AUSTRALIAN POLICING SKILLS CAN HELP BUILD PEACE IN THE SOUTHERN PHILIPPINES

Posted by on
When you consider the complexity of the Moro Islamic insurgency in the southern Philippines and the diverse motivations of the groups involved, it’s all too easy to be pessimistic about the prospects for a peaceful resolution to the 50-year conflict. The Islamic State–affiliated Abu Sayyaf Group, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), the Maute Group and the New People’s Army all appear more interested in mayhem than in peace.Despite the best efforts of these spoilers, peace and indeed cooperation between the Philippine national government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) are flourishing.

In July last year, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte signed the Bangsamoro Organic Law, which allowed for the establishment of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). The BARMM is composed of municipalities on Mindanao’s west coast and also encompasses the islands of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi in the Sulu and Celebes Seas. Its creation represents a major step towards a political solution to the long-running conflict in Mindanao.

Since the establishment of the BARMM, peace has broken out between the Philippine government and the MILF. Everywhere you look in the regional capital, Cotabato City, someone is building something. In the field, the MILF, aided by close air support from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), is pursuing terrorist groups.The success to date is causally linked to the multi-track approach being used to manage the security situation in the BARMM.

At the political level, the national government has established the BARMM Transition Authority, which is made up of members nominated by the government and the MILF. This has fostered greater cooperation and coordination between the MILF, the AFP and the Philippine National Police (PNP). At the same time, Duterte has pushed his ministers and the civil service to assist in normalising peace arrangements in the BARMM, including by making progressive changes in the way the security agencies function.

The AFP, while still maintaining a very visible presence, has removed itself from policing the community, despite the existence of martial law. It has shifted its efforts to maintaining continuous pressure on Abu Sayyaf, the New People’s Army and BIFF by ‘finding, fixing and finishing’ them. By relentlessly pursuing these groups, the AFP has denied them the opportunity to reorganise and plan attacks.


Sumber: aspistrategist.– 23 OCT 2019


FOLLOW US 👇
https://al-haqcentre.blogspot.com
https://twitter.com/alhaqcentre
https://instagram.com/alhaqcentre

"TOGETHER AGAINST EXTREMISM!"

Comments

Post a Comment