The International Peace Mission to Basilan
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The International Peace Mission to Basilan Organised by Focus on the Global South, Transnational Institute, the Institute for Popular Democracy and Akbayan Citizens' Action Party Context In the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks, the United States declared an open season on "terrorists", their supposed sympathizers and other perceived security threats. It is in this context that the United States has deployed its troops to Basilan, claiming that the Abu Sayyaf has links to the Al Qaeda network. The Philippine government has been more than eager to arrange for joint military "training" operations, its armed forces having failed to root out a motley (though savage) gang of around 100 bandits. While terrorism is indeed a grave concern among all nations, the United States' aggressive military stance is also an alarming development that threatens global stability. Its openly declared intentions to mount unilateral military actions against specific countries (the "Axis of Evil", for example) have profound implications on the global political climate and the internal security conditions of these target countries. In the Philippines, for instance, American military involvement in the form of the Balikatan joint military "training" exercise has already caused much upheaval due to the long history of US intervention in this former American colony. The situation is especially controversial because Mindanao is the site of long-running religious conflicts among Moros and Christians. US military presence in a battle zone seems to make direct combat operations by US troops almost inevitable despite bilateral agreements setting the parameters for the "training" exercise. US military intervention in Basilan therefore threatens to
The war in Basilan, therefore, is a critical international issue. First, because the rights and welfare of all victims of war are the concern of all. Second, because Basilan is the prototype of impending US operations in its "global war against terror" and therefore warrants careful scrutiny by the international community. Background and Objectives The Peace Mission was conceived in late 2001, just as the United States had embarked on "retaliatory attacks" against Afghanistan. There was deep alarm among civil society groups around the world regarding the massive human and social costs of the indiscriminate air attacks. The initial plan was to send an independent team of peace, development and human rights workers to document the aftermath of the air bombardment in Afghanistan. The Afghanistan objective had yet to achieve its supposed objectives (i.e., the arrest of Ossama bin Laden and top Al Qaeda operatives) when the United States set its sights on the Philippines as the "second front" in its global anti-terrorist offensive. In his State of the Nation address last January 30, President Bush reiterated the US' intention to conduct military offensives against "breeding grounds of terrorism". This was immediately followed by the formalization of the Balikatan "joint training exercise" agreement and the deployment of 660 US troops to southwestern Philippines. These developments ignited the resolve of international social movements and peace organizations to inquire into the Philippine situation. It was then decided that a Peace Mission comprising of peace and human rights advocates, parliamentarians, conflict-resolution experts and scholars be sent to the Philippines to make an independent assessment of the social, political and economic consequences of the conflict in Basilan. The objectives of the Peace Mission to Basilan are: Peace Mission Delegates Aijaz Ahmad is an eminent Indian Muslim author and an expert on the cultural politics of Islam in South and Southeast Asia. He holds the Rajiv Gandhi Professorial Chair at the School of Social Sciences of the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and has published extensively on Islam and politics, Marxism and post-modern discourse. He authored early pioneering works on the Moro struggle in the Philippines and recently contributed to "Rebels, Warlords and Ulama", an analysis of the interplay of religious and political forces in Mindanao (IPD-PCIJ 2000). Walden Bello is a professor of sociology and public administration at the University of the Philippines, a prominent social activist and author of numerous works on the Philippine economy, poverty and globalization. He is the director of Focus on the Global South, a Fellow of the Transnational Institute and the national chairperson of Akbayan Citizens' Action Party. Victoria Brittain is a journalist and former Deputy Foreign Editor of The Guardian, based in London. She was a critical voice in the British Platform against the Gulf War. She is currently conducting a major report on Women and Conflict for the United Nations. She represents the Transnational Institute (Amsterdam) in the Peace Mission. Nicola Bullard is the deputy director of Focus on the Global South. She holds advanced degrees in international relations and development, education and urban sociology. She is a former chair of the Australian Council for Overseas Aid Human Rights Commission. Kraisak Choonavan is a member of the Thai senate and chairman of its standing committee on foreign affairs. A respected diplomat and peace advocate, he was one of the architects of the Cambodian peace process and was instrumental in the settlement of border disputes between Thailand and Laos. Before his election as senator, he was a professor of politics and economics at the prestigious Kasetsart and Chulalongkorn universities of Thailand for sixteen years. He is the son of former Thai Prime Minister Chatchai Choonavan. Earl Martin is a scholar on East Asia and an instructor at the Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. He lived in the Philippines for many years as the Philippine representative of the Mennonite Church. He is the author of "Reaching the Other Side: A Journal of Vietnam's Postwar Transition" (Crown 1978) and of various articles on peace struggles. Marco Mezzera is a senior at the Focus on the Global South and a specialist in Islam in Southeast Asia. Seiko Ohashi is the international coordinator of the Asian Rural Alternatives, a network of Asian rural women for food security and sustainable agriculture. She has spent many years in the Philippines as the liaison officer for the Japan Committee for the Negros Campaign, and is well versed in the history and dynamics of the struggle for land in rural Philippines. Lee Rhiannon is a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council (Greens Party). Before being elected into parliament, she worked in the social justice and environment movements of Australia for nearly three decades. In 1998, she headed AID/WATCH, an organization that monitors Australia's overseas aid program. She has covered the labor beat as a journalist and is a certified zoologist and botanist. A veteran campaigner for a wide range of social issues, she still runs training workshops on advocacy and campaign handling. Bill Rolston is a professor of sociology at the University of Ulster, Belfast. He has written extensively on Irish politics, society and culture and is a respected commentator on the struggle and conflict in Northern Ireland. He participated in the International Observers' Mission for the first Cambodian elections and more recently, in a similar mission to Bosnia Hertzogovina. Etta Rosales was an educator and a pioneer of the human rights movement in the Philippines before she entered the Philippine congress as the representative of Akbayan Citizens' Action Party. Since her first term as a member of Congress, she has earned much respect for her work as a progressive legislator and vocal critic of corruption and patronage politics. She now chairs the congressional Committee on Human, Civil and Political Rights. Pierre Rousset is a member of the European Parliament and a prominent social activist. His long involvement in international solidarity work has familiarized him with various struggles for democracy, equity and peace worldwide. Roland Simbulan is a professor of development studies and political economy at the University of the Philippines, Manila and national chairperson of the Nuclear Free Philippines Coalition. Over the last thirty years, he has been a leading figure in the struggle against American military intervention and nuclear facilities. He has authored four books on the US military facilities, Philippine-US security relations, Philippine foreign policy and CIA operations in the Philippines. Matti Wuori is a member of the European Parliament (EP) and its standing committees on foreign and legal affairs. He served as the Rapporteur of the EP's Human Rights Commission from 2000 to 2001 and as the vice president of the Joint Parliamentary Delegation for Estonia. An expert on constitutional, human rights and environment law, he is the president of Finland's International Commission of Jurists, a former president (1989-1992) of the Human Rights Committee of the Finnish Bar Association and a founding member of the European Academy of Human Rights. At various times during his distinguished career, he has been an advisor to South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, chairman of Greenpeace International and advisor to various international organizations, including Amnesty International and Doctors without Borders. He has lectured at a number of universities in Europe and the US, among them the University of Helsinki and the George Washington University. He has authored numerous studies and articles on human rights, governance, environment and legal issues.
About the Organisers Focus on the Global South The Transnational Institute (TNI) Institute for Popular Democracy Akbayan Citizen's Action Party |
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