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Pain ... pain [Bai Maleiha Candao is editor-publisher of the New Mindanao Kris] As of this writing, I received confirmation that majority of those who died in AFP's bombing of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front's Camp Abubakar were innocent civilians. One of them was a pregnant woman. It bleeds my heart thinking of her other children who lost their mother because of the government's thirst for war that is actually a hidden anger directed against the Bangsamoros, for its inability to resolve the decade-old Mindanao problem. For declaring an all-out-war against the MILF at the expense of sacrificing the lives of innocent people is an indication of simple idiocy. Billions of pesos spent to crush the rebellion in Mindanao showcase the inconsistency of the Estrada government to address poverty in the Moro communities because of spending unhesitantly for their destruction. Is it because this government's anti-insurgency campaign is a facade to cover-up its real motive -- to crush the psychological culture of the Jihad Fi Sabillilah. What they do not understand in Malacanang is that this is a Quranic struggle that will persist as long as Islam is Islam. It is not a mere psychological culture adventuring in the political mainstream -- it is an ideology that does not yield even in the face of death. Therefore, it is the job of the government to adopt flexibility in dealing with this problem. Unlike the Abu Sayyaf, which demonstrated plain banditry, whose leaders I personally condemn for allowing the military to have control over them and for using Islam as guise for their un-Islamic activities, the MILF is not an organization of terrorists that will die once the leaders will be physically extricated. The subsistence lies on the organizations's religious ideology. That is why it is of my
great concern that this all-out-war campaign of the government will increase the number of
MILF elements instead of decreasing it. Peace is the only option. For like all of you, I want a war-free Mindanao, particularly a war-free Maguindanao. This is my ancestors's province and it kills me in pain knowing that the native inhabitants are suffering the most. Sometimes, I could not
help myself but explore the possibility that though externally the government is fighting
the MILF, the internal agenda may be something fishy...like absorbing foreign investments
wherein agricultural lands will be converted to other bigger ventures especially with the
recent hysteria on Land Banks VOS (voluntary offer to sell their lands) leaving no more
place for the next Maguindanaon generation. Another pain that hurts me inside is knowing that most of my fellow Filipinos in Visayas and Luzon favor the government's war-freak mentality. Please fellow Filipinos...help us here in Mindanao and fight this government's pro-war mentality. |
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