Autonomy and Armed Separatism in South and Southeast Asia

15. History, Demography and Factionalism: Obstacles to Conflict Resolution through Autonomy in the Southern Philippines

278 15 History, DemograpHy anD Factionalism: obstacles to conFlict resolution tHrougH autonomy in tHe soutHern pHilippines Ronald J. May The conflict between the government of the Philippines and the Moro sepa­ ratists in the southern Philippines has become one of the longest running, and most intractable, internal conflicts in Southeast Asia. This is so despite attempts by successive Philippine governments to negotiate some form of autonomy arrangements with the separatists. This paper briefly reviews the Philippines experiments with Muslim autonomy and addresses the question: why have the autonomy negotiations between the Philippine government and the Moros proved so intractable? It suggests that the answers lie primarily in three features of the Philippines situation: first, longstanding historical circumstances which have left a legacy of antipathy and distrust between important elements of the Muslim and Christian Filipino communities; secondly, a pattern of internal migration, encouraged by national governments throughout the twentieth century, which has changed the ethnic demography of Mindanao and Sulu, locking both sides into a position from which it has been difficult to progress to a settlement; and thirdly, the factionalization of Philippine Muslim society, which has made negotiation difficult. Obstacles to Conflict Resolution in the Southern Philippines 279 tHe long view: a brieF History oF moro separatism the origins of moro identity The basis for the Muslim claims to a separate identity, and arrangements for recognizing the special status of Philippine Muslims, have a long history. When the Spanish colonizers came to the Philippine islands in 1565 and encountered Islamic communities, they effectively resumed the crusades against those they identified as the “Moro”, using the Christianized “indios” as their footsoldiers. But although they defeated Muslim forces in the north, and encouraged Christianized Filipinos to settle on the northern and eastern coasts of Mindanao, the Spaniards never did achieve effective sovereignty over the Muslim (or over much of the tribal/lumad1 ) communities in Mindanao and Sulu.2 In 1898, following the Spanish­American War, the United States took possession of the islands of Mindanao and Sulu. Under American colonial rule, once “pacification” had been achieved a general policy of “benevolent assimilation” was extended to the Muslim population, though this was resist­ ed by Muslim communities, as well as by some of the more enlightened American administrators. From 1903 to 1920 the then predominantly Muslim districts of Mindanao and Sulu were administered first through a separate Moro Province and then through a Department of Mindanao and Sulu. Following the creation of the Philippine Commonwealth in 1935 a group of Moro leaders from Lanao petitioned the U.S. president not to include Mindanao and Sulu in an independent Philippines, arguing that Christian Filipinos discriminated against Moros and treated them abusively. Confirming these forebodings, the Commonwealth swiftly moved to repeal the Administrative Code for Mindanao and Sulu, which had allowed some leeway in the application of national laws in the Moro provinces, and refused official recognition of traditional Moro civil titles (see Gowing 1979, pp. 168–79). An inflow of migrants from the populous provinces of Luzon and the Visayas began early in the twentieth century, spontaneously and as part of a policy of the American administration, and later the Philippines Commonwealth, to develop Mindanao as a new frontier by encouraging cattle ranching, plantations, and smallholder resettlement. Although migration ceased during the Second World War, the immediate postwar years saw a rapid increase in inmigration. By 1980, the proportion of Muslims in the 280 Ronald J. May population of Mindanao, which had been estimated at 76 per cent in 1903, had fallen to 23 per cent.3 This demographic change brought conflicts over land and threatened the authority of traditional Muslim political leaders. the emergence of the mnlF and creation of an autonomous region of muslim mindanao During the latter part of the 1960s and the early 1970s, tensions amongst Muslim, lumad and Christian Filipino communities in Mindanao height­ ened, culminating in the creation of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) under the leadership of Nur Misuari. The MNLF’s core demand was for a “free and independent state for the Bangsa Moro people”, comprising the 25 provinces of Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan. Organizationally, the MNLF was loosely structured, dominated by a few strong personalities and frequently divided by factional squabbles. The growing conflict in the south was cited by President Marcos in declaring martial law in 1972. Following the declaration, fighting escalated, with thousands killed and tens of thousands displaced...