QUOTE
Philippines: Vote on Expanding Muslim Self-Rule
People in the southern Philippines have voted in a referendum on extending Muslim self-rule to nearly a quarter of the country. But the bold government initiative is set to run aground due mainly to the wary Christian majority.
Less than half of the eligible voters turned out to vote in 15 provinces and 14 cities in the Mindanao region and Palawan island. They were to decide whether their areas should join the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), set up in 1989 with four provinces.
Attendance was 30 percentage points below the average for Philippine polls. Government officials blamed torrential rain and flooding but analysts believe the government's referendum was heading for defeat from the start. Perro de Jong´s interview with Joel Rocamoro of the Institute for Popular Democracy in the Philippines, 3´15"
"Intelligent" Move
On the eve of the poll, President Gloria Arroyo visited the south, telling residents that extending Muslim self-rule to a larger area was an "intelligent" alternative to demands by Muslim guerrilla groups for a separate state. President Arroyo has put efforts to defuse the separatist unrest in the country's south high on her agenda.
She called Tuesday's referendum as part of her campaign to extend Muslim autonomy. It comes a week after the government signed a truce with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, one of the main Muslim factions in the area.
The Philippines is a predominantly Roman Catholic country. On a total population of 76,5 million, there are five million Muslims, who regard Mindanao and adjacent isles as their ancestral homeland. But there, they have been reduced to a minority by migrations of rich Christian settlers which began in the 1950s and by the decades of separatist violence that followed.
In an attempt to defuse a campaign by militants for an Islamic state in the country's south, the ARMM was set up in 1989. For the past five years, it's been led by Muslim separatist chief Nur Misuari, the chairman of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) who abandoned his goal of secession in favour of autonomy when he signed a peace pact with Manila in 1996.
The area has failed to take off economically and its two million residents remain among the poorest in the country.
(Source: Reuters)
But with the referendum's official result expected to be out in a few days, the government has already lowered its expectations. An Arroyo spokesman conceded over the weekend that it would be an achievement if just two cities join the ARMM.
Stigmatised
The main reason for this is the country's Catholic majority's refusal to allow themselves to be used by the government to placate the Muslims. Besides, the ARMM has a bad name. It's stigmatised by separatist unrest and economic woes. Ruled by the former chief of the Moro National Liberation front, Nur Misuari, the area has been seething with revolts waged by other Muslim radicals. These include the fundamentalist Abu Sayyaf group with whom the government has refused to engage in talks. Most of the rebel groups have denounced the plebiscite as a government ploy to undercut their separatist dreams.
The basic problem underlying the religious tensions and the likely defeat of the plebiscite are the ARMM's huge economic problems. Covering 4 per cent of the country's territory, the area contributes just 0.9 per cent of national output. Much of the blame has gone to Nur Misuari's autonomous government, which has failed to win the support of the private sector. Abject poverty has radicalised many younger Muslims. All this has made the area unattractive to adjacent provinces and cities.
Foregone Conclusion
The outcome of Tuesday's referendum will therefore be a foregone conclusion. Without greater efforts to prop up the region's economy and measures to strengthen its autonomous leadership, the Arroyo government's plans to expand autonomy are destined to fail.
http://www.rnw.nl/hotspots/html/philippines010814.html
People in the southern Philippines have voted in a referendum on extending Muslim self-rule to nearly a quarter of the country. But the bold government initiative is set to run aground due mainly to the wary Christian majority.
Less than half of the eligible voters turned out to vote in 15 provinces and 14 cities in the Mindanao region and Palawan island. They were to decide whether their areas should join the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), set up in 1989 with four provinces.
Attendance was 30 percentage points below the average for Philippine polls. Government officials blamed torrential rain and flooding but analysts believe the government's referendum was heading for defeat from the start. Perro de Jong´s interview with Joel Rocamoro of the Institute for Popular Democracy in the Philippines, 3´15"
"Intelligent" Move
On the eve of the poll, President Gloria Arroyo visited the south, telling residents that extending Muslim self-rule to a larger area was an "intelligent" alternative to demands by Muslim guerrilla groups for a separate state. President Arroyo has put efforts to defuse the separatist unrest in the country's south high on her agenda.
She called Tuesday's referendum as part of her campaign to extend Muslim autonomy. It comes a week after the government signed a truce with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, one of the main Muslim factions in the area.
The Philippines is a predominantly Roman Catholic country. On a total population of 76,5 million, there are five million Muslims, who regard Mindanao and adjacent isles as their ancestral homeland. But there, they have been reduced to a minority by migrations of rich Christian settlers which began in the 1950s and by the decades of separatist violence that followed.
In an attempt to defuse a campaign by militants for an Islamic state in the country's south, the ARMM was set up in 1989. For the past five years, it's been led by Muslim separatist chief Nur Misuari, the chairman of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) who abandoned his goal of secession in favour of autonomy when he signed a peace pact with Manila in 1996.
The area has failed to take off economically and its two million residents remain among the poorest in the country.
(Source: Reuters)
But with the referendum's official result expected to be out in a few days, the government has already lowered its expectations. An Arroyo spokesman conceded over the weekend that it would be an achievement if just two cities join the ARMM.
Stigmatised
The main reason for this is the country's Catholic majority's refusal to allow themselves to be used by the government to placate the Muslims. Besides, the ARMM has a bad name. It's stigmatised by separatist unrest and economic woes. Ruled by the former chief of the Moro National Liberation front, Nur Misuari, the area has been seething with revolts waged by other Muslim radicals. These include the fundamentalist Abu Sayyaf group with whom the government has refused to engage in talks. Most of the rebel groups have denounced the plebiscite as a government ploy to undercut their separatist dreams.
The basic problem underlying the religious tensions and the likely defeat of the plebiscite are the ARMM's huge economic problems. Covering 4 per cent of the country's territory, the area contributes just 0.9 per cent of national output. Much of the blame has gone to Nur Misuari's autonomous government, which has failed to win the support of the private sector. Abject poverty has radicalised many younger Muslims. All this has made the area unattractive to adjacent provinces and cities.
Foregone Conclusion
The outcome of Tuesday's referendum will therefore be a foregone conclusion. Without greater efforts to prop up the region's economy and measures to strengthen its autonomous leadership, the Arroyo government's plans to expand autonomy are destined to fail.
http://www.rnw.nl/hotspots/html/philippines010814.html
but what about the lumad ancestral lands?
man, does arroyo always bargain with terrorists just like that hostage incident in iraq?
OOo...