FORUM • STATEMENTS

PFL STATEMENT

Solidarity Message to InPeace Mindanao
on the Occasion of its Fifth Anniversary

2008 SEPTEMBER 3

It is with utmost joy and profound sense of solidarity that Peace for Life, an international and interfaith movement for global justice and peace, join you—through this message of solidarity—in commemorating and celebrating the 5th anniversary of the founding of InPeace Mindanao. On this momentous occasion, our many partners all over the world convey to you their warmest congratulations and best wishes as you look forward to many more years of vigorous striving for genuine peace and dedicated service to the suffering but struggling Muslims, Christians and indigenous peoples in war-torn Mindanao.

We remain deeply grateful to InPeace Mindanao for generously hosting in Davao our historic inaugural forum and assembly in December 2004 under the theme, “Sowing Seeds of Peace in the Era of Empire: Christians in Solidarity with Muslims”. It was a major and demanding undertaking that only a highly capable and committed interfaith grass-roots initiative like your organization can deliver. Indeed we owe much of the success of our founding forum and assembly to InPeace Mindanao, which since our inauguration four years ago has been a close partner and collaborator in our common quest for peace based on justice, not just in the Philippines but in other parts of the world.

It was only fitting that our international movement, dedicated to mobilizing the resources of faith and spirituality in the struggle against the project of empire building, should be founded in Mindanao, a Philippine region known for its long and unbroken history of struggle and resistance. It is in Mindanao that the US war on terror, which targeted the Philippines in 2002 as its second front after Afghanistan, has been arrogantly and ruthlessly played out. Despite the closure of US bases in the country, the US continues to build military facilities and a maintains a significant military presence in your hapless region, under the guise of joint military exercises, that can only fuel further unrest among Muslims and Christians alike.

Like other parts of the world that are rich in oil and other natural resources, Mindanao is coveted and prized by the US, the first truly global empire, for its still untapped oil and gas reserves. Moreover, geographically, it is close to resource-rich Indonesia, suspected as harboring terrorist groups allied to Al Queda, but whose strong Islamic movement—being one of the countries with largest concentration of Muslims—has consistently opposed any overt or covert US presence.

The tremendous role of InPeace Mindanao as an agent for genuine peace building and interfaith solidarity cannot but be even more salient at this time when conflicts have flared up anew between the US-trained and funded Philippine military forces and the insurgent Moro Islamic Liberation Front in the wake of the aborted signing of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain.

We in Peace for Life continue to draw inspiration from the work and grass-roots engagement of InPeace Mindanao. We are solidly one with you in celebrating your gains of the past five years and in renewing our common commitment to build interfaith solidarity as we painstakingly engage in the just struggle to defend life amidst the powerful forces of death.

Onward with the struggle,

Carmencita Karagdag
Coordinator

Eunice Santana (Puerto Rico)
Moderator

Farid Esack (South Africa)
Co-Moderator

Kim Yong-Bock (South Korea)
Co-Moderator

Reference:

PEACE FOR LIFE SECRETARIAT

2/F, Bp. La Verne Mercado Ecumenical Center

NCCP Compound, 879 EDSA

West Triangle, Quezon City

Philippines 1104

Telefax: (+632) 9278043

Email: secretariatpeaceforlife.org

Website: www.peaceforlife.org

 

---

 

August 12, 2008

 

MS. CARMENCITA KARAGDAG

Coordinator

Peace for Life

Dear Ms. Karagdag:

Greetings of Peace and Justice!

It has been five years since the Initiatives for Peace in Mindanao was conceived as an interfaith grassroots movement.

This movement was launched through the Mindanao Leaders Conference for Peace in May 2003, leading to the formation of the Mindanao Truth Commission on the mystery bombings, and the holding of Mindanao Peace Forums and other initiatives.

Since then, the olive branches of peace have grown in various meaningful directions, drawing the unity of the grassroots, academe, church, indigenous and Moro communities on peace and social justice.

While it is time to recognize this milestone in unleashing grassroots initiatives to achieve just and lasting peace in Mindanao and the country, we also make use of this time for reflection and strengthening. We would be defining our direction for the next five years, taking off from the inputs of the grassroots and the imperatives demanded by our current situation of ‘unpeace’ in Mindanao and the world.

It had been an honor to host the founding organizational conference of Peace for Life in Davao City in September 2004. Our struggle against the Empire in the home front became part of a global movement for justice and peace. Much of our work since 2004 has taken inspiration from the inputs and imperatives posed from the Peace for Life conference.

We shall be honored if you would be able to give us a solidarity message. We shall be presenting it during our 5th Year Anniversary Program on September 5 where InPeace convenors, friends, and allies will celebrate our gains and prepare to meet the challenges for the next five years.

Your solidarity message-cum-input will be of invaluable significance to our assessment, celebration, and direction-setting as a network for a just and lasting peace.

We look forward to your continuing solidarity with our journey for peace in Mindanao.

Truly yours,

Bishop Felixberto Calang

Chairperson

InPeace