Abstract

The Mindanao Garden of Peace is a memorial to the victims of a tragic event, the 1968 Jabidah Massacre. It is widely believed in the Philippines that this episode sparked the still unresolved violent conflict in Mindanao. The recent establishment of the peace garden represents a major shift in the tenor of remembrance of the massacre, from being fiercely fractious to something rather tamed, domesticated and aestheticized. This shift reflected the optimistic collective views of the administration of President Benigno Aquino III, Muslim rebels and civil society organizations about the prospects for peace in Mindanao. Following the election of a new president, those prospects have become uncertain, and the direction of the ongoing process of remembering is in question. This development highlights the open-endedness of the heritage-making process.

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