Statement of Support

Mindanao PeaceWeavers (MPW), united in our common desire to build a lasting peace and future for all peoples in Mindanao, continuing with our reflection and discernment on the pace and progress of the current peace process between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), put forward our urgent concerns and calls:

While at this stage of the peace process, eight months removed since the signing of the historic Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB), we note with alarm and concern the lag in the accomplishments in the negotiations when contrasted with the timelines and roadmap to peace mutually agreed upon.  This lack of development has given rise to conjecture and negativity towards the peace process and joint agreements reached thus far.  Furthermore, this lack of progress has allowed detractors and naysayers to gain traction in public discourse, eating away at the support the peace process has painstakingly gained. Nevertheless, we encourage both panels to persevere, in uniting on common ideals and detailing the mechanisms needed to make them work. As they resume their discussions in Kuala Lumpur today through the 10th, we all wish the members of both panels renewed enthusiasm, vigor and hope in defining the true promise of Mindanao.

Yet, given the reality of time ticking inexorably onwards, we DO challenge both panels to more vigorously and openly engage all stakeholders, from the government and MILF forces, on to the general public about the developments pertaining to the peace process.  

We DO encourage both panels to use all channels at their disposal, from media, sectors and networks like ours included, to make the Bangsamoro principles, ideals and developments about the talks understood and well-supported. 

We DO believe that this starts with the signing of the annexes and quickly moving forward with the Bangsamoro Basic Law.  

And we DO and very strongly believe that the time for us all to engage in this is NOW.

While we also express our deepest concern over the havoc wrought by the ongoing clashes between the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), we DO remain hopeful and happy that both the GPH and MILF affirm that these acts will not derail the talks.  We appreciate this laser-like commitment of both panels to the task at hand. We value such clarity of positions, and advocate this be sustained in the ongoing information dissemination efforts of both parties as well. 

The issue of time may now weigh heavy for a number of us. Nevertheless we continue to challenge all parties involved to make the most of the opportunities before us. We note that July marks the start of Ramadan, the Islamic period of reflection and purification. July also marks the time the President issues the nation’s marching orders in his State of the Nation Address (SONA). We feel this period is timely for us to rethink, retool, re-engage and with shared concern and urgency, redouble our efforts towards our end goal of peace in Mindanao. 

In closing, we of the MPW reiterate our call.  We celebrate and value the accomplishments gained by the peace process thus far.  We express our concern at the slowed pace and progress reached as well.  We laud the efforts towards clarifying and communicating the respective positions of the parties. We reiterate the need to continuously expand the scope and scale of transparency and engagement.  We remain hopeful and positive that the remaining work is within our capabilities to complete. 

On the task left before us, we call on all of us stakeholders to redouble our efforts with urgency and make our concerns broadly known. Let us work hard, together and in unity at laying the strongest groundwork for peace to prosper in our beloved Mindanao.

PADAYON!

Mindanao PeaceWeavers Statement
Davao City
July 8, 2013

Dear friends,

Warm greetings from Seoul!

2013 marks the 60th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice Agreement. We sincerely want to replace the armistice agreement with a peace treaty.

Women Making Peace is a member of The Global Preparatory Committee for the Global Campaign to End the Korean War and to Sign a Peace Treaty.

I would like to ask you to join the Global Campaign to end the Korean War and to sign a peace treaty.

You can sign the peace declaration or post photos to support the global campaign at the webpage with the Call for Action. If you hold an action to support our campaign, please write about your plan at the webpage.

Here is the webpage: http://2013endthekoreanwar.tumblr.com/declaration

Attached is a background information on the Global Campaign.

We sincerely appreciate your contribution and support.

Best regards,

Gyunglan Jung
Co-Representative, Women Making Peace

Without peace, development is impossible, and without women, neither peace nor development can take place.

The Women Peacemakers Program (WPP) empowers women and men world-wide through gender-sensitive nonviolence training and education.

Global Civil Peace Declaration

- End the Korean War and Sign a Peace Treaty!

2013 marks the 60th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice Agreement. Hostilities were ended in 1953, leaving numerous deaths and inestimable property damage. Since then the war has not been officially terminated. Sixty years later, the Korean Peninsula still faces an unprecedented level of military tension.

We, people of global society, are deeply concerned that military tension and conflict in and around the Korean Peninsula have persisted and even increased in recent years. Now we must replace politico-military hostilities and arms races with peaceful cooperation. Let’s make the year 2013, the 60th year of ceasefire, a year to progress towards a new peace system by formally ending the Korean War and signing a Korean peace treaty. The Korean Peninsula should no longer be an area of conflict and dispute, but one of peaceful cooperation in which all countries of Northeast Asia, including North and South Korea, take the lead in realizing a vision of co-existence.

With people’s solidarity and support, we declare as below while launching the Global Campaign to End the Korean War and Sign a Peace Treaty between 22 July 2013 and 28 July 2013.

End the Korean War! Shift from the armistice system to a peace system!

The armistice system itself has been the primary cause of huge suffering and sacrifice by the people on both sides. It is more important than anything else to transform the armistice system into a peace system to create a peaceful and humane way of life in Korea.

Move toward a nuclear weapons free Northeast Asia by establishing a peace system!

The nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula means a nuclear crisis in Northeast Asia. A new approach should be taken, based on the 2005 Six Parties’ Agreement on the establishment of Working Group on Northeast Asia Peace and Security Mechanism. Not only efforts to abolish the North Korean nuclear program, but also efforts to remove nuclear threats in Northeast Asia are required.

Bring peace and cooperation to East Asia

Military tensions and arms races have intensified in the region due to territorial disputes. Militarization of the region is being accelerated by reinforcing the US-led naval alliance and US-ROK-Japan military cooperation. One possible solution is to stop naval militarization in East Asia and to transform conflicts and confrontation into cooperation and reciprocity.

We believe military tensions on the Korean Peninsula are closely linked with currently heightening militarization, historical/territorial disputes in all over Asia. We will realize justice and achieve peace not only in Korean Peninsula but also in all over Asia in solidarity.

27 July 2013

The Global Preparatory Committee for the Global Campaign to End the Korean War and to Sign a Peace Treaty
International Peace Bureau / The Working Group for Peace and Demilitarization in Asia and the Pacific / Global Partnership for Prevention of Armed Conflict Northeast Asia / People Solidarity for Participatory Democracy / Peace Network / Women Making Peace

Contact Details
Ms. Huisun Kim (People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy)
E-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. P.H. +82-2-723-4250  +82-2-723-4250