which is making it more and more difficult for them to find ways to address the grievances of Muslim Filipinos and to attain the elusive goal of enduring peace.

The senator from Mindanao urged the national leadership and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, headed its chief-of-staff, Gen. Alexander Yano, to view the Ramadan as an opportunity to demonstrate that the government and the military remain firmly committed to the peace effort while taking the necessary steps to bring back law and order and normalcy particularly by running after rogue rebel elements.

"Without prejudice to better tactics, perhaps Gen. Yano could use the Ramadan to help restore law and order. Maybe this Holy Season will help cool off hotheads and let reason prevail," Pimentel said.

He said while the fiasco over the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain has sparked anger and frustration on the part of the MILF, it cannot by any means serve as a ground for waging war and sowing terror on peaceful and defenseless civilian communities.

"Questions of constitutionality and rationality that have hounded the agreement on ancestral domain do not spell the end the peace process. For if there are those who had called attention to the infirmities in the agreement, it is not because they are against the peace talks. They only wanted to make sure that any peace accord would pass the test of credibility and legitimacy," the minority leader said.

In the wake of calls for "all-out war" from hawkish elements of society, Pimentel cautioned those who are disenchanted with the faltering peace process against making provocative and hostile statements which does not accomplish anything except to inflames the volatile and tense situation.

Since the aggravation of the armed conflict will bring the nation nowhere, he called on leaders and ordinary citizens alike to back up his call for the adoption of the federal system as the only logical and comprehensive alternative option left for us to consider.