Philippines: Declare a humanitarian ceasefire in Zamboanga City now! (tags)
A Petition Campaign in Support for Dialogue, Humanitarian Action and Ceasefire
International Women's Day in the Philippines (tags)
Women groups hail ‘triple wins,’ but warn of complacency
Appointment of Ronald Llamas as Philippine Presidential Adviser for Political Affair (tags)
Akbayan Youth, the Movement for the Advancement of Student Power (MASP), and the Student Council Alliance of the Philippines (SCAP) welcome President Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Aquino’s (PNoy) appointment of Akbayan Party President Ronald Llamas as Presidential Adviser on Political Affairs. This appointment proves the president’s commitment to a pluralist government open to progressive politics.
Will Peace Break out in the Philippines? (tags)
Will peace break out at last? Much hope has been sparked by the coming resumption of peace talks between the National Democratic Front (NDF) and the Aquino government. Undoubtedly, this optimism stems from the widespread public perception that President Benigno Aquino III is genuinely interested in ending the four-decade-long war between the NDF and the Philippine government.
Amnesty Int’l warns of resurgence in extrajudicial killings (tags)
Amnesty International (AI) warned Wednesday that killings and abductions of left-wing activists in the country could surge again this year unless the government seriously prosecutes perpetrators. In its 2008 report on worldwide human rights, AI noted that extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances across the country dipped last year due to international pressure.
Gov’t faces blank wall on KL role in peace talks (tags)
The Government of the Philippines based in Manila has failed to get an assurance from Malaysia that it will continue to broker the peace process between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Malaysia’s role in the peace talks became uncertain as its Foreign Minister Rais Yatim, who met with Philippine officials led by President Arroyo, yesterday in Manila, was non-committal on the request of the Philippine government to continue facilitating the peace negotiations.
MILF UNFAZED BY ARREST WARRANTS, MILITARY OFFENSIVE (tags)
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is unfazed by the threat of “punitive action” from the government and urged it to review first the provisions of the ceasefire agreement before serving the warrants of arrest on those allegedly involved in the July 10 ambush of Marines in Basilan. MILF chief negotiator Muhaquer Iqbal said they are unfazed by the military’s threat to arrest those behind the ambush.
MILF-GRP Peace Talks Update ; MILF wants entire Kudarat- GRP (tags)
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is demanding the inclusion of the entire Sultan Kudarat province as part of a new autonomous region in Mindanao as a condition for a final peace agreement with the government, a ranking Malacañang official revealed yesterday.
Make Peace, Not War : Gary V, Bamboo ‘join’ MILF (tags)
Popular singer Gary Valenciano and rock band Bamboo have joined forces with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to deliver essential services to children in communities affected by conflict areas in Mindanao. Dubbed as the "Days of Peace" campaign, the two musical icons joined forces with the MILF in an effort to bring basic health services "to children affected by the "conflict with government forces. The program, which started last Monday, brought the MILF and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to allow government health workers to deliver health care services to some 707 barangays in Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). The MILF and UNICEF have designated three rounds of Days of Peace to immunize 30,000 infants, de-worming "of some 100,000 children, "Vitamin-A supplementation for some 240,000 children, and birth registration services in areas previously inaccessible to health workers due to armed conflict.
War in Mindanao :Palace, AFP reject OIC call for ceasefire in Sulu (tags)
Manila-- Malacañang is giving full support to the military offensive against renegade Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) forces in Sulu, which entered its fourth day of fierce fighting yesterday. While the government acknowledges the appeal of the 47-nation Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) to disengage forces, Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said there must be an assurance against further attacks from the renegade forces. Nearly 8,500 families ( 40,000 people)have fled the fighting and thousands crammed into schools and gymnasiums in downtown Jolo, relying on food rations from disaster agencies. The mass evacuations are a bitter development for conflict-scarred residents, who had hoped Jolo was becoming a more stable place after a long-running military campaign to rid the island of scores of Islamic militants.
8,000 families displaced in Sulu fighting; OIC steps in (tags)
More than 8,000 families ( 40,000 people)have fled their homes as Marines and Army troops hunted down renegade Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) commander Habier Malik and his men, who have killed 12 people in Sulu. For three days now, thousands of troops have been sent to Sulu to run after Malik’s band after he escaped when the military captured his sprawling hilltop encampment in Panamao, Sulu on Sunday. Reports said several MNLF commanders, along with an undetermined number of fighters from the towns of Pata, Daungdong and Capual in Sulu, are now fighting alongside Malik.
AFP: Peace pact with MILF by April (tags)
A peace agreement with the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is expected early this year, Armed Forces chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. disclosed yesterday. "A final peace agreement with the MILF would be signed by March or April," Esperon told a press conference held at the AFP Eastern Mindanao Command headquarters here. The contentious issues affecting the peace negotiations, particularly disputes over ancestral domain, are now being discussed by both panels, said Esperon, who arrived here as part of a series of camp visits to implement the second phase of President Arroyo’s campaign against insurgency.
Arroyo regime has a malicious view of the GRP-NDFP peace negotiations (tags)
The highest officials of the Arroyo regime, especially executive secretary Eduardo Ermita, chief of staff Mike Defensor and presidential adviser Jesus Dureza, have repeatedly declared that there is no need to resume the formal talks between the GRP and NDFP negotiating panels but that the office of the presidential adviser on the process will coordinate with local units of the GRP to stage localized negotiations with elements that they hope to attract from the local forces of the revolutionary movement.
NDFP Negotiating Panel Arrives In Oslo For Consultations With Norwegian Government (tags)
The NDFP Negotiating Panel has the concept of continuing to prepare drafts of agreements on social, economic and political reforms and testing them in working sessions and open forums with respected Filipino experts and GRP officials who belong to the regime and the opposition. Thus, a level of consensus shall be reached even before the resumption of the formal talks, and thus accelerating the progress of future negotiations.
The War Against the People: US Scholars Denounce Killings and Calls for a World-Wide Actio (tags)
Northampton, MA - The Critical Filipina and Filipino Studies Collective (CFFSC) condemns the growing spate of killings and human rights violations of political activists, peasant rights advocates and sympathizers, lawyers and priests in the Philippines. The Philippine military is targeting and murdering leftist activists and civilians under the pretense of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo regime’s “War on Terror.” The U.S.-backed Arroyo regime’s campaign of surveillance, abduction, torture, and execution is a campaign of terror against the Filipino people.
did the CIA form Abu Sayyaf? (tags)
there is evidence that abu sayyaf, the philippines al-qaida, was created by the CIA