Back to War in Mindanao: the Weaknesses of a Power-Based Approach in Conflict Resolution
Back to War in Mindanao: The Weaknesses of a Power-based Approach in Conflict Resolution Nathan Gilbert Quimpo* In October 1999, amid a bit of pomp and pageantry, negotiating panels of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP). and the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) opened "formal peace talks" at the Da 'wah Center in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao, only about ten kilometers away from the MILF's headquarters, Camp Abubakar. Among those who graced the occasion were Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado, Presidential Adviser on Flagship Projects Robert Aventajado, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Manuel Yan, MILF Vice-chairman for Political Affairs Ghazali Jaafar, MILF Vice-chairman for Internal Affairs Aleem Abdul Aziz Mimbantas and MILF Vice-chairman for Information Mohagher Iqbal, and a number of representatives from the diplomatic community. The two sides had actually been engaged in peace negotiations since 1996, just a few weeks before the signing of the September 1996 peace agreement between the government and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), but these had been regarded as merely "exploratory" and "informal" in nature. One of the results of this exploratory talks had been an agreement for general cessation of hostilities, signed in July 1997. Despite the ceasefire agreement, armed hostilities between government and MILF forces broke out time and again. Somehow, up until the formal talks, the ceasefire always managed to be restored. The scale of fighting, however, appeared to be getting bigger each time. In February 2000, less than four months after the opening of the formal talks, serious fighting erupted for the nth time but this one escalated in a few weeks into the most serious in over a decade.
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