Reflections on the Bangsa Moro

 

Today, I attended the Recognition Rites for the Graduates of the University of the Philippines - Institute of Islamic Studies in Diliman. One of the six graduates of the M.A. in Islamic Studies program is my cousin Andabae Abbas-Abbas.

 

The Guest Speaker was medical doctor Abdurahman Ututalum Amin, a top MNLF leader and President of the ADD-Tribal Party List. He talked on "Peace and Development from a ‘Critical Perspective’". The following are excerpts from his speech:

 

On September 2, 1996, the Final Peace Agreement (FPA) between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), with the active participation of the Organization of islamic Conference (OIC), was signed in Malacanang Palace.

The FPA was hailed as a landmark by practically the whole world, including the European Union and the United States of America. Most of all, it was welcomed by millions of suffering Bangsamoro as the long awaited solution to end decades of armed conflict. FPA was the only major peace agreement successfully brokered by the OIC. President Fidel Ramos and MNLF Chair Nur Misuari received the UNESCO Peace Prize (Felix Houphouet-Boigny) for the successful signing of FPA …

 The Agreement came after a quarter of a century of violent armed confrontation between the MNLF Mujaheedin and the Armed Forces of the Philippines with the collusion of the ILAGA, an Ilonggo para-military. Almost three million Moros were uprooted from their homes and livelihood; almost a million took refuge in Sabah, Malaysia; One hundred fifty thousand to two hundred thousand (150,000 - 200,000) died, mostly women, children and the elderly; 535 mosques demolished; 200 schools destroyed; 35 towns and barangays completely razed to the ground. The long and protracted conflict reduced the vibrant and dynamic Moro communities into abject poverty and lawlessness.

 A successful peace agreement in order to provide "peace dividends" has to implement its provisions to actually achieve peace and development to its intended beneficiary. This is the essence of any conflict resolution. But can we say solemnly the presence of tangible peace and development in the Bangsamoro homeland after the FPA in 1996? In one of the statements of Senator Santanina Rasul: "Muslims are still the poorest of the poor, the worst off in the country. Surely, that says something  about the progress (or lack of it) under the auspices of the 1996 FPA."

 The government; however, have chosen to focus on outputs, like for example thepassage of the ARMM Organic Law (RA 9054) and EO 371 but the MNLF asserts that RA 9054 has become the greatest stumbling block towards the correct implementation of the agreement. The MNLGF and the OIC have not participated in the crafting of RA 9054. It is contrary to the letter and spirit of the 1976 Tripoli Agreement and 1996 FPA. Many of its provisions are in violation of the(se) two agreements…

 In the assesment of the success of the peace agreement, the MNLF and other stakeholders look at the outcomes, which is (are) Peace and Development. In the words of President Ramos: "Statistical data show what all of us know: that Muslim Mindanao continues to suffer from abject poverty and underdevelopment.

 It is very clear, there is no meaningful peace and development. There are no "peace dividends" as the result of the 1996 FPA. The former president admitted…that abject poverty and underdevelopment prevail in Muslim Mindanao  after almost 13 years of the 1996 Final Peace Agreement.

 Peace Agreements do not always lead to peace…As a matter of fact, 7 out of 10 peace agreements end up failing. Eighty-three (83)peace agreements were signed by the warring parties from 1989-2004.

 There is an increasing need for politically negotiated settlements in order to attain peace and development…and avoid pitfalls to ensure success in implementation.

 It is sad to conclude that the 1996 FPA FAILED. Unless the government, the MNLF and the other stakeholders will seriously come together to salvage what’s left of it.

 

 

While many are still talking of the aborted Memo of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) between the GRP and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), it behooves us to look into the 1996 FPA, which is a much larger (in scope and powers) and more comprehensive agreement than the MOA-AD.

 

If the 1976 Tripoli Agreement and the 1996 Final Peace Agreement are failures, why would anyone harbor any hopes for any future agreement between the GRP and the MILF?

 

 

Was the Abu Sayyaf hostage, Andreas Notter of Switzerland, released by the kidnappers or rescued by the Philippine military? The country’s 3 leading newspapers differ on the matter. The Philippine Daily Inquirer says he was released while the Philippine Star and Manila Bulletin say he was rescued.

 

Does it matter? Of course it matters. If the Swiss captive was rescued by a daring maneuver of the Philippine Army, then it means that the government is still a fully functioning government that can protect the lives of people in the country. If he was "released", then it merely confirms allegations that the Philippines is a failing, if not a failed state.

 

Wikipedia defines FAILED STATES as:  "a state perceived as having failed at some of the basic conditions and responsibilities of a sovereign government."

 

The primary characteristic of failed states is "loss of physical control of its territory, or of the monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force therein". Another characteristic of a failed state is its "inability to provide reasonable public services."

 

The public services in the Philippines is anything BUT reasonable. But it is the first characteristic that this essay is concerned with. If the hostage, Mr. Notter, was merely released, then, basing on previous experiences with the Abu Sayyaf, one can only conclude that the release of the hostage was the quo for some quid. The quid, of course, comes not in pounds but in pesos or dollars.

 

DARING RESCUE BY POLICE AND CIVILIANS

 

The Philippine Star reported a chase and rescue operation:

 SWISS HOSTAGE RESCUED

ZAMBOANGA CITY , Philippines  – One of two foreign Red Cross workers held captive by Abu Sayyaf in Sulu was rescued by combined security forces early yesterday.

Swiss national Andreas Notter was rescued unharmed after police forces and civilian volunteers gave chase to a group of Abu Sayyaf gunmen trying to spirit him out of the security cordon near Indanan town, Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno told a news conference yesterday.

 

For three months, the Philippine military could not rescue the hostages (one was voluntarily released in April), yet now, it only needed the local town police and CIVILIAN volunteers to rescue one hostage.

 

INQUIRER VERSION

 

The Philippines Daily Inquirer, the least controlled newspaper in the land, has this report:

EX HOSTAGE TO RETURN TO SWITZERLAND TUESDAY

MANILA, Philippines — Swiss Andreas Notter, who was released by Abu Sayyaf bandits last Saturday, is set to return to his home country on Tuesday, after a brief stop in Manila, an official of the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) said.

 

The Inquirer has a longer report on the matter (Click here). And it is more revealing. In this report Swiss hostage walks free: But Abus still hold ailing ICRC worker, the report had this to say about the hostage himself:

Notter himself told reporters yesterday in Jolo, Sulu that he was “still a little bit confused how it happened” because “everything happened very quickly.”

…Notter, 37, recalled walking with his captors but not how authorities got hold of him.

“I walked out, and I’m happy to be alive and safe,” he said.

 

As Notter himself said, he simply "walked out." Yet, according to the same report, Notter "had difficulty walking even with a cane". In fact, he could not even recall how he was rescued!

 

The report went on to say:

 "Chief Superintendent Felizardo Serapio, chief of integrated police operations for Western Mindanao, said Notter was rescued yesterday morning “near an established cordon” in the town of Indanan by militiamen – the Civilian Emergency Force – and the Indanan police."

“Actually, I don’t have a clear picture yet; everything is still garbled,” Serapio admitted.

 

The police general himself (note that police generals in Muslim Mindanao are Christians) admitted that he didn’t have a clear picture. And, according to him, civilian militiamen and the local town police (presumably all Moros) were the ones who did the "rescue". 

 

Even the military general did not know what happened. According to the Inquirer:

Lieutenant General Nelson Allaga, chief of the Western Mindanao Command, also said Notter was found in Indanan.

“I’m not sure what barangay (village). Whether he was recovered, released or rescued, that I cannot say,” Allaga said.

 

A military spokesman said that Mr. Notter was "recovered" by the local police and civilian militia. The local security units then "recognized" Mr. Notter so they brought him to the governor’s house.

Lieutenant Colonel Edgard Arevalo, spokesman of the Task Force ICRC, said it was around 5:30 a.m. yesterday when Notter was recovered by members of the Siasi police and the Civilian Emergency Force in the vicinity of Barangays Katian and Mangilop in Indanan, a few minutes away from Jolo.

He said the civilian volunteers, who recognized Notter, immediately brought him to Governor Tan’s house.

 

THE GOVERNOR’S COMIC TALE

 

The governor had an interesting story. According to the report:

Tan said that earlier, Notter’s captors learned of the presence of soldiers around 500 meters away from where they were. He said that since the soldiers were in a vantage position, the Abu Sayyaf decided to evade them.

But the Abu Sayyaf stumbled on a group of police and militiamen, and fled in another direction, Tan said.

During the rush, Tan said, Notter was able to run in the direction of the police and the militiamen.

 

The Abu Sayyaf had withstood the Philippine military’s firepower for years. With the millions of dollars the group had accumulated through their years of kidnappings and banditry, one can presume that they have enough firepower to sustain their clandestine operations. Yet, according to Gov. Tan, these hardcore bandits were so scared upon seeing the military that they immediately ran towards another direction and when they "stumbled" upon a group of local police and militia, they immediately ran away and in their haste (and probably stupidity and cowardice), they even forgot to bring their hostage with them.

 

And again, Gov. Tan and the military wants us to believe that Mr. Notter, who was held captive for around three months, with barely anything to eat, and who could hardly walk with a cane (according to a witness), was able to run away from the bandits and into the loving arms of the police and militia.

 

THE REAL VERSION?

 

The Inquirer interviewed a member of that brave group of CIVILIAN militia. If anything, his version sounds like the real thing:

 

But according to a leader of the civilian volunteers who said he was one of those who collected Notter, the Swiss national was released by the Abu Sayyaf in Barangay Lipunos in Parang town close to midnight on Friday.

The volunteers initially thought the man they had was Vagni, said the source, who asked not to be named for lack of authority to speak on the matter.

“It was near midnight. We were mobilized toward Parang. We thought there was an operation. When we got there, a group of armed men met us and turned over a foreigner to us. We did not know who the armed men were,” the source said on the phone.

He said the foreigner carried a bag that contained his belongings.

“We were helping him because he had difficulty walking even with a cane. We thought he was Vagni,” the source said.

It was only yesterday morning that he realized that the foreigner was Notter, the source said

Asked whether Notter was rescued, as Serapio had claimed, the source said the foreigner was released and that no tension occurred between his group and that of the armed men.

 

CONCLUSION

 

From the Inquirer report, it seems obvious that Mr. Notter was not rescued at all. He was simply released by the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG). And since like any kidnap-for-ransom gangs, especially the very successful ones, the ASG does not release hostages for nothing. For so many years now, despite the government’s declared no-ransom policy, ransom payments to the group have been documented, alleged, sworn to, etc.

 

Despite the massive budget of the military, the militarization (military occupation) of Muslim Mindanao, all the government propaganda about its success in the "War on Terror", the various military operations — codenamed this and codenamed that — the Abu Sayyaf still does its kidnappings and even acts of beheading with impunity. 

 

The case of the Abu Sayyaf Group proves that there is "loss of physical control of its territory, or of the monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force therein" in the country.

 

But the ASG is not the only one using force with impunity. The local vigilantes in Davao, the killers of the hundreds or thousands of desaparecidos all over the country. And of course, the more "legitimate" ones; namely, there’s the New People’s Army, the Moro National Liberation Front and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

 

Add to that the failure of the government to provide REASONABLE BASIC PUBLIC SERVICES, then perhaps one can conclude that the Philippines is indeed a failing, if not FAILED, STATE.

 

RECOMMENDATION

 

The government and the public should stop pretending that the Philippines is a fully functioning republic. We all know that we do not have a rule of law but a rule of men. The justice system is skewed in favor of the rich and politically powerful. There is no jury system. Judges and justices can be bought and there are many documented cases and scandals on that. Just hiring lawyers already requires a huge cash flow.

 

The election process is anything but democratic. Even the proposed automated systems have been shown to be easily manipulated. 

 

In the past decades, the world’s economy was booming — growing by leaps and bounds. Yet the Philippine government was jumping up and down in glee when the country’s GDP went up a little beyond 7% about two years ago - its highest since the 1970s during Martial Law. With that GDP, other Asian countries like India and China, would cry and panic — not jump for joy.

 

The government and the people should realize that before the country becomes a totally failed state like Somalia, Sudan, Lebanon, East Timor, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, we must do something about it. We even send Filipinos to work in failed states (according to the Fund for Peace’s Failed States Index) like Lebanon and Syria. Lebanon and Syria could very well ask us, "Who’s the failed state?".

 

PEACE FIRST

 

Without peace, there can never be a fully functioning Philippines. The ‘no war-no peace’ situation is not an option. If there is real peace in Mindanao and elsewhere, half the budget of the military could be spent elsewhere — in education, housing, building infrastructure, etc.

 

With peace, investments, both local and foreign, can come in — in droves. With peace, tourism can flourish. With peace comes goodwill. And the prospect for progress and development would be very bright.

 

With peace, the government and the people can concentrate on other very important matters like the election process, education, the justice system, employment, etc.

 

And perhaps with peace, we can bring back the MERIT SYSTEM in our schools, offices, businesses, politics, government, both houses of Congress, etc.  It is only with the Merit System that we can get rid of the drug lords, jueteng lords, entertainment stars, wheeler-dealers, scam artists and their ilk ruling our government, our Congress (including the Senate), our judiciary, our schools, our companies, etc. 

 

The Fund For Peace rated 35 countries as Failed States. The Philippines comes in the next 25 with a Failed State Index of 83.4. This means that the Philippines is a FAILING STATE. 

 

We must not wait to be listed in the top 35.

 

 

With the news headlines proclaiming that former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and/or former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan might mediate between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the current political opposition, including its Moro spokespersons, insists that the Moro issue is an internal problem of the Filipinos and thus should be solved without foreign meddling. Their proposition is completely without basis. The Moro issue has always been, and will always be, an international concern.

 

The United States of America claimed the Philippine Islands by virtue of the Treaty of Paris in 1898 wherein Spain ceded the Philippine Islands as well as Cuba, Puerto Rico and other territories like Guam.

 

SPAIN HAD NO RIGHT TO CEDE MOROLAND

 

But the treaty itself is problematic because Spain did not have sovereignty over Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan. Spain, for 350 years, had not conquered or colonized Moroland. The Sultanate of Sulu claimed sovereignty over Sulu, Basilan, Tawi-Tawi, Zamboanga and North Borneo (Sabah). The Sultanate of Maguindanao and the Rajaship of Buayan claimed sovereignty over most of Mindanao including the Davao area and the Caraga area. The Maranao Confederacy claimed sovereignty over the Lanao area and its environs.

 

For those with a fetish for documents can see all the treaties signed by the Moro sultanates with the European powers (Dutch, British, French and Spanish) through the centuries and even one signed between the Americans and the Sulu Sultanate before 1898.

 

In 1898, Spain had actual possession of only a few forts in Mindanao. In the aftermath of the Philippine (Katipunan) revolution, the Moros, especially the Buayanens led by Datu Utto and Datu Ali, had their heyday shooing away the Spaniards from Moroland.

 

BATES TREATY

 

The Bates Treaty between the US and Sulu was signed in 1899. This proves that the US did not regard the Treaty of Paris as sufficient basis to come to Sulu.

 

Madge Kho (The Bates Treaty) says that the Tausug version of the treaty states: “The support, aid, and protection of the Jolo Island and Archipelago are in the American nation" but was deliberately mis-translated into English as "The sovereignty of the United States over the whole Archipelago of Jolo and its dependencies is declared and acknowledged." Ms. Kho wrote:

Najeeb Saleeby, an American of Lebanese descent who was assigned to Mindanao and Sulu, caught the translation flaws and charged Charlie Schuck, son of a German businessman, for deliberately mistranslating the treaty. Schuck was acquitted of all legal charges. Whether mistranslated, the wording of the treaty provided the justification for the U.S. decision to incorporate the Sulu Archipelago into the Philippine state in 1946.

 

THE AMERICAN OCCUPATION

 

Partly through their mailed fist policy, partly through their policy of attraction, the Americans were able to gain dominion over Moroland. But throughout the American occupation, Moro rebellion sprouted all over the place.

 

When the Christianized Filipinos started campaigning for Philippine independence, the Moros petitioned the American powers in the Philippines, the US Congress and the US President for either INDEPENDENCE SEPARATE from the Christian Filipinos or for Moroland to remain as American protectorate.

 

In my blog article Bangsa Moro Conflict - Historical Antecedents and Present Impact 

I wrote:

 QUOTE

During the American Occupation, the great majority of the Moros fought for independence through peaceful and even violent means. And they repeatedly communicated their desire for Independence. And if they could not have Independence, they would rather be with the Americans than with the Filipinos.

The Wood-Forbes Commission Report of 1922 stated:

“The Moros are a unit against independence and are united for continuance of American control and, in case of separation of the Philippines from the US, desire their portion of the Islands to be retained as American territory under American control. The pagans and non-Christians, constituting 10% of the population, are for continued American control. They want peace and security, These the Americans have given them.”

 

Countering Filipino propaganda that the Americans simply wanted to grab the lands of the Moros, Datu Gumbay Piang of Buayan declared in a speech in 1926 that the Moros “would be between two fearful and objectionable daggers – American at the one side and Filipino at the other. As a defenseless people they would have no alternative but choose which dagger would be less injurious. And, funny to say, they have already, since long ago, chosen the American dagger.”

 

With the intensified fight for Philippine Independence led by Manuel L. Quezon, the Moros sent various petitions to the US President and the US Congress. On June 9, 1921, the Moros of Sulu sent a petition to the US government which stated:

“We are independent for 500 years. Even Spain failed to conquer us. If the U.S. quits the Philippines, and the Filipinos attempt to govern us, we will fight.”

 

On February 4, 1924, another petition to the US Congress was signed by more than 100 datus led the Maguindanao Sultan Mangigin. The petition in part reads:

“…In the event that the United States grant independence to the Philippine Islands without provision for our retention under the American flag, it is our firm intention and resolve to declare ourselves an independent Constitutional sultanate to be known to the world as Moro Nation….”

The Moros found sympathetic ears in the US Congress. On May 6, 1926, Congressman Robert L. Bacon of New York gave a stirring speech in support of the Moros. He said:

“Their (the Moros’) so-called representation in the Philippine Legislature is a farce and a mockery. They are deliberately denied any share or participation in the government. They have no elective representatives…They have no magistrates, no judges, no public prosecutor drawn from their own people. And the guardians of law and order in their region – constabulary – are practically drawn from the ranks of their hereditary enemies – the Filipinos. The Filipinos are their lawmakers, their governors, their judges, their persecutors and their policemen. To these conditions the Moros respond by giving nothing but hate and unwilling submission.”

 

Some 75 years later, and the Moros find themselves still with no representation in the Senate, very few judges, and the guardians of law and public order – the military and police– are still practically drawn from the ranks of the Filipinos. Congressman Bacon added:

“The Philippine Islands are divided into two very distinct areas – the Christian provinces and the Mohammedan territory….These two regions belong to different and opposed civilizations – the Christian world and Islam.”

 

Congressman Bacon sponsored a bill that would retain Mindanao and Sulu in the event of Philippine independence. Other similar bills – the Roger, Cooper and Kies bills – were also deliberated in the US Congress.

 

During the deliberations of the 1935 Constitutional Convention, 189 ranking Maranao datus sent an appeal to the US Government through the Governor-General that stated:

…With regard to the forthcoming Philippine independence, we foresee that the condition will be characterized by unrest, suffering and misery…

One more discriminatory act of our Christian Filipino Associates is shown in the recent constitution of the Philippine Commonwealth. In that constitution, no provision whatsoever is made that would operate for the welfare of the Moros…the (provision of the) constitution are all for the welfare of the Christian Filipinos and nothing for the Moros. As proof of this, our delegate did not sign the constitution.

We do not want to be included in the Philippine Independence (for) once an independent Philippines is launched there will be trouble between us and the Christian Filipinos because from time immemorial these two peoples have not lived harmoniously. …It is not proper for two antagonizing peoples live together under Philippine Independence.

 

The Dansalan Declaration, as it came to be known went on to say that the Maranaos would rather “drown in the lake” than be included in the Philippine Independence.

 END QUOTE

 

MYTH OF ONE FILIPINO PEOPLE

 

In the 1456-page book of Nicholas Tarling, The Cambridge History of Southeast Asia, he wrote:

Filipino nationalists, accusing the Americans of pursuing a divide-and-rule policy in the south, promoted the notion that Christians and Muslims alike constituted the Filipino people, and encouraged united action against colonial rule. (p.300)

 

This was the start of the One-Nation-One-People myth consistently being promoted by the Christian majority throughout the existence of the Philippine Commonwealth and Philippine Republic. This is now being bandied about by the political opposition and their Moro cohorts in insisting that the Moro issue is an internal matter, i.e., a matter than concerns only the Filipinos.

 

This myth was further boosted by the Americans themselves, who, according to Tarling (p.300):

…generally accepted this argument, adopting the idea that the Moros were (according to Frank Carpenter, then Governor of the Department of Mindanao and Sulu)  ‘substantive Filipinos’, who had no national thought and were likely to come to ‘increasing and eventual homogeneity with the highly civilized Filipino type”, producing a national existence in which religious distinctions were immaterial.

 

The experience of the country since its independence has shown the utter falsity of the “Filipino” myth.

The great majority of the Moros never became “substantive Filipinos”; they yearned for their own national identity (as represented by the MIM, MNLF, MILF, BMLO, etc. and even the Sultanates and Datuships); and, they never became homogenized into the Filipino psyche.

 

But worse, Moro lands were declared public domain and distributed to Christians from Luzon and Visayas; Moro customs and traditions such as communal land ownership, leadership structures and even marriages were made illegitimate or illegal. There is near total control of the country’s politics and economy by the Christian majority.

 

THE QUESTION OF SABAH

 

In 1658, the Sultan of Borneo ceded Sabah and Palawan to the Sultan of Sulu as payment for the latter’s help in the dynastic war in Borneo.

 

On Jan. 22, 1878, the Sultan Jamal ul Azam of Sulu granted "pajak" (lease or trade monopoly) to Baron von Overbeck over Sabah or North Borneo.

 

The ownership of the Sulu Sultanate over Sabah was never questioned until the grant of Independence to the Malayan states.

 

In my online article Who Owns Sabah?  , I wrote:

Although the Philippines became independent in 1946 and Mindanao and Sulu were included in the Republic, Manila’s hold on the South was tenuous. It practically had no idea that Sabah belonged to Sulu. Or if it did, it made no action whatsoever to include Sabah to the Philippines. In 1957 England granted its Malay colonies independence and the Sulu royals, along with the Indonesian government, protested immediately. It was only then that the new Philippine Republic faced the Sabah issue.

In 1961, Malaysia invited Singapore and Sabah to join the federation. The Sulu royalty again protested. The Sulu royals granted the Philippine President, Diosdado Macapagal, the authority to claim Sabah. Macapagal promptly opposed the Sabah annexation and sent a delegation to London. But neither Indonesia nor the Philippines could do anything because England declared that, with all its might, it stood firmly behind the creation of Malaysia. The US refused to back up Philippine claims and Indonesia had no one to turn to.
President Marcos tried to get Sabah by hook or by crook but it ended with the fiasco now known as the Jabidah massacre, which inspired the Moros to resume the Moro Wars in the early 1970s. One of the results of the ‘70s Moro Wars was the displacement of about half a million Moros to Sabah.

Despite Sabah’s annexation to the Malaysian Federation and Sulu’s inclusion in the Philippine Republic, the State of Sabah continues to pay annual rent to the Sulu royals as specified in the1878 lease, which now amounts to a mere token. The Sulu royalty since 1957 refuses to accept the annual rent although it receives the letters of payment.

REVOCATION

In 1989, Sultan Jamal ul-Kiram III sent a formal notice to the Philippine government revoking the Sultanate’s authorization to the Philippine government to claim Sabah. In a press conference on September 4 at the Sulo hotel, Sultan Jama ul-Kiram III reiterated its revocation of the Philippine government’s authority to negotiate for Sabah.

 

The Sabah issue, which is very much part of the Bangsa Moro issue, is inherently international.

 

RISE OF INDEPENDENCE MOVEMENTS

 

By the late 1960s, practically all Moro leaders of all political stripes and ethnic groups realized that the very existence of the Bangsa Moro was in danger. After the 1969 national elections, Moro political leaders from Lucman and Dimaporo in Lanao to the Sinsuats and Pendatun in Cotabato and the political leaders of Sulu had to raise their own private armies to fight the rampaging Christian vigilantes supported by the Philippine Army and Constabulary.

 

The Mindanao Independence Movement, the Bangsa Moro Liberation Organization, the Union of Islamic Forces and Organizations, etc. were formed.

 

Lanao Congressman Rashid Lucman initiated talks with then Sabah’s Chief Minister Tun Mustapha regarding the formation of a Moro separatist movement. The Malaysian multi-millionaire was tasked to be responsible for the funding of the movement.

 

In 1972, Macapanton Abbas, Jr. went to the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) in Jeddah and presented the Bangsa Moro case to the OIC Secretary-General Tunku Abdul Rahman, former Prime Minister of Malaysia. (See Salah Jubair, A Nation Under Endless Tyranny, pp. 152-153) The participation of the OIC, which is composed of 57 countries, makes the Moro issue definitely international. (See my post War in Moroland (Last Phase) by Jun Abbas)

 

During Martial Law, Moro revolutionary leaders were based abroad and campaigned internationally for the Moro cause. Nur Misuari was based in Libya, Hashem Salamat was based in Pakistan and Jun Abbas was based in Saudi Arabia.

 

In the late 1970s, Abbas, Lucman and former Senator Salipada Pendatun traveled to Europe and other Muslim countries to campaign for the Moro Cause. In 1985, Abbas and Dimas Pundato traveled to Europe and the US, including talks in the White House and Pentagon, to promote the Bangsa Moro Cause.

 

The Tripoli Agreement of 1976 signed in Libya and the Jakarta Accord of 1996 signed in Indonesia between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) were both held under the aegis of the OIC.

 

The aborted Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) between the GRP and the MILF was scheduled to be signed in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia under the auspices of the Malaysian government.

 

International personalities and members of the international diplomatic corps, including the US Ambassador to the Philippines, were already in Kuala Lumpur to witness the formal signing of the MOA–AD.

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

Those who say that the Moro issue is a purely Filipino affair are greatly mistaken. The Bangsa Moro issue has always been, and will always be, an international concern.

 

The Moro issue involves the U.S. because it was the one that made the Moros and the Indios (Christian Filipinos) live together in one country called the Republic of the Philippines.The "One Filipino Nation" was actually an American experiment, which has catastrophic results for the Moros and quite destructive results for the Indios and no great prospects for both.

 

The Moro issue involves Malaysia because of Sabah. It also involves Great Britain because the lease was made in favor of the British government’s trading arm, the British East India Company. And it was Britain that gave independence to Sabah and practically created the country now known as Malaysia.

 

The Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), which is composed of 57 member states, has made the Moro issue their concern.

 

Moros who think that the Christian Filipinos will concede an inch of territory or an iota of power to the Moros without international pressure are either too young to know about the Mindanao Conflict or are simply ignorant of Philippine history and geopolitics. It must be noted that every concession obtained by the Moros from the Philippine government was paid for by so much blood, sweat and tears of both the Muslim and Christian Filipinos.

              

 

 

The physics that people of our generation studied in high school and college is not the same as physics today. In fact, most high school and college students of today still study the Old Physics because their teachers know no better. Most of us still know only of two elementary forces – the electromagnetic force and gravity. Most of us believe that the tiniest particles in the universe are the subatomic particles electron, neutron and protons. And most of us believe there are only 4 dimensions including Time.

In my article Magic of Science published in Mr. Ms. Magazine (July-Aug 2008), I wrote:

 

The 20th century was greeted by the theories of Quantum Mechanics and General Relativity, the twin pillars of the New Paradigm…

…Moreover, Heisenberg discovered that one could not observe the particle with certainty. There is simply no instrument, even theoretically speaking, that could measure both a particle’s momentum and position. This is the famous Uncertainty Principle. In addition, the very act of observation affects the experiment.

By the first quarter of the 20th century, it was clear that the death of Physics was not at hand. Rather, it was the end of Newtonian physics.

Einstein proved that all measurements are correct only relative to a frame of reference…

…The new physics is a physics of possibilities, of tendencies, of relativity – not of absolutes. The experimenter affects the experiment. Philosophically, this means that the observer and the observed are interactive, inseparable. And not everything can be explained completely. Light does not have to be either a particle or a wave. It could be both. Or it could be neither. We simply do not have the proper instruments to determine the exact properties of light. In the same vein, man could be body, mind or spirit or maybe something else.

With a quantum jump, subatomic particles can disappear from one place and reappear in another without crossing the intervening distance… Results of quantum experiments support the idea that everything in the Universe is interconnected.

FUNDAMENTAL FORCES

Gravity is the universal fundamental force affecting all bodies while Electromagnetism acts between electrically-charged particles. The physicists at the end of the 19th century thought gravity and electromagnetism were the only fundamental forces that make the universe work.

Through quantum mechanics, the physicists discovered that protons and neutrons are not elementary particles. They are composed of still tinier particles called quarks and gluons. The physicists also discovered a host of other elementary particles. The study of these particles introduced two more fundamental forces - the weak nuclear force and the strong nuclear force. These forces are responsible for the interaction of these extremely tiny elementary particles.

While quantum theory paved the way for the discovery of numerous subatomic particles, the relativity theory enabled astrophysicists to discover more stars, clusters of galaxies, supernovae and even discover (or mathematically construct) concepts such as black holes, wormholes, voids and dark matter.

SUPERSTRINGS THEORY

However, particle physicists and astrophysicists reached a dilemma. Gravity is impossible in Quantum theory while it is inevitable in General Relativity theory. Fortunately, Superstrings came to the rescue. The superstrings theory allowed gravity in the quantum world with a new particle called graviton.

The physicists say that the universe started with the Big Bang. But the Big Bang, the very beginning of the universe, was a singularity – a zone of infinite temperature and density and zero mass. But in such a zone, the laws of Physics cannot apply. Again, the magic of Superstrings theory somehow resolved the mathematical difficulties.

In the superstrings theory, the universe is made of subatomic particles even tinier than the elementary particles called quarks, the basic building blocks of matter. They are called strings, billions of times tinier than an atom. (Others say strings are actually quarks in a particular state). These minute energies vibrate like violin strings and cause complex harmonics which create the electrons, neutrinos and other elementary particles which the universe is composed of.

From numerous superstrings theories, the physicists whittled them down to five. But in Physics, there should only be one theory for one phenomenon. And so came the M-theory, which seems to have unified the five superstrings theories and validated both quantum and relativity theories.

With the M-theory, physicists can resolve the very beginning of our universe – the moment of the Big Bang. M-theory also tries to unify all the four fundamental forces of nature, that is, reduce the four forces into one. The cosmos and the subatomic world will be described by one general unified theory. Thus, the M-theory is sometimes called the “theory for everything” or the “mother of all theories”. Proving this theory is every physicist’s dream.

According to the M-theory, there are eleven dimensions and not just the four that we are accustomed to (3-dimensional space plus the time dimension). And, there is probably more than one universe.

 

This rather long digression on physics is cited to illustrate that the world we are living in is much more complex than the one described by Newtonian physics. This has ramifications in the field of philosophy and all other fields of knowledge, especially in Politics and Leadership.

 

In this new paradigm, action is voluntary. Persons are self-moving and one cannot predict behavior based on outside variables. For example, nobody believed that anyone could beat the very popular Fernando Poe, Jr, much less by the unpopular sitting president. But it happened, by whatever means.

 

For one thing, no one could have predicted that the late Poe, Jr., a long-time movie superstar, would be very unpopular to the media people during the presidential campaign.

 

The new paradigm indicates that Knowledge is created socially. People in the old paradigm believe that the Philippines is a homogeneous state composed of one people, one nation, one culture (whose national hero is Rizal, national language is Tagalog but called Pilipino, national dress is Barong Tagalog for males and baro’t saya for females, national tree is Narra, national flower is sampaguita, etc.)

 

Benedict Anderson (1983) and other writers state that nations are nothing but “imagined communities”.  Wilson and Dissanayake (1996) says: “The nation-state, in effect, having been shaped into an ‘imagined community’ of coherent modern identity through warfare, religion, blood, patriotic symbology and language…”

 

The Philippine nation-state project was able to convince the Ilocanos, Ilonggos, Cebuanos, Bicolanos, etc. that they belong to the “Filipino nation”. But it simply did not and does not work with the Moros who have a long history of being nations themselves – nations forged through “warfare, blood, patriotic symbology and language”.

 

In the alternative thought, theories are considered historical. This means that the theories reflect the settings and time they were created. Many Filipinos believe in the "theory" of the sacredness of the nation-state called Philippines. In this theory, the Republic of the Philippines must forever be made intact, centrally-planned with all powers emanating from Manila, that the Christian majority must always dominate all aspects of economic and political power, etc. These are the same people who believe that the 1987 Constitution, which was framed by a bunch of mostly old politicians handpicked by then President Cory Aquino, is sacrosanct.

 

In this paradigm, theories themselves affect the “reality” they are covering. In science, this means that the experimenter affects the experiment. Sociologically and psychologically, this means that the ideas of individuals like Ms. Aquino affect their surroundings. Thus, they see only what they want to see.

 

The new paradigm recognizes that all theories are value-laden. Theories are never neutral. The Philippine Constitution, be they of the 1935, 1973 or 1987 variety, was never neutral. They are laden with values held dearly by their framers – most of whom were non-Moros.

 

NEW PARADIGM OF POWER AND POLITICS

 

As I have written in other articles, the paradigm of Power and Politics must reflect the new paradigm of Science.

 

Human as Conqueror vs. Human as part of surroundings

 

In the old paradigm, man thinks of himself as conqueror of nature, including other people. Since the 1935 Commonwealth, the Indios (the Christianized natives of the Philippine Islands) believe themselves to be conqueror of Moros by thinking themselves to be descendants of Spaniards or allies of the Americans.

 

Since the grant of Philippine independence in 1946, the Indios acted as conquerors of Moros and Moroland. They have denuded the forests of Mindanao through massive logging activities and they exploited Moroland’s natural resources and gave away Moro lands to Indio homesteaders, immigrants, carpetbaggers, etc.. They have made by law all Moroland as public (meaning Indio) domain.

 

This situation could not last. The Indios must regard themselves not as conquerors of Moros, Igorots, etc. but as part of the Philippine society which includes the cultural minorities.

 

Change through Authority vs. Change through Consensus

 

The Indios must not impose change through authority. There must be consensus. When the government tried to create consensus through negotiations with the MILF, Indios like Mr. Pinol, Mr. Roxas and Mr. Drilon rallied the Christian Filipino people to stop the agreement. Using the Senate and the Supreme Court, they again imposed their will to maintain the status quo.

 

The government bowed down to the wishes of people like Mr. Pinol and imposed a DDR (Disarmament, Demobilization and Rehabilitation) policy with Moro armed groups. There can be no peace with DDR. And the government, as well as all thinking people, knows that.

 

Centralized vs. Decentralized government

 

The “old-paradigmers” still insist that governments should have strong centralized government with a vertical power structure. This way, the elites (many of them upstarts) can control everything from Manila.

 

But now is the time for de-centralized form of government. There must be a horizontal distribution of power. In a multicultural society, this is imperative.

 

A federal form of government with greater regional autonomy is the way of the future. The European Union is the primary example. Perhaps it is time for a Philippine Union with an Ilocano State, Ilonggo State, Maranao State, Maguindanao/Buayan State, Tagalog State, etc. This way, not almost everything will go to the Tagalogs. Each state can spend its revenues for the benefit of its people. On the other hand, the people will have the motivation to work well and avoid corruption so as to help its state be better than other Philippine Union states. There would be friendly competition and mutual cooperation among states. There would be lasting peace, too.

 

Power against others vs. Power with Others

 

In this century, people must stop thinking of having power OVER others. It is time to think about sharing Power WITH others. Politics need not be a win-lose situation. It can be a WIN-WIN situation.

 

If Moros will have the right to determine its destiny, there will be peace in Mindanao and other islands and prosperity will come to the WHOLE Philippines, to all its inhabitants as investments can flow in, tourists will come and people can engage in productive activities.

 

Vested Interests vs. Respect for Others’ Autonomy

 

The old paradigm of vested interests, Machiavellian machinations and Power brokers must stop. In the recent US presidential elections, Barack Obama campaigned against the lobbyists whose principals with vested interests have controlled the US politics for a long time. Obama’s victory hopefully meant the defeat of the vested interests. And hopefully, the Philippine power brokers would soon realize that their days of glory are over,

 

In the 21^st century, more and more nations will realize that they have to respect the autonomy of others for a better life for all.

 

Party/Issue-oriented vs. Paradigm-oriented

 

Barack Obama issued the clarion call for Change in his presidential campaign. He said he did not want to be the President of the Blue States (Democrats) but the President of the Blues and the Reds, i.e., of all Americans. And his central theme was for a Paradigm-Change. He called for a stop to the Climate of Fear and freedom from the powers of vested interests (lobbyists).

 

In the Philippines, parties and issues have long been in the background in political elections. Vested interests and individual popularity are the rules of the game. In this century, politics must be based on Weltanschauung or world view. Those who belong to the old world view can only lead to ruin. The Recession in America and Europe is a clear indication that the old economic worldview is just that – old and worn-out. The extreme unpopularity, even in his own country, of George W. Bush again proves that there is a need for a New perspective on Reality.

 

Those who believe in the Clash of Civilizations (CC) scenario or the War on Terror need to change their beliefs or simply fade away. The Americans and the British have rejected the biggest proponents of the CC scenario and the War on Terror – George W. Bush and Tony Blair. Great Britain, through its young Foreign Minister has announced that for two years now, England has not subscribed to the principle or idea of a War on Terror.

 

It is time for Philippine politicians to stop thinking of the Mindanao conflict as a mere war between Muslims and Christians. It is much more than that. And the government needs to stop making the War on Terror the excuse for the militarization of Moroland. And the powers-that-be who support clandestinely the Abu Sayyaf Group need to stop doing so.

 

Non-Interference/Sovereignty vs. Creative Action

 

The Philippine government keeps on using Sovereignty an issue in the Mindanao war. Politicians are even demanding non-interference from foreign nations about the conflict in the South.

 

Philippine sovereignty is at best, imaginary. Russian President, now Prime Minister Vladimir Putin constantly reminds the world that Russia is one of the VERY FEW sovereign countries in the world. This is his way of telling the US that while it controls so many so-called sovereign countries, it cannot control or impose its will on Russia.

 

The Philippines, of course, is not part of the very few sovereign countries considered by Putin.

 

The Mindanao war, by its very nature, necessarily involves other countries. In 1976, then President Marcos was the one who sued for peace. The result was the Tripoli Agreement which was an international legal document but was implemented only in the breach.

 

The Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) is composed of 57 nation-states and has taken cognizance of the Moro Problem since the 1970s. The OIC simply cannot be taken out of the picture in any peace settlement for Moroland.

 

The Philippine government/Indio vested interests keep on citing the Constitution and “Sovereignty” in order to disregard international agreements with the MNLF and now, MILF. Instead of creating hindrances, what is needed is freedom for “creative action.”

 

The 1987 Constitution was not made in Heaven. It was crafted by mostly old people handpicked by a housewife-turned-President (Cory Aquino).

 

For creative action, Self-Knowledge is important. The Filipino people, Moros and Indios alike, must look inside themselves and try to truly understand what the conflict is all about so it could be remedied to the betterment of all concerned.

 

INTEGRATION/ASSIMILATION vs. MULTICULTURALISM/ PLURALISM

 

Integrating or Assimilating the Moros and other highlanders into the greater Philippine society has been tried and had failed. In the 1940s, Congressmen even proposed that the indigenous peoples of the Cordilleras must wear Western clothing or be imprisoned.

 

In the name of Assimilation and Integration, the Americans and the Manila government since 1913 “aided the immigration of Christian Filipino farmers from Luzon and Visayas to the sparsely settle agricultural lands of Mindanao and Sulu… Continued immigration brought economic confrontation at the most basic level.” (R. Thomas, 1971: Muslim But Filipino: The Integration of Philippine Muslims 1917-1946)

 

Thomas, quoting from The Philippine Herald (1/8/27) wrote: “Sen. Sumulong ‘deplored that Mindanao has fast become the ‘dumping ground’ for all the UNDESIRABLE in the local government service. Very often, men of DOUBTFUL ABILITY and CHARACTER are sent as government officials or employees to the Moro region.” (emphasis added)

Thomas further noted that Senator Sumulong “suggested and called for a largely SEPARATE GOVERNMENT for the Muslim regions of Mindanao and Sulu.” Unfortunately, the old Senator was no longer around to advise his granddaughter Cory Sumulong-Cojuangco vda de Aquino when she became Philippine President and instituted the re-making of the Constitution.

 

In 1957, the Commission on National Integration (CNI) was created to, well, “integrate” the Moros and other cultural minorities to the Philippine society. In 1975, President Marcos officially abolished the Commission.

 

As Thomas had pointed out, the range of Moro responses to Filipino development (integration) programs were: “Trial, Adoption, Rejection”. Moro responses remain the same today as it was then.

 

Multi-cultural nation-states can only survive if its programs and policies promote a multicultural, innovative and pluralist society where everyone is treated equally and has the same access to opportunities while maintaining their own culture, religion, language and general way of life and with all groups exercising as much autonomy and self-governance as it desires within the frame-work of a “nations-state”, i.e., many nations, one state.

 

The great advances in Physics show that we do not live in a mechanistic Newtonian universe but in a universe full of exciting probabilities. For there to be lasting peace in Mindanao and real progress and development for the whole Philippines, there should be new leaders who understand the new world we are in.

 

 

In CNN’s Larry King Show, former US President Jimmy Carter said that THE key factor in the Middle East problem is the US. He explained that the US has the power to force Israel into accepting a peace agreement because the US government gives Israel TEN MILLION DOLLARS A DAY. Plus, the US protects and defends Israel militarily and diplomatically (through the UN).

 

As a former US President who was able to forge an agreement between Israel’s Menahem Begin and Egypt’s Anwar Sadat, no one can dispute Mr. Carter.

 

While Larry King took on the Western media’s argument that Hamas is the culprit, Mr. Carter said that everything should be taken into perspective – like comparing the deaths on both sides due to the Hamas rockets and due to the Israeli air strikes and tank invasion.

 

Larry King, again mouthing the usual US-Israeli argument, asked Mr. Carter if somebody sends rockets to Atlanta, would he not answer back. The former president answered that he would; but, he would look for other options first. And the option Israel had was merely to open “the gates” of Gaza so water, food and gasoline could be delivered to 1.5 million people in Gaza.

 

Mr. Carter also mentioned that Israel bombed UN buildings, mosques and schools. Mr. King, playing the devil’s advocate, argued that Israel said these buildings were used by Hamas to fire rockets from. Mr. Carter answered that he knows only what the United Nations reported (which said that there were no Hamas people in the UN buildings). And, Mr. Carter added that if one wants to destroy a city, – and Israel bombed TWENTY-TWO THOUSAND (22,000) buildings – one could not pick one building from another. It was inevitable that UN offices and warehouses, schools and mosques would be among the 22,000 buildings destroyed.

 

Mr. Carter also said that if Israel did not want to kill civilians, it could have just bombed the tunnels that Hamas uses to smuggle goods into Gaza.

 

AMERICA SUBSIDIZES ISRAEL

 

With the immense power of media, one hopes that the Americans would now realize that Israel is nothing without American support.

 

During the 1972 Arab-Israeli war, Israel was losing in the first few days. But thanks to then US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, America sent air-lifted tanks, ammo and other war materiel on a DAILY basis to save Israel from defeat. It was then that the Arabs, especially Egypt’s Anwar Sadat, realized that they were not fighting the Israel. They were fighting America.

 

With America going into economic Depression, the American people might re-consider subsidizing war-freak Israel. If the American Jews would like to continue propping up the state of Israel, then they should do so in a PRIVATE manner. The Hollywood Jews and other American multi-millionaire Jews should donate their private money to Israel. The other Americans, many of them are now unemployed or homeless or facing the specter of unemployment or homelessness, need all the money the government can give them directly or indirectly.

 

 

 

 

In a talk at Harvard University’s JFK School of Government in February 2002, scholar Noam Chomsky quoted from the 1984 US Army Manual the definition of TERRORISM. It is “the calculated use of violence or the threat of violence to attain goals that are political, religious or ideological in nature.” Chomsky said he uses this definition every time as he always uses the definitions of the “authorities” and bends over backwards to accommodate the “official statements” of the powers that be”.

From the US Army’s definition of Terrorism, George W. Bush is the world’s and even maybe history’s greatest TERRORIST. Bush, Jr., head of the world’s only superpower, terrorized the world when he threatened, “You are with us or against us.”

This was echoed by many of his supporters all over the world including Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who said something like “If you are against us, you are a terrorist.” His number one supporter was of course, Tony Blair.

BUTCHER OF AFGHANISTAN

George W. Bush, son of former CIA Director and former US President George H. W, Bush, blamed the destruction of the Twin Towers on Osama Bin Laden, a former CIA fundraiser for the mujahideen in Afghanistan against Russia. Because Bin Laden, a Saudi Arab, was residing in Afghanistan, Bush, Jr. overthrew the Taliban government which the CIA helped create and put in power and bombed the country to kingdom come killing countless people – men, women and children.

Mr. Bush blamed one man – Mr. Bin Laden. The Afghanistan government did not even prevent Mr. Bush from arresting Bin Laden. The Taliban were Bush’s allies. A few months previous to 9/11, Mr. Bush himself welcomed a Taliban delegation to the US. But instead of sending an FBI or CIA team to arrest the alleged criminal, he sent aircraft carriers, jets, thousands of troops, etc.

Yet seven years later, Mr. Bush’s men have butchered tens of thousands and made millions miserable, but they have not captured the man they allegedly came to get.

Of course, Mr. Bush’s friends got what they came for – petroleum (oil) and massive business contracts to allegedly rehabilitate the country as well as massive contracts for military equipment and services.

DESTROYER OF IRAQ

Mr. Bush’s friends, who got a taste of what it was like to be conquering heroes, wanted more — more oil, more contracts for military hardware and services, more contracts for infrastructure, etc. To oblige them, Mr. Bush the Liar, cooked up a scenario that only idiots would believe. He said that Saddam Hussein was in cahoots with Bin Laden.

Intelligent and knowledgeable people laughed. Saddam Hussein is a Baathist (akin to socialist) while Bin Laden is allegedly a Muslim fundamentalist. Unfortunately, most Americans and Westerners did not (and still do not) know that.

Then Mr. Bush forced even the good man Colin Powell to lie to the United Nations and tell the leaders there that Saddam Hussein has Weapons of Mass Destruction.

Notwithstanding Mr. Powell’s arguments, the United Nations disagreed with Mr. Bush. But Mr. Bush formed his own “Coalition of the Willing”, with his sidekick Tony Blair and some helpless countries like the Philippines. The UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan called the Anglo-American invasion of Iraq “ILLEGAL”

BUSH THE TORTURER

For a country whose president (Jimmy Carter) put Human Rights as the guiding principle in its foreign policy, Mr. Bush deprived Americans of basic human rights like right to privacy with its wiretappings, surveillance, etc. in the name of “Homeland Security”. They could also be “interrogated”outside the country.

According to the Bush-Cheney doctrine, torture only occurs when it results to the death of the “interrogatee”. Water boarding, electro-shock treatments to the genitalia and other parts of the body are not torture if the person remains alive.

But even according to the very generous definition, Bush’s and Blair’s armies are guilty as at least one documented death due to torture has been published.

Bush’s name is now immortalized together with Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo.

See guantanamo video http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1403370850111668271

 

BUSH THE BIG TIME SPENDER

Americans and Europeans are now reeling under a Financial Crisis and a Recession. This is mostly due to the policies of Mr. Bush. The Big Time Spender Bush has spent almost 600 Billion Dollars in Iraq alone. Add to that Afghanistan and it goes to almost a trillion dollars.

 

And to “bail out” the big financial firms, he authorized the spending of another 750 Billion dollars. This does not include the money given to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

BUSH, THE IDOL OF BLAIR

For the life of me, I could not understand how a seemingly unintelligent man could become the idol of a seemingly intelligent leader. Mr. Blair shamelessly fawned on Mr. Bush.

In the 1980s, I was amused when I read that then UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has a word for then US President Ronald Reagan: “provincial”. Obviously, Thatcher was not awed by the superpower president. In the 2000s, UK Prime Minister Tony Blair has a word for US President George W. Bush: “Idol”.

BUSH THE ILLUSIONIST

David Copperfield the illusionist made the Statue of Liberty disappear but only for a few minutes. George Bush the Illusionist made the World Trade Center Twin Towers, a building next to them (Building no. 7), and four jumbo jets disappear – forever.

Two jumbo jets allegedly hit the Twin Towers. Like magic, the towers collapsed very neatly as if it were a controlled demolition project. Not a trace of the two jumbo jets were found.

More amazingly, WTC Building 7 also collapsed in a similar manner as the Twin Towers. But it was not hit by a jumbo jet. There was not even a fire! It was pure magic performed by the The Great George Bush the Illusionist.

The Great Bush had the cooperation of his sidekick, Tony Blair. But it seems like the assistant made a blunder. BBC announced the collapse of Building 7 or the Salomon Brothers Building 23 minutes BEFORE it actually collapsed! The announcer was reporting the collapse of Building 7 when the building could be clearly seen behind her - - still intact.

See http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/february2007/260207building7.htm

 

                                   

The BBC reporter announced the collapse of Building 7 while the building was still standing  (with arrow). The building collapsed at 5:20 pm EST.

 

 

Two more jumbo jets disappeared. One hit the Pentagon. The other crashed somewhere on its way to the White House. And again, by the magic of the Great Bush, there were no traces of the jumbo jets. The gigantic airplanes vanished into thin air. See http://www.serendipity.li/wot/wtc_other.htm

The Web is full of documentary evidence that 9/11 was a huge illusion act by the Great Bush, the magician. Just Google 9/11.

BUSH, THE YALE AND HARVARD MAN

 

Believe it or not, George W, Bush got his undergraduate degree from Yale and graduate degree from Harvard. Funny thing, a less prestigious law school refused to accept him. It makes one wonder.

 

Now, nobody can say that all Yale and Harvard graduates are intelligent. George W. Bush is clear proof that even in prestigious schools, money and power talk.

 

GOOD BYE, MR. BUSH, JR.

Finally, the world is rid of George W. Bush. May the world now live in peace and prosperity.

 

 

 

 

 

The US-Israel aggression in Gaza is a war crime. It is a systematic genocidal campaign against the Palestinians. More than six hundred are now killed, mostly women and children, thousands are wounded and one and a half million Palestinians in Gaza are living their worst nightmares.

 

The freedom-loving peoples of the world must clamor for a stop to this holocaust.

 

VENEZUELA EXPELS ISRAELI  AMBASSADOR

 

Hugo Chavez, President of Venezuela, expelled the Israeli Ambassador and his staff from Caracas and called on the UN Security Council to "apply urgent and necessary measures to stop this invasion." Chavez was quoted saying. "How far will this barbarism go?…The president of Israel should be taken before an international court together with the president of the United States, if the world had any conscience."(See Venezuela expels Israeli ambassador over Gaza)

 

If only the Arab leaders have the balls of Hugo Chavez!

 

ISRAEL, MERE U.S. EXTENSION

 

Israel is not a truly independent sovereign state. It is a mere extension of the United States. Its military hardware is 100% supplied by the US. Its intelligence information is also supplied by the US and its diplomatic moves are orchestrated and approved in Washington, D.C.

 

According to the respected scholar Noam Chomsky, the Israeli air force is more modern and sophisticated than any NATO country. And, according to Dr. Chomsky, that is because Israel is the Middle East extension or military base of the US.

 

MESSIANIC COMPLEX

 

Echoing George Bush, Jr.’s  Messianic vision for Iraq — invading Iraq was done to save the Iraqis for democracy and deliver them from Saddam Hussein–, the Israeli leaders shamelessly proclaim that they attacked Gaza to save the Palestinians in Gaza and deliver them from Hamas.

 

Bush, Cheney, Olmert, Livni and Shimon Peres are really in dire need of psychiatric treatment.

 

 LAST TRICK (HULING HIRIT)

 

 

The clique who controls the Bush-Cheney administration are obviously playing their last trick before the start of the Obama administration. Theywant to achieve as much political mileage as they can (like destroying the Hamas party) and at the same time intimidating the incoming US President with the worst scenario they could think of.

 

WHERE ARE THE ARABS?

 

About 300 million Arabs in more than 20 countries could do NOTHING to help stop the massacre of their fellow Arabs. This is a crying shame! What is the Arab League doing?  My Arab forebears must be turining in their graves right now.

 

And how about the non-Arab Muslim countries? They should at the very least follow President Chavez’s example and kick out the Israeli embassies from their countries. What is the OIC doing?

 

 

SOME HARD FACTS

 

The following is an article from allvoices.com

 

ISRAEL INVASION OF GAZA: SOME HARD FACTS

 

So far what we have seen and heard about the current crisis in Middle East, it is quite evident that Israeli government is at fault and are now being considered as the worst terrorists in the Middle East region.

Here are some hard facts:

Israeli claim that Hamas initiated the rocket attack is frivolous to say the least. These attacks are a direct consequence and retaliation to Israeli governments terror tactics of indiscriminately bombing targets within Palestine over the course of many months prior to this conflict. Those bombs have been responsible for countless deaths of civilians including women and children.

So far, only four Israelis have lost their lives since the conflict began. However, over 600 innocent civilians have been murdered and another 3,000 maimed by indiscriminate Israeli bombardment in Gaza. What is frightening is the fact that more than 50% of the victims are women and children. As the conflict continues the death toll among civilians will rise further. The hospitals are already over stretched to help the thousands of injured residents of Gaza as they stream in. They are running out of medicines and live saving drugs. It is truly a gigantic humanitarian crisis.

Gaza is a tightly packed area. In fact, one of the most dense areas in the world with over 100,000 people compressed into one square kilometer. Gaza is totally surrounded and enclosed by Israel. Which means nothing can go in or out without Israel’s permission. Gaza citizens are virtually imprisoned by Israel for the most part of this decade. Since 2007, Israel has not even let Palestinian Authority have any control over the area by their strict blockade. In short, Israel has not only caused a human rights violation but has provoked Hamas to take matters in their own hands. Imprisonment of free people and a nation by Israel in Gaza is analogous to a Nazi concentration camp. How can we let such a heinous crime go on for so long?

Israel has broken away and stalled from more peace talks than any other nation in the Middle East. They have failed to recognize Palestine and given them the right to live peacefully according to Oslo agreement of 1993 recognized by all parties including Israel itself. They have also not given back any territory to Palestine or accepted their right to live in their homeland. Today, Israel is using all its powers to stall United Nations from taking any positive action in implementing a ceasefire. It is once again proving without doubt that Israel is not interested in peace but only in a complete carnage and annihilation of Palestinian people.

Did you know that Israel has failed to acknowledge or live up to 90% of all United Nations resolutions in the Middle East. They have actually worked with their allies like US to block or veto them if they would ever reach the security council. Israel, does not want peace. They are seeking a war and war in which they would annihilate every living soul within Middle East.

Israel has let only 80 trucks with food, fuel and medicines into Gaza since the conflict began. Let me repeat, only 80 trucks for a population of over one million. So how long does Israel expect each human to live and eat? One bread per person for a whole week! No fuel, no medicines to treat thousands of sick, maimed and injured Palestinians. And of course, as no one can go to work due to the imposed war, how do the citizens earn a living? Truly, it is a sad state of affairs and a humongous humanitarian crisis.

There is no electricity, no water, no basic amenities for the citizens of Gaza since the conflict began in the last week of December. For the past two weeks the people have been starved, battered and pushed to the limit. The peaceful citizens have no place to run. They are imprisoned from all sides and are being targeted by the Israeli war machinery whose only aim is a genocide.

For every one Israeli dead, there are over 150 Palestinian dead. These numbers will only rise as Israel continues its illegal invasion of Gaza. They have even surpassed all terrorists in killing the highest number of civilians in a shortest possible time using government machinery. They are definitely the worst terrorists in Middle East. And the only nation not serious about peace in the whole region.

Those who continue to support this war and Israeli policies are but analogous to being termed as Nazis. Israeli government is bordering on becoming the modern Hitler to the people of Palestine. It is ironic that they are resorting to such Gestapo tactics of Nazi regime as they were the original victims.

Such irresponsible wars will not bring peace to the region. It will create yet more disgruntled and angry youth, who will take up arms and resort to violence to overcome the tyranny of Israel.

The world is standing by and doing nothing. Bush administration, as has been their policy of promoting death and destruction in the Middle East, has no intention to help the Palestinians but what about the rest of the world? Their intention to veto in United Nations Security Council gives us a clear indication that they would rather see death and destruction than peace in Middle East. Russians, Europeans and Arab leadership has done nothing except lip service. Even Chinese government has been quiet. The world is watching in horror as this holocaust is allowed to continue unabated.

One wrong does not make another right. If Hamas is being termed as the aggressor, the past two weeks have shown Israel is no different. Rather they are worse than Hamas as they murder and injure thousands of civilians. They deserve the same treatment as any terrorist organization.

Prime Minister of Israel should be charged with war crimes and be tried in the international court of justice. Every single general in the Israeli war machinery be tried in the same manner as were the Nazi military leadership after World War 2. Anything less will not be acceptable.