Moros Enraged by U.S. Officials’ Remarks

Moro leaders have expressed concern over statements made by U.S. officials with regards dangers of living in Mindanao. Such statements are not just a product of prejudice but also a move to drive Moros away from lands that can be exploited for profit by capitalists.

BY GRACE S. UDDIN
Bulatlat

Moro women of Madaum listen intently in a forum by leaders of Moro communities, Davao del Norte, on anti-terror and recent pronouncements by US officials seen damaging to Mindanao. Photo to Bary Ohaylan

DAVAO DEL NORTE – Statements from U.S. officials against Mindanao have been found to be so audacious that even influential Moro leaders who used to be close to U.S. officials have been repulsed.

Amira Lidasan, secretary-general of the Moro-Christian People's Alliance (MCPA) stressed this fact as Cotabato City Mayor Muslimin Sema hogged the headlines recently for burning an American flag. This was in reaction to a statement made by a U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) official who threatened to terminate their projects in the area because Sema's alleged coddling of terrorists.

Lidasan said Sema received guests from the Muslim World League sometime in the last week of April only to be tagged later as a "coddler" of terrorists.

In April, U.S. Charge d'Affaires Joseph Mussomelli said Mindanao's borders are so "porous" that it runs the risk of becoming the "next Afghanistan."

Following his statement, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick warned that the security situation in the Philippines remains "dangerous" because of apparent links between Muslim separatists and international terrorists in southern Mindanao.

Batting in, outgoing U.S. Ambassador Francis Ricciardone said Cotabato City is being used as a "doormat" for terrorists.

Derogatory, dangerous

Reacting, Moro leaders in this province said that the U.S. officials’ remarks are not only derogatory but also pose grave danger to the lives of Moro communities. Leaders from Madaum, home to one of the largest groups of Moro Kalagan tribe in southern Mindanao, lamented the plight of Moro people who are often made the usual victims.

Moro communities in Madaum have gone through all sorts of tagging in the past. When two bombs went off in Davao City in 2003, civilian and military officials were quick to call their place as "the center of Muslim extremism in Davao."

Immediately following the Seaport bombing, a mosque in Madaum was lobbed with grenades. The community was subjected to a violent raid by a composite team of military officers who swooped down on the area barely a month after the seaport bombing took place.

Following this, local papers quoted a military officer who tagged Madaum as suspected entry point of lawless elements. Accusations were also hurled that the communities were coddling bombers, bomb experts and of late, they were a haven for mobile phone snatchers.

Moro leaders interviewed by Bulatlat lamented that their problems with these claims go beyond the issue of negative publicity. They said that these have put their community and the lives of the members in grave danger and under threat of attacks.

Chilling effects

With many southern Mindanao communities going through military raids in the past as well as abduction of some of their community members by military elements, Lidasan said that hearing pronouncements from prominent U.S. officials sends a chilling effect.

"It is not easy to live under constant fear. We have long wanted to live in peace, to live normal lives, without fear of being invaded, without fear of being attacked," Lidasan said.

Economic reason

Lidasan believes there are underlying reasons for statements made against their community.

Madaum, which is home to Moro tribes indigenous to the area, is strategic since it opens to wide coastal lines near the major seaport of Davao City, Lidasa explained. The area is also a vast land of fertile soil where inhabitants thrive mainly on agriculture. However, inhabitants are said to be threatened by the possible encroachment of capitalists who are reportedly planning to put up businesses in the area, among which are a jeans factory and a real estate development business.

Surrounding the area at present are privately-owned banana plantations as well as major transport facilities such as seaport and airport in the land area. With a report from Cheryll D. Fiel / Bulatlat

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