DAVAO CITY—Key leaders of two Moro revolutionary fronts and who are now holding important positions in the Bangsamoro government visited Northern Ireland, a former hotspot in the United Kingdom, for a “learning trip” on managing the peace process.
The visit coincides with the approaching 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, the final peace settlement between the UK government and the Irish Republic Army, the generic revolutionary group fighting for Irish unification and an end to British rule on the island.
The international peacebuilding organization Conciliation Resources facilitated the learning trip to help guide local Moro leaders in handling the peace settlement process in the central and southern parts of Mindanao.
The trip would hope to support the transition from conflict mode to peace in the Bangsamoro region “by learning from the successes and challenges of the Northern Ireland peace process,” the Bangsamoro Information Office said.
The trip brought together leaders from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), as well as representatives from the indigenous people’s communities, civil society, and women’s organizations, the information office added.
The delegation was composed of Parliament Floor Leader Sha-Elijah Dumama-Alba, Labor Minister Muslimen Sema, Deputy Speaker Omar Yasser Sema, Members of Parliament Marjanie Macasalong, Laisa Alamia, and Forilyn Mendoza, Social Services and Development Deputy Minister Nur Ainee Lim, Director Hisham Nando of the Development Academy of the Bangsamoro, Prof. Abdullah Adam and Guiamel Alim, chairman of the Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society.
In Northern Ireland, the delegation had conversations with Laurence Simms, the joint secretary to the British-Irish Intergovernmental Secretariat in Belfast and a senior official of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) of Ireland. They met with the 81st Lord Mayor of Belfast, Tina Black of Sinn Fein, as well as Alex Maskey, the speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
They also met with key political figures from Sinn Fein “to deepen their understanding on their political transformation.”
Claire Bailey of the Green Party shared her experiences on alliance building as with Ruari de Burca, head of the Anglo-Irish Division of DFAT Ireland, who highlighted dialogue mechanisms that the Bangsamoro government may adopt.
“The learning process was further enriched by talks with other key figures in the Northern Ireland peace process, including perspectives from the academe, former combatants and civil society leaders,” the information office said.
They discussed the transition of former armed groups to political parties, about disarmament, reconciliation and transitional justice and how to ensure women and minority communities were included in the transition to peace. The group toured Belfast, the ground zero for many of the violent incidents in the course of fighting between IRA and British police and the Army in 1966-1998.
Salic Sharief, Jr. Philippine program director for Conciliation Resources said, “There is so much that we can learn from the successes and failures of other peace processes around the world that can help us make progress in the Philippines. This year marks 25 years since the end of the conflict in Northern Ireland, and the country still faces challenges. There is no quick fix for peace, but we can continue to take small steps into a better future for everyone in our country.”
In March 2014, the Philippine government and the MILF signed a peace agreement, while the MNLF earlier entered into final peace settlement in 1996.
