Initiatives for Peace in Mindanao
PRESS STATEMENT
July 7, 2009
InPeace calls for independent probe on bombings
InPeace Mindanao calls for an independent probe on the bombings in Mindanao that will also look into a military plot intended to stage emergency rule.
We urge the authorities to look beyond the ‘Muslim terrorist’ propaganda fanned by the AFP, and see that one possible motive of the bombings is to sow chaos and fear in Mindanao to pave the way for a state of emergency.
This comes after a recent media exposé on Oplan August Moon, a military plot allegedly hatched by the PMA Batch 1978, which outlines scenarios such as bombings and tagging of Muslim terrorists in Mindanao. All these will lead to a declaration of a state of emergency and to perpetuatte Gloria Arroyo to stay in power beyond 2010, an analysis of the plot reveals.
The bombings in Maguindanao, Koronadal, last Sunday’s blast in Cotabato, and today’s bombing in front of the Jolo Cathedral, and the AFP’s immediate accusation that the MILF and Jemaah Islamiyah are behind it, all seem to fall into the script of Oplan August Moon.
The plausibility of this plot is also enforced by the statement of former ISAFP agent and Hello Garci whistleblower Vidal Doble, who said that he and other agents were ordered to stage bombings a few years ago to create a political condition favorable to the AFP.
The bombings could have been timed for Arroyo’s last State of the Nation Address on July 27, at the very least to deflect attention from the scandals hounding the administration including the latest linking First Gentleman Mike Arroyo to the poll automation business deal.
At most, these are scare tactics seemingly to justify the anti-Moro hysteria, as the bombings are also suspiciously timed for the upcoming first year commemoration of the failed signing of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain and Bangsarmoro Juridical Entity (MoA-AD BJE) on August 4.
InPeace fears that the military is trying to sway the public mindset into believing that the Arroyo government has to stay on in order to keep us safe. The deeper issues such as government corruption, the worsening economic crisis, and the resolution of the armed conflict are being blasted away.
We urge Congress and other independent bodies to probe all angles on the bombings, to give justice for the victims who are the poor and margnalized in Mindanao, and to uphold the path to a just peace.
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BISHOP FELIXBERTO CALANG
Convenor
