PRESS RELEASE

September 30, 2008

KIDAPAWAN CITY – Muslims and Christians here bestow some assistance to the people of North Cotabato province which since June, this year, were victims of new round of incessant clashes between elements of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Armed Forces of the Philippines ( AFP ) after the Government of the Republic of the Philippines ( GRP ) abandoned the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (Moa-AD).

Dubbed ‘Duyog sa Ramadhan,’ Suara Bangsamoro and Kawagib Moro Human Rights Organization spearheaded a relief mission with the support of National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) and ACT International to evacuees of three municipalities – Aleosan, Midsayap and Pikit from September 29 to 30.

Amirah Ali Lidasan , president of Suara Bangsamoro , said, “This is just a modest respite to the protracted torment of Moro people.”

Evacuees in barangays Katinggawan, Rangaban, Baliki and Lindongan of Midsayap; Bagolibas and Pagangan of Aleosan; and Nalapaan of Pikit were the recipients of food pack composes of rice, monggo, sugar, coffee, salt and dried fish.

Meanwhile, Bai Ali Indayla , Kawagib’s spokesperson, lamented over the grim plight of people in the evacuation centers, where Muslim women and children were the most affected.

“It dismays that despite the calls of the Moro people to stop the clashes in respect for Ramadhan observance, nobody from the military ranks heeded. When will this war end when military’s detachments are beside the evacuation centers and Moro communities? This government showed no sign of respect to the most significant occasion of Muslims,” Indayla said.

The Suara Bangsamoro and Kawagib jointly call for the pull-out of detachments and military forces in Barangays Dalingaoen and Batulawan, both in Pikit and all affected areas of North Cotabato .

“If only the AFP will pull-out their troops in Moro communities, there will be no more evacuees. The desecration of lives as well as devastation of properties of Moro people is not a warranty of Commanders Amerin Ombra Kato, Bravo and Ustadz Wahid Tundok ’s surrender. Muslims in the evacuation centers have only one wish – that they could return homes and celebrate Eid’l Ftr peacefully,” Indayla said.

Ptr. Felixberto Rodinas of Promotion of Church and People’s Response in North Cotabato (PCPR-NC) said, “We contradict Muslim-Christian conflict. The Bangsamoro people had long been tortured with social injustices as well as non-Moro. That’s why we believe that through interfaith solidarity, we could achieve peace and justice.”

The groups reiterate call for AFP to stop attacking Moro communities and for the GRP to show sincerity in giving the Bangsamoro people its aspirations.

The relief mission was also supported by Cotabato Regional Ecumenical Council (COREC), Interfaith Alliance for the Advancement of Peoples Rights-North Cotabato (IFFAPR-NC) and PCPR-NC. #
 
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