|
Half A Million Displaced In Mindanao, Wish For Peace
 |
|
Muslim children in Mindanao pay the price of so-called “war on terror”
|
BY Kazi Mahmood, IOL Southeast Asia Correspondent
KUALA LUMPUR, May 29 (IslamOnline.net) - Scores of dead and almost half
a million displaced, this is the outcome of the outbreak of war in
Southern Philippines where Muslims are fighting for an independent
state.
A total of 80 people, most of them children, have already died in
evacuation centers in Mindanao since last February when the military
attacked camps owned by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF),
reported the Manila Times Thursday, May 29.
The Philippines Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman said 58 of the
80 dead came from evacuation centers in Pikit, North Cotabato, the
scene of one of the most devastating military operations against the
MILF in recent years.
Soliman, according to the Manila Times, said the 80 dead came from 162
evacuation centers in four regions covering 11 provinces in Mindanao
and that more than 410,419 individuals were displaced.
Recently, Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. disclosed that President Arroyo’s
order for the military to launch “punitive attacks” against suspected
“terrorist” cells in Mindanao has displaced about 315,000 civilians.
In Pikit alone, more than a 100,000 were displaced and living in
dangerous conditions, exposed to deceases and famine, NGOs reported
earlier this year.
Most of the dead are children who suffered from bronchopneumonia,
ulcers, diarrhea and measles, confirming the fears by Non Government
Organizations (NGO) that the situation in Mindanao may become
impossible to handle if actions are not taken.
However, the government said actions were being taken to prevent any
outbreak of diseases at the said evacuation centers.
“Two thousand children have been immunized,” Soliman said, adding that a
common problem encountered by health workers in the area was the
refusal of Muslim evacuees to be immunized.
Fighting in Mindanao erupted in February after government troops waged
an offensive against the secessionist MILF, taking a major enemy camp
after a week of operations.
Muslim rebels, however, retaliated by carrying out ambuscades, including
attacks on the civilian communities of Siocon and Maigo in the
provinces of Zamboanga del Norte and Lanao del Norte, which killed
more than 50 and injuring other scores.
On the other hand, Moro Islamic organizations in Mindanao welcomed the
unilateral truce ordered by the MILF while they urged the Philippines
government to be sincere in dealing with the Muslims on the
Independence issue.
Sources in Kuala Lumpur said the Malaysian government was probably
behind the truce declared by the MILF in a bid to give a chance to
Manila to open channels for talks again.
Muslims in Mindanao says the war was a result of the naked aggression
conducted by the Filipino armed forces on February 11th this year in
Pikit, Maguindanao and Cotabato respectively.
Joining the Muslims, some influential Christian groups has also called
for peace negotiations to resume and that the war should be stopped
unilaterally.
The Catholic Bishop’ Conference of the Philippines [CBCP], the
Bishop-Ulama Conference of the Philippines (BUCP), the various peace
advocates especially Mindanao Peace Weavers, a consortium of 14 peace
advocates, civil society groups, both Muslims and Christians,
well-meaning non-government organizations [NGOs], and individuals for
the immediate declaration of a ceasefire so that an honest-to-goodness
peace negotiations shall take place as soon as possible, said a
statement by the MILF Wednesday.
|
