Referendum on Mindanao

I think it's the only solution. I'm puzzled as to why maam arroyo is not publicly pushing for this idea. Maam should try to implement it as soon as the trouble spots in Basilan and Sulu have calmed down.

eto po yung suggestion ko dati:

For lasting peace in Mindanao, accept the MILF's proposal to hold a referendum on Mindanao, supervised and monitored by the UN and the int'l community. Katulad ng nangyari sa East Timor. The areas in Mindanao where a majority of the population votes for separation will be included in the new Moro homeland. Once the results are out, everybody accepts the outcome. No more appeals.

From the Inquirer:

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) said it would propose the holding of a plebiscite with the aim of creating “a separate homeland (for Moros) in Mindanao.”

Eid Kabalu, MILF spokesperson, said the proposal, which would be coursed through the MILF peace panel, could be finalized as early as next year after the rebel group has finished a series of consultations with the Moro people and lumad communities.

One of the issues being asked in the consultations is ancestral domain, one of the two remaining issues confronting government and MILF negotiators.

The government and the MILF have been negotiating to resolve the decades-old Moro rebellion, which already claimed hundreds of thousands of lives since it first broke out in the 1960s.

Jun Mantawil, head of the MILF peace panel secretariat, said the MILF already met tribal leaders from Bukidnon, Columbio in Sultan Kudarat, the Davao provinces, and the Zamboanga Peninsula.

The result of the consultations would be presented when the peace negotiations resume.

“Legally and historically, Mindanao is the homeland of the Moro people,” Kabalu said when asked why the MILF still want a separate state.

However, he said the MILF is also willing to compromise on its demand for a separate republic for Moros in Mindanao.

Moro and indigenous peoples account for less than half of the population in Mindanao.

“We recognize that we are only minority.* Our proposal for a separate homeland will only be confined to areas where Moros are majority,” Kabalu said.

He said when the peace talks are concluded, areas with large Moro communities would also be asked if they are in favor of the agreement or not.

We would be foolish not to accept this offer, if this means lasting peace in Mindanao.

* Approximately 20.4 percent of the population of Mindanao is Muslim, according to the 2000 census.