The tribal council of the South, the Kusog sa Katawhang Lumad sa Mindanao or Kalumaran, has issued a unity statement saying that they support the Bangsamoro cause for self-determination and ancestral lands but doubt the real motives of the national government in “rushing” the Memorandum of Agreement for Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
BY NOEL SALES BARCELONA
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE’S WATCH
Bulatlat
Vol. VIII, No. 32, September 14-20, 2008
The tribal council of the South, the Kusog sa Katawhang Lumad sa Mindanao or Kalumaran, has issued a unity statement saying that they support the Bangsamoro cause for self-determination and ancestral lands but doubt the real motives of the national government in “rushing” the Memorandum of Agreement for Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
The signing of the MOA-AD, which was scheduled for Aug. 5 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, was aborted due to a Temporary Restraining Order issued by the Supreme Court.
The agreement is supposedly part of the peace pact between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
Sharing same history of oppression and struggles
In an emailed copy of the Unity Statement, which was approved during the Council Meeting of Kalumaran in Cagayan de Oro City last Sept. 7, the Lumad group said that they firmly support the Bangsamoro’s struggle for ancestral domain and their Right to Self-Determination, for they share the same history of oppression, both by colonizers and state forces.
“Longstanding peace pacts between Moro and Lumad tribes, such as the dyandi, tampuda, sandugo, sapa, sinumlite, and others, further formalized this relationship. Presently, the majority poor of the Lumad, Moro and settlers in Mindanao suffer from a common problem of landlessness. We suffer from the plunder of our lands by multinational corporations engaged in logging, mining, and agribusiness enterprises. We likewise suffer militarization in our communities like in Caraga, Davao Provinces, Socsksargen, Zamboanga, Bukidnon and other areas that result in massive evacuation and dislocation of communities,” read the statement.
MOA-AD positive, government’s motive: negative
The Unity Statement also mentioned that the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) is an expression of the Bangsamoro’s right to self-determination by defining the foundation, concept and principles that recognize the ancestral domain of the Bangsamoro.
“It also affirms and acknowledges the Lumad’s right to self-determination by recognizing Lumad territories under the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE). However, Mrs. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the big landlords, big businesses and imperialist powers, have used the MOA-AD to further their interests,” Kalumaran said.
Kalumaran explained in the unity statement that Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and big landlords have exploited the issues surrounding the MOA-AD to mislead and divide the Filipino people.
“They have done so by calling on civilians to take up arms against the Moro people as a means of protecting their own vast tracks of land and businesses. Warlords such as Manny Piñol of North Cotabato, who plays a big role in defending multinational corporations in his province, have further incited violence and disunity. However, the marginalized Filipino people, especially the Lumads, are not swayed by this manipulation because it is clear whose interests such calls serve,” stressed the statement.
Kalumaran said that they denounce-in the highest possible terms-the Arroyo government’s abandonment of peace negotiations between the GRP-MILF and the GRP-NDF and its policy of disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR), which will only wreak havoc on our communities already bearing the burden of Arroyo’s militarist policies.
In addition, Kalumaran said that Mrs. Arroyo took advantage of the confusion on the MOA-AD to launch an “all-out war” against the Bangsamoro and Lumad communities.
“After abandoning peace negotiations, Arroyo stressed the call for surrender – even fake surrender of civilians- and the provision of firearms to civilians and vigilante groups like the Ilaga. Her government has also provoked division and conflict among the Lumads by using fake tribal leaders like Joel Unad, Ruben Labawan, Ramon Bayaan, Luis Lambac, Deo Mampatilan, Lito Gawilan and their organizations such as the Mindanao Indigenous Peoples Conference for Peace and Development (MIPCPD) which are supported by the military,” it added.
“By Arroyo’s design, the MOA-AD becomes a justification to push for Charter change, thereby extending her term,” the statement further read.
Imperialist interests
The Unity Statement also tackled the issue of foreign powers’ meddling with the Philippines’ internal affairs. In the statement, Kalumaran particularly voiced concern over the exploitation, utilization and development of natural resources.
Kalumaran believes that imperialist countries intend to exploit the MOA-AD to hasten the plunder of the Lumads’ and Bangsamoro’s ancestral lands.
“The United States has been intervening in the events in Mindanao in various forms. The United States Institute for Peace (USIP) has been intervening in the peace process and pushing its design that serves US policy interests… Furthermore, the presence of US armed forces in Mindanao through the Balikatan exercises and other activities is now permanent. Other imperialist countries like Japan, Canada, Australia and the European Union have been giving aid to Bangsamoro areas; but this comes with strings attached as it is meant to pave the way for their business interests such as mining,” Kalumaran further explained.
On the issue of laws governing indigenous peoples’ affairs
Even the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (IPRA) has been criticized by Kalumaran.
Kalumaran said that based on their experience under the IPRA, the law and the National Commission for Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) had become instruments to facilitate the entrance and plunder of multinational corporations in Lumads’ territories.
Moreover, the group said, the issuance of ancestral domain titles under the IPRA does not help in the defense of the ancestral domain, but rather works in favor of big business interests.
“Under such conditions, the way to assert the right to self-determination and to defend ancestral domain is not simply defining territories, but rather actively defending the land from plunder and promoting the collective rights of the indigenous peoples and Bangsamoro,” states Kalumaran.
However, Kalumaran firmly believe that genuine autonomy cannot be achieved as long as the elite, the big landlords, big businesspeople and their foreign capitalist cohorts remain in power.
Meanwhile, Kalumaran called on all sectors who are exploited and oppressed to unite in defense of the ancestral domain toward genuine national liberation of the entire Filipino people.
“This is the only way to assure the genuine establishment of the Right to Self-Determination of the Bangsamoro and Lumad peoples, and to resolve our common problems such as landlessness, militarization, and plunder of our natural resources,” Kalumaran stated. (Bulatlat.com)
