DAVAO CITY: Negotiations between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (Milf) will not be hampered by violence staged by the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in some parts of Central Mindanao, GPH panel chair Miriam Coronel-Ferrer said at the opening of the 39th GPH-MILF Formal Exploratory Talks held in Malaysia yesterday.
“In this round, we will prove that we have not been waylaid by these groups’ destructive, desperate ways,” Ferrer said.
In an emailed statement, Ferrer specifically cited that even both panels had a meeting last July, the BIFF were on a rampage, like attacking soldiers and setting off grenades and IEDs in some parts of Central Mindanao that killed some civilians and injured scores of them. She described such act of violence to have all the more isolated the perpetrators from the rest of the people.
“Violence is not strength. It reflects a weakness in ideas, a lack of strength in the moral persuasiveness of one’s beliefs and causes. Its sheer force betrays a lack of legitimacy and popular support. As Hannah Arendt, one of my favourite philosophers, wisely wrote: “Impotence breeds violence,” Ferrer said.
She expressed confidence on the ceasefire committees, the Ad Hoc Joint Action Groups (AHJAG) and the International Monitoring Team (IMT) together with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP), and a good number of national and local government officials, that are working hard to address the continuing threats.
Agencies
