Now that Sabah stand-off ended, some Tausug women grieve.
Like how Mehol Sadain grieve.
"As a Tausug, I mourn the death of fellow Tausugs in Lahad Datu in Sabah. As a Muslim, I am aghast at Muslims killing their fellow Muslims on land they consider part of their homeland. As a government official, I call on the authorities and the parties involved, in Malaysia and the Philippines, to stretch their patience and exhaust all peaceful and diplomatic means to resolve the crisis without further violence and bloodshed," Sadain lamented in his facebook wall.
He said the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos, which he serves, stand ready to extend all assistance to resolve the stand-off but his message was bit late than the announcement of Malaysian emissary who told the Philippine national government: "the stand-off was over."
The media reported that there were 10 dead and 4 persons wounded from the Royal Security Forces of the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo; two from the Malaysian police forces. But Philippine government needs this figures validated.
What confused me most was why the crisis management was handled that way which resulted to armed confrontation when that could be resolved peacefully.
“This issue should have been resolved jointly by the Philippine and Malaysian government, “ said Carino Antequisa, of Mindanao Peace-building Institute (MPI) and a Philippine accompanier of CAFOD.
"Conflict could have deescalated if the Malaysian government was able to accommodate the group of Kiram, give them food, and sit together with officials of the government of Philippines to settle the matter diplomatically. This way, the issue could have been dealt more responsibly, jointly, and in a cordial or friendly manner," Antequisa said.
To reckon, 180 members of Sultanate Royal Security Forces from Sulu went to Lahad Datu of Malaysia to assert their historical claim over their ancestral domain.
They expressed their dismay about the exclusion of their claims under the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) inked between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to which Ging Deles, head of the Office of Presidential Adviser on Peace Process, replied in an ABS-CBN interview earlier this week, that this issue was not raised during the consultation they conducted with some members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), thus, suggested that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) should deal the problem.
Kiram's group also wanted Malaysia to "increase the lease's fees" in exchange for continued utilization of their ancestral domain.
In response, the Malaysian security forces instead provided them a deadline to leave the area, Thursday, February 28, rather than discuss the issue amicably.
President Benigno Aquino III considered 'Sabah claim' a dormant issue and asked the group of Kiram, holed up in Sabah, to return “peacefully to avoid possible bloodshed.” A ship was sent to them for humanitarian support, but Kiram's group was not persuaded.
Aquino also asked the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Department of Justice (DoJ) to study the sultanate’s claim.
"It cannot be denied that the Sulu residents have historical claim over that ancestral domain but the best solution is not through the barrels of guns but through joint state discussion on the problem because presently-- the land claim by Kiram and his group is already within the conflicting jurisdictions of two states," said Antequisa.
“Nothing will be lost to Philippines and Malaysia if they will jointly deal with the Sultan and his followers from Sulu. I think it would have been better if Malaysia accommodated them temporarily rather than shot them,” he said.
“The two states should deal the issue that predates them,” Antequisa added.
"It’s not also remote for Malaysian government to help Muslim Filipinos for their welfare. It’s also possible for Philippines and Malaysian government to declare Sabah as a special zone where Sulu people, living in Lahad Datu, could live harmoniously with them," he said.
Abel Moya, former manager of Pakigdait Inc. that works on peacebuilding in conflict zones of Lanao, suggested that all of the parties of the present conflict in Sabah must solve the issue through negotiations using the framework of conflict transformation.
“The resolution should be contextualized in history,” he said.
Moya suggested that the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace Process (OPAPP) may assist the DoJ and the DFA because they have the mediation skills and OPAPP too can reflect on the inclusivity of political settlement to address that concern raised that they are excluded under FAB.
“The group of Kiram are Muslim Filipinos and their issues remain part of Mindanaoan issues on their continuing quest for right to self-determination.” Moya pointed.
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