The Impact of Militancy on Liberation Movement: The Case of Mindanao

Abstract

The conflict in the southern Philippines is regarded by many as one of the longest internal conflicts in the world. Beginning from the 16th century when Spanish colonial domination commenced, the conflict had persisted for five centuries. Recently, however, there are positive signs that this conflict will come to an end. On October 15, 2012, the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) signed the historic Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) in order to finally put an end to the decades-long conflict. Under the FAB, the Bangsamoro people will have a new political autonomy that will be called “Bangsamoro Government.” This will replace the existing autonomy in Mindanao, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). Malaysia, the third-party facilitator for more than a decade, played a significant role in the making of this landmark agreement. The research presented here has been undertaken with the objective of exploring various approaches in search for a lasting peace in Mindanao. It examines the impact of militancy in the quest for peace, starting from the Spanish era until the current administration. This research revisits how the Moros resisted the Spaniards and Americans during the colonial era, and the Philippine forces after independence. Although there were efforts by previous administrations to solve the conflict, they did not achieve lasting peace because the root causes of the conflict were not properly addressed. The researcher employed a document-based study and a historical-analytical method because the conflict is very much anchored in its history. Without this, readers could not understand the root causes of the problem and the historical development of the inclusion of Mindanao into the Philippines. The data for this study are collected from both primary and secondary sources such as books, articles, journals, newspapers, government reports, non-governmental organisations’ reports, policy statements, press releases, and signed-agreements.