Abstract
This chapter addresses the question of why conflicts that are deeply rooted in historical injustice tend to defy straightforward resolution. It traces the historical roots of the conflict in Mindanao and the various efforts of the government in the Philippines to reach a political settlement. In particular, it examines the peacemaking efforts by the Macapagal-Arroyo and Aquino administrations, the contexts in which they made progress but also stalled and the ways in which the general public reacted to these efforts. It argues that it takes more than political will and historical sensitivity on the part of the government to address the problem. If a broader segment of the public, especially in political elite circles, do not share the need to recognize historical injustice and address restorative justice then obstacles to resolution remain.
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- 1.
This ranking is based on 2006, 2009, and 2012 census data.
- 2.
In analyzing the conflict in Mindanao, a distinction has been drawn by astute observers between the “Mindanao Problem” and the “Moro Problem.” The latter, a subset of the former, refers to the set of problems that are rooted in the historic and “systematic marginalization and minoritization” of Moros in Mindanao. The Mindanao problem, on the other hand, revolves around and between the Christians, Muslims, and Lumads or the non-Muslim indigenous peoples in Mindanao (Santos 2005, pp. 1–2).
- 3.
Chapter II, Section 3(a) of the Republic Act No. 8371 (1997), see Official Gazette. Retrieved from http://www.gov.ph/1997/10/29/republic-act-no-8371/on 15 March 2016.
- 4.
When exactly the MNLF was founded is disputable. See Diaz (2011) for an attempt to evaluate various claims. In his view, the MNLF was likely to have been founded sometime in 1969; there was no exact date or month. What the MNLF did was to retrospectively set its founding anniversary to 18 March 1968, the day of the Jabidah massacre.
- 5.
The expanded area includes the predominantly Muslim barangays and municipalities in adjoining provinces which opted out of the ARMM in the 2001 plebiscite. This includes six municipalities in Lanao del Norte and hundreds of barangays in Sultan Kudarat, North Cotabato, and Lanao del Norte.
- 6.
The primer on peace talks issued by the government defines normalization as the “process through which communities affected by the decades-long armed conflict in Mindanao can return to a peaceful life and pursue sustainable livelihoods free from fear of violence and crime.” http://www.opapp.gov.ph/sites/default/files/Frequently%20Asked%20Questions%20on%20Annex%20on%20Normalization.pdf accessed on 17 April 2016.
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Curaming, R.A. (2016). Historical Injustice and Human Insecurity: Conflict and Peacemaking in Muslim Mindanao. In: Carnegie, P., King, V., Zawawi Ibrahim (eds) Human Insecurities in Southeast Asia. Asia in Transition, vol 5. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-2245-6_8
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