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S4SC: 24HR PUBLIC WEATHER FORECAST Issued at 5AM 28 January 15 Synopsis: Northeast monsoon affecting Luzon. Forecast: The region of Cagayan Valley, Cordillera, Bicol, CALABARZON and the provinces of Aurora, Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Quezon will experience cloudy skies with light rains. Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon will have partly cloudy to at times cloudy skies with isolated light rains. Visayas and Mindanao will be partly with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms. Moderate to strong winds blowing from the northeast will prevail over Luzon and Visayas and the coastal waters along these areas will be moderate to rough. Elsewhere, winds will be light to moderate coming from the northeast with slight to moderate seas. Please visit www.pagasa.dost.ph
The recent Mamasapano
misencountered grueling fluid and tedious public opinion in the press/media and
social media. Is this peace prospects in Mindanao will still be dimmed and
elusive and will go back to square one? Are the GPH and MILF serious in their
peace talks? Or just a power play of splinter group of anti-peace rules the
same? And/or the spoilers group succeeds in their motives? There are a lot of
question would really bothers me upon writing this column articles.
Sad to say we are almost reached
the finishing line of the on-going peace process, but the atmosphere of peace
remained untamed because of many disturbing factors hamper our peace effort
continue to reign from the left, center and right doesn’t contributed to
achieve peaceful Mindanao. The bad and the worst of it element of the few
conquers and rules the majority who wanted peace to prosper in Mindanao.
Human Coffined of PNP – SAF from
Manila lead me to write this articles if 42 years’ war in Mindanao continues
unbothered of which have the alienable rights to live and die here as a
legitimate citizens of this country. Victim upon victims of our Filipino
soldiers and Moro Combatants in gun battles and encounters and civilians hit in crossfires doesn’t reflects
in our hearts not minding the painful and agony of the parents, wives and
siblings of those victims perished in this kind of unreasonable war of
conflicts that almost siphons our
national coffers every war may happened in Mindanao.
Proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law
(BBL) to Congress why we afraid and distrust the proponent??? We should not in
fears and mistrust who crafted BBL because this proposed law is within our CONSTITUTION
framework secured and protected by the National Laws. The power of the Three
Branches of Government such us: The Executive, the Legislative and the
Judiciary are still govern the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) like the Organic Law
of the ARRM –Acts 9054 expanded ARMM Laws. In all Articles and provisions of
BBL has no intension for an Independent States of the Bangsamoro, experts in
CONSTITUTION perhaps misconstrued to pre-judge that the BBL is UNCONSTITUTIONAL?
Although all human laws are not perfects it needs some revision to correct in
the plenary debates in Congress that are contrary affects our CONSTITUTION, but
this should not water-down or relay the proceedings in the debates. Congress
must ratify and passed it to become a Bangsamoro Laws reminding to the
Congressmen and Senators “Self Determination is an alienable rights under the
UN Charters” we are covers under that law cannot be deviated or excused from
the sanctity of any law that protect the minority rights of the Bangsamoro.
Bangsamoro question still infinite tragedy for Mindanawan unless we resolutely
resolved by the mighty of pens of the best applied and appropriated law for an
inclusive Bangsamoro people”.
Consistent peace in Mindanao would continue prosperity,
development and progress of the whole Philippines denying and opposing such
best suited and adaptable solution to sustain peace in the region particularly
Muslim Provinces or Bangsamoro homeland the whole nation would be affected by these
42 years internal conflicts. We have to prefer peace or to prolong conflicts in
the end all of us are the losers and all of us are the victims by merely of
distrust and opposing what best and what is right of the decision of Congress
with regards to BBL are now in their tables for the passage and ratification by
March 2015. (By: Abs Damahan Anchor of ADLSNTV – adlsntv.blogspot.com and RPN –
DXDX AM Radio 695Khz – GSC)
S4SC: 24 -HR PUBLIC WEATHER FORECAST Issued at: 5AM 27 January 15 Synopsis: Tail end of a cold front affecting Eastern Visayas. Northeast monsoon affecting Luzon. Forecast: Easter and Visayas and Caraga region will have cloudy skies with light to moderate rains and isolated thunderstorms..Metro Manila and rest of Luzon will have partly cloudy skies with isolated light rains. The rest of Visayas and Mindanao will be partly cloudy to cloudy with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms. Moderate to strong winds blowing from the northeast will prevail over the whole archipelago with moderate to rough seas. Please visit www.pagasa.dost.gov.ph for more information.
MAMASAPANO MAGUINDANAO – ADLSNTV
– adlsntv.blogspot.com and RPN – DXDX AM Radio 695Khz, GSC(January 27, 2014)
The latest body counts of PNP – SAF partial report killed in action 64 and 45
wounded reached us from our field reporter base on North Cotabato. While from
the MILF side had not officially submitted their casualties, when we talked by
phone with MILF Spokesman Von Alhaq yesterday. According to Alhaq “this is a
mis-encountered between the MILF and PNP – SAF at around 4:AM January 25 at
Sitio Inugug Barangay Tucanalipao. The target point of attack is Barangay
Tucanalipao were two suspects Marwan and Basit Usman allegedly are in the area
and focus on the element of of renegade Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters
(BIFF), but PNP –SAF encroaches MILF identified Camp at Sitio Inugug Alhaq
said. Alhaq even said in our conversation “there is no coordination with the
higher authority of the MILF that why it happens and this is very sad on both
sides”. Peace agreement between the MILF and GPH was ignored and violated MILF
Spokesman said.
As of yesterday MILF and GPH they
are now forming a joint investigation team to conduct the miscoordinated and
misencountered operation in Mamasapano Municipality. We had just talk with Vice
Chair Gazhali Jaapar of MILF a while ago he said, “The mechanism of the peace
agreement and term of reference was violated in the conduct of operation by the
PNP-SAF Manila and there was non-coordination through them by the PNP higher
authority to MILF Ceasefire Committee and GPH Committee”. Jaafar said, “If this
well and properly coordinated to –MILF-BIAF to arrest the allege two members target of the Al-Qaida suspects Marwan and
Basit Usman they could even help the PHP-SAF to arrest them in their area of
responsibility” Jaafar said. Casualties from MILF-BIAF they have no exact
figures and data yet, we are still waiting for the final submission of list of
names of their martyrs from their commanders in the AOR particularly in
Mamasapano area.
But in standard operating
procedures of the military in their doctrine code of ethics operation like this
is confidential and remain secret cannot be divulged to public this should not happened
lost lives of both forces. PNP-SAF Manila mis-calculated their target something
wrong with their Intelligence network or maybe lapses. Kalungkot sa lahat ng
casualties 5 commission officers nadali namatay sa mis-encoutered ito.
According PNP-SAF heading the operation there are just passed by the area
because there are confident with the legitimate MILF members are friendly
forces not their enemy and they won’t
hurt them as the on-going peace process will remain honored and enforced by
both parties.
List of KIA PNP -SAF
1. PSI Gednat Tabde
2. PSI RYan Pabalinas
3. PSI Garamnbas Tria
4. PI Rennie Tyrus - missing
5. SPO1 Lover Inocencio
6. PO3 Rodrigo Acob, Jr.
7. PO3 Virgil Villanueva
8. PO2 Roger Cordero
9. PO2 Peterson Carap
10. PO2 Nicky Nacino, Jr.
11. Po1 ANgel Kodiamat
12. PO2 Glenn Bedua
13. PO3 Noel Golocan
14. PO2 Jerry Kayob
15. PO2 Noel Balaca
16. PO1 Romeo Cempron
17. Po2 Joel Dulnuan
18. PO2 Christopher Lalan
19. PO2 Walner F. Danao
20. PO2 Franklin C. Danao
21. PO2 Omar A. Nacionales
22. PO2 Godofredo B. Cabanlit
Candano
23. PO1 Russel B. Bilog
24. PO1 Loreto Capinding
25. PO3 Junrel Kibete
26. PO1 Gringo Cayang-o
27. PO2 Rodel Ramacula
28. PO1 Joseph Sagonoy
29. PO3 John lloyd R. Sumbilla
30. PO2 Chum Agabon
31. PO3 RObert Allaga
32. PO1 Mark Lory Clemencio
33. PO1 Oliebeth I. Viernes
34. PO2 Richelle S. Baluga
35. PO3 Andres V. Duque
36. PO3 Jedz-in A. Asjali
37. PO2 Amman M. Esmula
38. PO3 Victoriano N. Acain
39. PI Joey S. Gamutan
40. PI John Garry A. Erana
41. PSI Cyrus P. Anniban
On peace talk between the MILF
and GHP this should not be hampered and disrupted even both forces lost because
of violation and ignored the term of reference of peace agreement between MILF
and GPH, we are almost in the finishing line on the passage of Bangsamoro Basic
Law (BBL) is now Congress. Sayang pag hanap natin kapayapaan kung na disrupt
ito dahilan sa nangyari na hindi ka nais-nais at dapat hindi mangyari ito kung
ang dalawang panig ay maingat tumupad usapin kapayapaan nakakalungkot.
Pagtatapos interview namin ni VC GAZ JAAFAR (By: Abs Damahan Anchor
ofADLSNTV-blogspot.com and RPN – DXDX AM Radio Gensan Global Peace writer)
anuary 15 update: The government and the Presidency of the Republic announced that Lassana Bathily will be given French citizenship on Tuesday, January 20. This is a huge victory, a symbol for all those of us who see it as not only a recognition of his bravery but also the values of brotherhood he embodied in saving 15 people. This is a first victory – we must keep campaigning so that Lassana receives the Legion of Honour, an award that honours the most deserving citizens.
Even in the darkness and desolation, there is always somewhere a ray of light. Lassana Bathily, a young Malian Muslim man, has lightened a week that otherwise would have been completely darkened. Lassana Bathily saved lives by hiding customers in the shop’s cold room, while the hostage taker walked into the kosher supermarket in Vincennes, France, this Friday.
“I went to the freezer, I opened the door, and many people came in with me. I told them to calm down, not to make noise” he said on BFMTV. That is how a dozen people escaped almost certain death.
When he got out of the store, police arrested and handcuffed him for 1.5 hours, assuming that this black man was inevitably one of the terrorists. When the police finally realized their mistake, they interrogated him, and he gave them the plan of the store, which has facilitated the police intervention.
The young man of 24 is particularly humble: “I am a Muslim, practicing. I’ve already done my prayers in this store, in the storehouse. And yes, I helped the Jews. We are brothers, he said. This is not a question of Jews, Christians or Muslims, we are all in the same boat” he declared.
This ordinary hero is a role model. An undocumented citizen when he first arrive to France, he was finally welcomed in a Jewish store, and he saved fifteen Jewish people. Fifteen people. Simply.
There are many lessons to be learnt from this story. Stereotyping led the police to lose 1.5 hours in a context where every minute can be decisive. But the story of Lassana is also a great lesson on the benefits of mutual aid and brotherhood, which is the deeper meaning of all true religion.
For all these reasons, we ask the President François Hollande to grant him French citizenship and the Legion of Honor.
ISABELA CITY BASILAN (ADLSNTV & adlsntv.blogspotcom January 23, 2015) The leadership of the YCC-MILF and UNITED BANGSAMORO JUSTICE PARTY (UBJP) Isabela City Chapter are now conducting advocacy programs to reach the barangays constituent of this city. This advocacy programs is with the coordination from the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) Central Office Chaired by Mohagher Iqbal, Chairman of the BTC, the City Government of Isabela, PNP-CPO and AFP and other concerned agencies of this city. And this inline for their continued advocacy on Education, Information and Campaign activities on Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) and UBJP the new formed political party of the MILF organization.
This group will continue to educate the residents of Isabela City of what are the contains of BBL and UBJP and the importance of the new law for the Bangsamoro and the new concept of the party organized by the MILF. So that all residents of Isabela were aware and well informed when this BBL become a law after ratification in Congress and signed by the President to governed Bangsamoro people. (By. IP Kagawad Moh. Mohammad Hotong Provincial Correspondent-Basilan)
Researcher from the University of the Philippine Los Banos
Laguna team of scientists discovered new plant species sipping mineral from
soil with a scientific name RINOREA NICCOLIFERA a small plant species with
approximate height more or less 1.8 meter tall. This was discovered and found
in the hinterland of Zambales and some part of Luzon region. It found out the
new discovered species can extract much more mineral of nickel from soil
compares to other plant species in their scientist’s research findings.
According to the scientist who conducted the research the vast
terrain of Luzon of the mountainous geographical land area this plan can be
found here because of the potential rich in mineral source such as Nickel and
iron ore.
China, India and Brazil are now planting the same species
RINOREA NICCOLIFERA in mass production and they knew this kind of plant can sip
mineral from root and leaves in their research case study.
This RINOREA NICCOLIFERA can be used also to extract and sip
poisonous mineral from the embarking of landfill garbage area. So that the soil
is free from poison contamination that can re-plant to its natural condition with-out
health hazard suitable for agricultural production and safe for human
consumption. (By: Rhoderick Benez)
BASILAN-ADLSNTV & adlsntv.blogspot.com/ January 1, 2015) Couple from Ettub-Ettud, Sumisip Basilan names Jurham Paru and wife Asmaina Ahalul-Paru met their accident while traveling this morning bound for Isabela City at Barangay Balagtasan this city. Report reaching our desk office a while ago, Asmaina died on the spot in that Motorcycle accident, while Jurham Paru is now confine at Lamitan District Hospital for medical attention. He is now on recovery for his minor injury on the contusion damage in some part of his body. According to the eye-withness near the area while the accident occured. Motor ran over-speading and then side-trip uncontrolled by the driver that how they met accident in the boundary Lamitan-Isabela National highway concrete road. (By. IP Kagawad Moh. Mohammad Hotong Provincial Correspondence-ADLSNTV-Basilan)
Press freedom and Freedom of
expression is the ultimate defense guarantee of the journalist practitioners
whether they belong to print, mass media, broadcast and the modern media now
digital, eMedia, eNews, blog and social media.
The recent attacked of Charlie
Hebdo’s office in Paris France of which killed the Editor-in-Chief 9 others
members of the publisher’s staff and one economic editor and one banker a total
of 12 killed in that surprise attacked.
Opinion around the world is very
tedious in one sided voice condemning in a nasty and hearse hated opinion
aurgument write-up in the editorial page of almost some western media. The
three attackers’ allegedly Muslim names Cuareshi two brothers killed in the
raid after the rampage shooting inside the Hebdo’s editorial office and lone
female suspect escape still on the run hunted by the French authorities.
Hebdo’s publisher not carefully minding the implication of faith of others in
the satirical print-out page released by Charlie Hebdo magazine. Critical
expression of freedom continued in a comical satire expressed freely by some
media practitioners from the west. I would frankly say, we are irresponsible
media handling on a critical issue that would destroy bonding of mutual respect
of religion tolerance between the eastern and western civilization.
Satirical for Phophet Muhammad
P.B.U.H. continued in comical portraying repeated by satire Cartoonist artist
down-graded Muslim civilization touching and hurting ISLAM not minding the sacred
faith of the devotees individuals Muslim not knowing the level of spiritual
devotion hurting and bleeding the heart of every Muslim faith in so doing that
by intensions of any masterpiece of arts expert from European press again and
again. Some, but not all media practitioners are not respecting religious
tolerance, the recent Cartographic release in Paris press is considering
blasphemous attacking religion of ISLAM. Muslim scholars and academia analyzes
a very critical and dangerous writing topics when one touches religious pretext
or verses of the Bible out of context with-out in-depth knowledge about it
especially the meaning and interpretation of the Holy verses literally of the
Holy Qur-an and Ahadith of Holy Prophet Muhammad P.B.U.H. or even Holy Bible
scriptures alike of the Christians doctrine. Does it means make controversy and
confrontational for our religious understanding vis-a-vis can create violent
reaction from group or faith where they belongs had it made condemnation and
Fatwa (Ruling) or at some point declaring Jihad (Holy War) from the highest authority of religious
leaders. As media practitioners, are we responsible in our malicious and
malpractice portrayal of the Holy Prophet of ISLAM and even displayed the
burning and tearing publicly of the Holy Qur-an of the Muslim in the Television
screen and print???
Comment from Pope Francis when he
visited Philippines “You can’t provoke, you can’t insult the faith of others, you
can’t make fun of faith.” Pope Francis said to his companion of media group
when he still on travel to the Philippine by Airplane on Thursday. Source:
Reuters.
Another comment from Pope Francis
with regards to the freedom of religion and freedom of expression “I think both
freedom of religion and freedom of expression are both fundamental human
rights”. He said, on the recent bloody attacked in Paris France that killed
Charlie Hebdo’s Publisher, Editorial-In-Chief, Employees and two others.
More comment from Pope Francis
“Everyone has not only the freedom and the rights but the obligation to say
what he thinks for the common good; we have the right to have this freedom
openly without offending”. He opine.
For more clarity opinion from
Pope Francis “It is true that you must not react violently, but although we are
good friends if (he) says a curse word against my mother, he can expect a
punch, its normal”. Pope said to press.
Pope Francis comment on the
freedom of expression “You can can’t make a toy out of the religion of others,”
Pope added, “These people provoke and then (something can happen). In freedom
of expression there are limits”.
Pope Francis reminding from the
history of war in the past “War provoke and started from religion”.
In our religious fervor, I should
always avoided to topics critical issue on religion limited my opinion on the
basis of facts and evidences related on the subject disclosures, if I had have
at hands to divulge for public opinion and for comment and reaction in a manner
can contribute to resolve conflicts or any controversial issue for the general
interest of the public. I am not contributor to complicate hottest issue to
inflame religious flock to become complex and conflagrated.
Journalists and writers do have
big responsibility for a global peaceful co-existence protecting and preserving
civilization??? With the present Digital media, eNews and Social media all over
the counters and on the touch screen of hi-tech eGadgets available in the
market today transmitting of newsbeat worldwide is just in a split of second
can reach millions of global population readers and followers. How fastest we
are in the delivering of news report throughout the world. Does we cares others
in our write-up in our news report, in our opinion articles and our comical satirical
drawing???. I think in our profession, we are the voice, we are the ears and we
are messengers of quality news delivers worldwide hears and read by a millions
if not billions readers globally. This is on how big role and big
responsibility of journalists and media practitioners at present??? Freedom of
the press and freedom of expression has always the limitation when we touch
religious aspects and cultures, writers should be aware of his/her topics
particular on a sensitive and delicate issue out for respect.
A respected journalists and media
practitioner always delivers news report in a balance views, fearless and
accurate reporting to readers and audiences what real happening and relevant
news of the day, nothing less and nothing more for my entire comrade in the
fourth estate of society. (By: Abs Damahan Anchor of ADLSNTV)
A jealous wife in China chopped off her cheating husband’s penis as he slept, then snuck into his hospital room after he had it sewn back on — and hacked it off again and tossed it out the window.
Fan Lung, a dad of five, sealed his fate when he decided to use his wife’s cellphone to send his secret lover a hot and heavy email, Central European News reports.
The 32-year-old forgot to log out of his account after the message was sent, which is how his 21-year-old wife, Feng — who is now under arrest for grievous bodily harm — came across the saucy exchange and snapped.
The jilted wife went berserk, grabbed a pair of scissors, stormed into their bedroom and cut off his penis while he was sleeping.
Lung was rushed to the hospital, where doctors were able to save the appendage and sew it back on.
But Feng was able to sneak into the recovery room, where she chopped his penis off a second time and threw it out the window, according to CEN.
A shocked Lung chased his wife outside, despite losing a lot of blood.
“Staff rushed out to see what was happening and found the patient with blood streaming down his legs hitting the woman,” a hospital spokesman said. “He was stopped and the woman was taken in for treatment, and then we discovered she had chopped his penis off again.”
Despite desperate search efforts, authorities were unable to find Lung’s manhood. Police believe it may have been stumbled upon by a stray dog or cat, according to CEN.
Lung’s side chick — Zhang Hung, 21 — said she’s OK with her man not being able to have more children.
“It doesn’t matter that he’s lost his fertility,” she told CEN. “He has five children already.”
For a relationship to function properly for long periods of time, for marriage and/or bringing up children, it should be accompanied by support, trust, protection, acceptance, and respect.
The conservation of a relationship is not an easy task, there are biological hazards like being attracted to another person, and cultural hazards like being attracted to another person to achieve a better life that threaten the solidity of relationships.
Some common causes that lead to breakdown in relationships are:
lack of attention, who is the primary parent, abuse, rejection, arguments, punishment, assault, betrayal, deceit, and infidelity.
In Western societies more than 50% of married people have had an extramarital affair. Infidelity has long been a major source of dissolution of relationships.
Infidelity can be caused by lack of sexual involvement and/or emotional contact between partners, which can be seen as a response to conflict, or as causing the conflict. It can be viewed as a event that will annihilate the relationship.
Infidelity can be a source of suffering for all parties involved, the one who is cheated on can feel frustrated, rejected, devalued, and betrayed by the one who has been un faithful which can generate a feeling of hatred.
Regarding causes of infidelity, researchers have found that women are unfaithful by emotional abandonment and rejection by their partners or revenge towards them.
In contrast, they have found that young women in competitive urban environment are more likely to commit infidelity, because they have a personality open to sexuality, shown by desire to have more sexual partners, greater diversity in sexual practice, and a positive attitude towards infidelity, which is a major change from the underlying reasons for female infidelity.
The changes that give substance for female infidelity may be due to cultural changes that have taken place in various social contexts. According to surveys there is an increased ratio of extramarital affairs by American women.
It seems there is a higher percentage of women who cheat as revenge for their partner’s behavior they consider unfair, suspected infidelity can be a trigger.
According to numerous studies, those who have suffered childhood trauma like emotional neglect, or physical or sexual abuse, are more likely to be unfaithful to their partners.
Many men have never tried to be faithful, despite vowing to do so. He doesn’t understand faithful is a compromise, an ethical step, and it’s not a game to fool around.
Men can underestimate their partners, they think their partner is too old or young, too fat or skinny, too poor, or stupid. They use infidelity as a way to feel better about themselves, creating a false thinking that they got what they deserve, this is childish behavior. They think their actions do not harm anyone.
They may have unreasonable expectations and think their partner should be available 24/7 for intercourse.
Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi announced in a closed-door meeting Tuesday she would name the first Muslim lawmaker to the House’s Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
A senior Democratic aide said Rep. André Carson of Indiana would be named in the “coming days” to the key national security-focused panel. Pelosi (D-Calif.) told lawmakers of the appointment during the members’ weekly caucus meeting.
Story Continued Below
Carson would be the first Muslim to serve on the committee and was the second Muslim to be elected to Congress. He already serves on the Armed Services Committee and worked for the Department of Homeland Security’s Fusion Center — the clearinghouse established by the federal government to streamline data sharing between the CIA, FBI, Department of Justice and the military.
The intelligence committee will most likely tackle a series of high-profile international crises during the 114th Congress, including the threat of Islamic militants and Ukraine.
Carson’s office didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
The announcement comes in the wake of last week’s terrorist attack by Islamic extremists and subsequent shootouts with police that left 17 people dead. World leaders gathered on Sunday for a 1 million person “solidarity” protest against the violence that targeted French Jews and journalists.
GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/13 January) —Luwaran, in its editorial of January 1-7, 2015, referred to “2015” as“the year of reckoning vis-à-vis the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).”
Expressing anxiety:“Its fate is hanging in the balance. We should watch how this year unfolds itself and how Congress shapes the destiny of this proposed law.”
This reveals tension gripping the Moro Islamic Liberation Front leaders while reposing their trust and confidence in the wisdom of the Congress and the sincerity of the President.
In its January 8-15, 2015 editorial,“Sensitive Situation,”it noted three categories of statements on the BBL from some House and Senate leaders:“Most of the public statements were good and very encouraging; others are not so wholesome; and still others spoke of some unconstitutional provisions of the proposed law.”It acknowledged“good faith”in some“statements of unconstitutionality”which media reporters might have“quoted out of context”and“we believe require clarification.”
The editorial admitted:“The truth is that we are in a very sensitive and delicate situation.”
The“we”must be referring to the MILF leaders, theLuwaranbeing their official website. It appealed“to all and sundry especially leaders not to make hasty pronouncements”,the issue being“in the domain of the Supreme Court.”In its December 28, 2014 posting,Luwarannoted the“vast powers on fiscal autonomy and taxation”of the Bangsamoro proposed in the BBL as“a constitutional pitfall.”
Most Potent
The most potent pronouncements, hence most crucial to the fate of the BBL, are those of Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago. As chair of the Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Laws, she will conduct the hearings on the constitutionality and legality of the BBL. Her position will impact on the course of hearing and reflect in the bias of the report of her committee for the plenary. If her stand remains unchanged after the hearings, she will likely speak against the bill in the plenary.
Besides her statements in casual or ambush interviews, she spelled out her stand in the transcript of the interview she gave on the Framework Agreement on Bangsamoro (FAB) on October 9, 2012 and in an excerpt from her commencement address at the Gordon College in Olongapo City on April 2, 2014 taking to task the Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro (CAB). These were posted in her blog, miriam.com.ph/newsblog. The original would clarify any quotation or citation out of context in the media reports.
In the October 9, 2012 interview, she zeroed in on the unconstitutionality of negotiation and on two areas that will necessitate amendments as predictably noted since the FAB only contained the“framework”. However, in her commencement address she itemized the unconstitutionalities. Incidentally, Gordon College supported openly the CAB as shown in the big streamer displayed in the campus.
The Interview
She was categorical in her opening statement:“I am very concerned with the framework agreement with the Bangsamoro concerning Philippine government and Bangsamoro relations.”She observed:“… as explicitly mentioned in the framework agreement, this agreement depends upon the amendment of our Constitution.”
She questioned the participation of“foreign parties … in negotiations that involve the amendment of our Constitution”as contrary to the“very definition of Constitutional sovereignty”in which“we become independent of any other state”.
On this premise, she was categorical:“So I’m very worried that some other state –Malaysia, the mediator — or a few other states may have been participating in these negotiations which will dictate how the Filipinos will implement a constitutional provision on the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao.”
She noted“at least two constitutional amendments involved”:
[1]“… in the Bangsamoro area or region, there will be not the Presidential form of government, but a completely different form of government, the Parliamentary form of government. That certainly will require an amendment of our Constitution.
[2]“… the second amendment, which seems to be necessitated by this framework agreement, is a federalized system with respect only to Bangsamoro area … treated as a so-called sub-state as in a federal state. Other local government units will be treated as local government units under our presidential form of government but this particular area will be treated as sub-state.”
She explained that by the“context of this Bangsamoro agreement … this so-called sub-state will have power that all governments exercise” –that, notwithstanding the powers excepted, will otherwise make it“a completely independent state”. Wondering whether the term“sub-state”was just“invented for us”, she believes that“the Bangsamoro area will become … a dependent state or a non-sovereign state”.
She is obviously intrigued by another element added to the“sub-state”:“… there is a transitional commission, which is supposed to draft the Bangsamoro basic law or Constitution of Bangsamoro area, but this Bangsamoro basic law will have to include these two constitutional amendments.”Normally, the power to draft the basic law is exclusive to the Congress.
She recapped:
First:“In the proper order of priorities, first, we have to amend our Constitution”before“we can pass the Bangsamoro basic act.”Meaning, the constitutional amendments have to be ratified in a national plebiscite before the Congress can pass the BBL.
Second,the proper order is a hard option:“If we do not pass these amendments in the plebiscite, or if Congress does not pass these amendments, then the framework agreement will be discarded.“ Then, she said, the Congress and the Filipino people will be held responsible and blamed for the failure.
Third,she deplored the fact“that our own constitution is being subject of a treaty. Since when did a foreign entity or even a rebel entity have the power to compel our people to pass amendments to our Constitution?”
In response to a question, she said she will not file a petition with the Supreme Court regarding the FAB, but she will always be firm in her stand“that our constitution must remain as it is. As much as possible we should not amend the constitution for trivial reasons or even for important reasons if we can still function under that Constitution, because amending it frequently violates the very principle of constitutional law.”
On the CAB
The CAB signed on March 27, 2014 consists of a five-page comprehensive agreement covering a compendium of 12 agreements including the FAB and its four Annexes with one Addendum which are the actual basis of the Draft BBL defining the relations of the central government, the Bangsamoro government, and the local government units.
She stated her stand:“I regret that, after my preliminary studies, I have concluded that the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro is unconstitutional, for the following reasons”— four primary with the seven sub-reasons for the fourth reiterating or elucidating her stand in the interview two years earlier:
She assails the constitutionality of the agreement:
“1. The Agreement is between the Philippine Government (GPH) and the MILF. It is misleading for the Agreement to identify that one party is the “Philippine Government.” The reality is that only one of the three branches of government — the executive branch, consisting of the Office of the President acting through a peace panel of negotiators — represented the government. The executive branch alone does not represent the Philippine Government.”
In concluding,“Thus, the executive branch, in negotiating the Agreement had no power to bind the two other branches — legislative and judicial. In negotiating for the government, I am afraid that the executive branch not only exceeded its powers, but may have infringed upon the powers of the legislative branch,”does she mean the President should have first sought authority from the Congress? The Supreme Court, in its Decision declaring the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain unconstitutional, said the President has the authority to negotiate.
Such misrepresentation resulted in granting MILF a sub-state, not an autonomous region.
“2. When the executive branch misrepresenting itself as the Philippine Government enters into an agreement with the rebel group, the result is not a mere autonomous region as provided for by our Constitution, but a substate. Thus, the Agreement is concluded between one branch mistakenly identifying itself as the government, and what will turn out to be a substate.”
The Agreement diminishes the sovereignty of the Philippine Government which, in the future, may be increased only with the consent of the Bangsamoro.
“3. The Philippine Constitution provides for the powers of the state. The Constitution is supreme. The Agreement reserves to the central government the exercise of certain so-called “reserved powers,” which are described as powers “retained by the central government.” Thus, the Agreement diminishes the sovereignty of the Philippine Government by listing what are the powers that the central government can retain.In other words, the Agreement attempts to redefine the sovereignty of the Philippine state.”(Bold ours)
“In addition, the Agreement provides that the powers reserved to the central government will depend upon further negotiation by providing:‘This list is without prejudice to additional powers that may be agreed upon by the parties.’Thus, the Agreement not only reduces the sovereignty of the central government, but also provides that in the future,such sovereign powers as have been reserved may be further increased, provided the Bangsamoro agrees.It will therefore be the Bangsamoro which will determine what should be the remaining sovereign powers of the central government.”(Bold ours)
The Bangsamoro as a substate is elucidated.
“4. That Bangsamoro will be a substate is revealed by the following provisions:
“a. The powers of the central government shall be determined by the Agreement, thus turning Bangsamoro into a substate.
“b. The Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao, which is provided for by the Constitution, will be abolished by mere agreement with the MILF, which is not surprising if you consider that the Bangsamoro has become a substate.
“c. Allocation to the Bangsamoro of all powers exercised by the national government over local government units.
“d. Although the Constitution provides that natural resources belong to the state, in the Bangsamoro territory, only Bangsamoro will have exclusive jurisdiction over natural resources.
“e. The Annex on Power Sharing gives to Bangsamoro so-called “exclusive powers,” which is defined as a tautology, as “powers or matters over which authority and jurisdiction pertain to the Bangsamoro government.”
“f. Only the Bangsamoro shall be under a ministerial form of government, while the rest of the country will operate under a presidential form of government.
“g. The Agreement in Part 7, para. 4, subpara (b) enumerates the functions of the Transition Commission which at present is reportedly drafting the Bangsamoro Basic Law. One of the functions of the Transition Commission is as follows: “To work on proposals to amend the Philippine Constitution for the purpose of amending and enriching in the Constitution the agreements of the Parties whenever necessary without derogating from any prior peace agreement.
She observed:“Finally, I make the statement after preliminary study that the Bangsamoro Agreement apparently contains provisions very similar to those contained in the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) which the Supreme Court declared as unconstitutional. Both the MOA-AD and the Bangsamoro Agreement appear to facilitate the secession of the Bangsamoro from our country, in a manner similar to the secession of Kosovo and Crimea.”
In clinching her stand, she also states the principle that will illuminate the hearings of her committee.
“On the whole, I could be removed as chair of the Senate committee on constitutional amendments. But while I am chair,it will be extremely difficult to convince me, as a student of constitutional law, that the Bangsamoro Agreement respects the Philippine Constitution. On the contrary: The Agreement violates the principle of constitutional supremacy.”(Bold ours)
Her stand is clear.Luwaranmay not be referring to her alone. But how she will dissect Draft BBL during her committee hearings on January 26 and February 2 will be most interesting to anticipate — something to watch with bated breaths.
(Comment” is Mr. Patricio P. Diaz’ column for MindaViews, the opinion section of MindaNews. The Titus Brandsma Media Awards honored Mr. Diaz with a “Lifetime Achievement Award” for his “commitment to education and public information to Mindanawons as Journalist, Educator and Peace Advocate.” You can reach him atpatponcediaz@yahoo.com)
PESHAWAR, Pakistan — A Pakistani cleric has held funerals for Chérif and Saïd Kouachi, the Islamist terrorist brothers behind the Charlie Hebdo magazine massacre.
"Today we feel so proud to attend the funeral of our brothers," said cleric Allama Pir Mohammad Chishti after leading the funeral in absentia in the city of Peshawar. "They are heroes of Islam. They laid down their lives but eliminated those published caricatures of our Prophet Muhammad."
Chérif and Saïd Kouachi killed 12 journalists and police when they attacked the French satirical magazine that had published cartoons of Muhammad on Wednesday. They were slain after an armed siege on Friday.
"We invited all the Muslims to join us as the two brothers had taken stand on our prophet by killing the publisher and cartoonists," said Abdul Aziz, a spokesman of the school that arranged the ceremony held in a public park.
MUSHTAQ YUSUFZAI / NBC NEWS
A banner honors Chérif and Saïd Kouachi, the Islamist terrorist brothers behind the Charlie Hebdo magazine massacre, at a funeral in absentia held by a cleric in Peshawar, Pakistan, on Tuesday.
Chishti runs the Ghousia Madrassa, or Islamic religious school. He also belongs to the Sunni Etehad Council, which is usually associated with groups that oppose terrorism.
The ceremony was delayed by about an hour and attended by only around 40 people despite many entreaties via loudspeaker.
Mohammad Rasheed Ahmad, a student at the madrassa, said he was disappointed so few came out to honor the Kouachis.
"We saw tens of thousands of people gathered in France to show solidarity w‎ith their slain men, but Muslims didn't come to take part in the funeral of the two heroes who did this great job," he said.
Pakistanis are often the victims of religious extremism, with more than 50,000 dying in bomb explosions and suicide attacks since 2002.
PESHAWAR, Pakistan — A Pakistani cleric has held funerals for Chérif and Saïd Kouachi, the Islamist terrorist brothers behind the Charlie Hebdo magazine massacre.
"Today we feel so proud to attend the funeral of our brothers," said cleric Allama Pir Mohammad Chishti after leading the funeral in absentia in the city of Peshawar. "They are heroes of Islam. They laid down their lives but eliminated those published caricatures of our Prophet Muhammad."
Chérif and Saïd Kouachi killed 12 journalists and police when they attacked the French satirical magazine that had published cartoons of Muhammad on Wednesday. They were slain after an armed siege on Friday.
"We invited all the Muslims to join us as the two brothers had taken stand on our prophet by killing the publisher and cartoonists," said Abdul Aziz, a spokesman of the school that arranged the ceremony held in a public park.
MUSHTAQ YUSUFZAI / NBC NEWS
A banner honors Chérif and Saïd Kouachi, the Islamist terrorist brothers behind the Charlie Hebdo magazine massacre, at a funeral in absentia held by a cleric in Peshawar, Pakistan, on Tuesday.
Chishti runs the Ghousia Madrassa, or Islamic religious school. He also belongs to the Sunni Etehad Council, which is usually associated with groups that oppose terrorism.
The ceremony was delayed by about an hour and attended by only around 40 people despite many entreaties via loudspeaker.
Mohammad Rasheed Ahmad, a student at the madrassa, said he was disappointed so few came out to honor the Kouachis.
"We saw tens of thousands of people gathered in France to show solidarity w‎ith their slain men, but Muslims didn't come to take part in the funeral of the two heroes who did this great job," he said.
Pakistanis are often the victims of religious extremism, with more than 50,000 dying in bomb explosions and suicide attacks since 2002.
PARIS, France – French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo defied the attackers in last week’s bloodbath by putting a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad on its next cover, as the government on Monday announced the deployment of 10,000 soldiers to boost security.
The weekly released the front page of what it called the “survivors’ issue”, due out Wednesday, featuring a crying Muhammad in a white turban and holding a sign that reads “Je suis Charlie” under the words: “All is forgiven”.
The issue will be the first since two Islamist gunmen stormed Charlie Hebdo’s Paris office on January 7 and massacred 12 people, saying they were taking revenge for previous publications of Muhammad cartoons — considered deeply offensive to many Muslims.
In a further show of defiance, the magazine announced it would print three million copies — not the usual 60,000 — when it reappears on newsstands this week.
Charlie Hebo has become an international symbol of free speech since the massacre and a second attack two days later at a Jewish supermarket. A total of 17 people were killed in the twin rampages.
Nearly four million people — including 1.5 million in Paris in the biggest rally in French history — demonstrated across France on Sunday to denounce the killings. Many carried signs with the now internationally familiar slogan “Je suis Charlie” (I am Charlie).
Seeking to reassure a jittery nation in the wake of the attacks, French officials announced the unprecedented deployment of thousands of soldiers to boost security, including at Jewish schools.
“We have decided… to mobilize 10,000 men to protect sensitive sites in the whole country from tomorrow (Tuesday) evening,” Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said after an emergency security meeting.
“This is the first time that our troops have been mobilized to such an extent on our own soil,” he added.
Another 5,000 security officers were also part of the reinforcements.
Hunt goes on
As investigators looked into possible intelligence failures that allowed the attacks to happen, a debate gathered pace over whether France’s security bodies need greater powers to combat home-grown terrorism and the flow of jihadists back and forth from Syria.
Prime Minister Manuel Valls said one of the Islamists responsible for last week’s attacks that rocked France — Amedy Coulibaly who gunned down a policewoman and four Jewish shoppers at a kosher supermarket — likely received help from others.
“We think there are in fact probably accomplices,” Valls told French radio. “The hunt will go on.”
But Le Monde newspaper warned against the “temptation” of enacting a French version of the US Patriot Act, rushed in after the September 11 2001 attacks to give security agencies sweeping new surveillance powers over US citizens.
Such was the secrecy around the US law that only the revelations of whistleblowing intelligence agent Edward Snowden 12 years later laid bare the extraordinary scope of government snooping.
Meanwhile, Washington acknowledged it made a diplomatic misstep when it failed to send a high-ranking official to join world leaders attending Sunday’s mass march in Paris.
Only the ambassador to Paris was sent, a decision that provoked ire in France. “We should have sent someone with a higher profile to be there,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest said.
Tragic hero
New details emerged of the scene inside the Jewish supermarket where Coulibaly, who said he was working in concert with the two Charlie Hebdo killers, briefly took hostages on Friday before being killed in a police assault.
A woman who survived the siege told Europe 1 radio that she watched as a fellow hostage tried to snatch the weapon wielded by Coulibaly.
“A young man took the assault rifle and wanted to shoot him,” but Coulibaly “was faster and he shot him in the throat. The poor young man just fell,” said the woman, who gave her name only as Sophie.
She said Coulibaly dealt ruthlessly with another hostage.
“Someone wanted to leave — he shot him in the back,” she said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the scene of the hostage drama at the kosher supermarket in eastern Paris on Friday.
To cries of “Bibi, Bibi” — his nickname — and under extensive security protection, Netanyahu paid tribute to the four Jewish men who died at the store.
They were to be buried in Israel on Tuesday.
Threats to Muslims, Jews
Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said he was putting in place a “powerful and durable” system of protection for France’s Jewish community, the largest in Europe.
Muslims are also coming under attack, with community leaders reporting more than 50 incidents recorded since the assault on Charlie Hebdo, including apparent arson at a mosque in Poitiers on Sunday.
In German cities on Monday, about 100,000 people demonstrated in support of the country’s strongly held multicultural values and against an anti-Islamic movement that is gathering pace across an increasingly immigration-sceptic Europe.
At the same time, a record 25,000 people joined an anti-Islamic PEGIDA march in the eastern city of Dresden, claiming their stance was vindicated by last week’s Paris jihadist attacks.
Chancellor Angela Merkel was set to attend a rally backing an “open and tolerant Germany” on Tuesday in Berlin, alongside the foreign minister and other top officials.
“Germany wants peaceful coexistence of Muslims and members of other religions,” Merkel said Monday.
Terror watch list
As well as Coulibaly, brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi, who carried out the Charlie Hebdo murders, were known to French intelligence for their extremist leanings.
Valls admitted there were “clear failings” after it emerged that the Kouachis had been on a US terror watch list “for years”.
He told French radio on Monday he wanted to see an “improved” system of tapping phones.
Valls also said 1,400 people were known to have left to fight in Syria and Iraq, or were planning to do so, up from the 1,200 stated last month. Seventy French citizens have died there.
Said Kouachi, 34, was known to have travelled to Yemen in 2011, where he received weapons training from Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. And 32-year-old Cherif was a known jihadist convicted in 2008 for involvement in a network sending fighters from France to Iraq.
Coulibaly was a repeat criminal offender also convicted for extremist activity.
The minds of the leaders of the world are still set in thinking that national security is about being equipped with military arms and strength, that violence can be prevented by violence, and that violence can be resolved by violence. But is that so? . . . How can we change the mind-set of our leaders and our society from the culture of war to the culture of peace?
In the past as well as in our present world, going to war has been glorified as a noble and heroic act, and war movies are glamorized. But what is the truth about war? War dehumanizes us and the presumed enemy. It sets us to think that the “other” is the enemy. Our differences are exaggerated, and that allows prejudice, xenophobia, and scapegoating. Real or invented threats and brainwashing make us willing to sacrifice everything in war, even to the extent of committing genocide and ethnic cleansing. This is the true face of war that has been repeated in history countless of times at the expense of so many lives.
Deaths caused by war are appalling. The death toll of people who were killed in violence in the Iraq war was 176,000 to 189,000, including 134,000 civilians (figures are from the Iraq Body Count project, a Web-based effort to record civilian deaths). The United Nations reported on August 22, 2014, that the death toll from three years of Syria’s civil war had risen to more than 191,000 people. In most cases, more than 90 percent of all casualties are civilians. Millions are displaced, and women’s percentage is higher both as refugees and as victims of war crimes. Children are exposed to fear and cannot live normal lives. Wars also destroy the natural environment.
And yet the minds of the leaders of the world are still set in thinking that national security is about being equipped with military arms and strength, that violence can be prevented by violence, and that violence can be resolved by violence. But is that so? Does it really work that way? I believe that violence cannot be resolved by violence, as it brings more violence. That is what happened on September 11, 2001. Approximately 3,000 people (including nineteen hijackers) were killed that day, and more than 6,000 were injured. Following the 9/11 attack, it is said that more than 19,600 people have been killed in Pakistan and Afghanistan. How can we change the mind-set of our leaders and our society from the culture of war to the culture of peace?
The Role of Religion
One answer is the role of religion. Religion guides us in what we need to do and should do with the words of wisdom found in the spiritual teachings. As Dr. M. H. Qureshi mentioned in his keynote address at Commission 2 on Human Rights and Well-Being during the Eighth Assembly of the Asian Conference of Religions for Peace (ACRP), held in Incheon, South Korea, in August 2014: “The most important aspect of all the religions is that they have developed certain common values in spite of their so many differences in their practices. Truth, love, compassion, nonviolence, accommodation and charity are the value systems which are common across the religions.”
There are various sacred writings of the religions on earth that provide universal value systems. To mention a few, Buddhism has the Lotus Sutra; Christianity has the Bible; Hinduism has the Vedas, Upanishads, and Bhagavad Gita; Judaism has the Torah (mentioned in alphabetical order). They offer very valuable insights and examples as to what we can do to face our sufferings and attain peace, harmony, and happiness.
Religion maintains the spiritual and physical health of the person. Religion tells us to deal with our problems with love and benevolence, tolerance, caring, and empathy. The Christian golden rule is “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Or the Islam version would be “Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you.” Buddhism mentions the importance of transforming the pain inflicted by others and embracing anger and suffering.
The Role of Peace Education
Peace educators pursue a vision of society in which people commit themselves to caring for others instead of exploiting them. People who support this vision believe that it can become a reality through peace education. The leaders and participants of the Eighth Assembly of the ACRP added the importance of peace education in the Recommendations of the Incheon Declaration: “National chapters work with their ducational authorities to ensure that peace education is incorporated at all levels of the curriculum.”
The value of citizenship calls on us to educate people to be capable of creating a nonviolent, just social order on this planet, a global civic order offering equity to all Earth’s people, offering protection for universal human rights, providing for the resolution of conflict by nonviolent means, and assuring respect for the planet that produces the life and the well-being of its people. ([Teachers College Press, 1988], 59)
Conflict has both negative and positive aspects. If the attempt to resolve conflict is done in a violent way that disrespects the dignity of others, it promotes destruction and hatred. If a constructive and collaborative method such as dialogue and negotiation is conducted, it promotes caring and good relationships as well as a healthy social development among individuals, communities, and countries.
Educating the young to negotiate constructively fosters the kind of spiritual health and social competence that is important to improving quality of life. Learning these skills would encourage the development of characteristics such as empathy, sincerity, justice, and caring. Empathy is defined as an active effort to understand another person’s interpersonal event as if one were that other person rather than judging the other person’s behavior from one’s own perspective.
Peace education is education for change. It serves as a means to empower children and adults alike to become active participants in the transformation of their societies. Changing the mind-sets that cause war to one that is more humane and caring is a challenging mission. Loreta Navarro-Castro and Jasmin Nario-Galace explained in Peace Education: A Pathway to a Culture of Peace:
Peace education, or an education that promotes a culture of peace, is essentially transformative. It cultivates the knowledge base, skills, attitudes and values that seek to transform people’s mindsets, attitudes and behaviors that, in the first place, have either created or exacerbated violent conflicts. It seeks this transformation by building awareness and understanding, developing concern and challenging personal and social action that will enable people to live, relate and create conditions and systems that actualize nonviolence, justice, environmental care and other peace values. ([Miriam College Center for Peace Education, 2008], 21)
Learning focuses on the values and behaviors that enable individuals to learn to live together in a world characterized by diversity and pluralism. The foremost goal of peace education is preservation of this beautiful planet Earth and all the living beings. So in order to preserve this earth, it is important to work for peace, to nurture peace within ourselves, to bring peace to the environment. The pedagogy of peace education includes the knowledge, skills, and attitude needed to develop appropriate characteristics to conduct reconciliation and peace-building processes.
Practice and Hope
One of the purposes of the United Nations is “to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war” (Preamble to the Charter of the United Nations).
The scourge and the horrors of war are what I saw and heard about in Nanjing, China, when I was there this past summer to conduct a peace-building training program at the Northeast Asia Regional Peacebuilding Institute (NARPI) as a facilitator of the course “The Theory and Practice of Peace Education.” This program was launched in 2011 in Seoul, South Korea, “to promote peace in the region by creating space for learning peace building and building networks among peace-loving people in Northeast Asia.
“Every year, NARPI hosts Summer Training in August and provides a selection of six different courses and a field trip. We offer training programs to practitioners, professionals, activists, students and staff of non-governmental organizations and faith-based groups” (from the NARPI Web site).
We have met four times since the launching of NARPI: in 2011 in Seoul and Inje, South Korea; 2012 in Hiroshima, Japan; 2013 in Inje, South Korea; and 2014 in Nanjing, China. What I am going to introduce here is not meant to shame my country, Japan. My intentions are to share how peace education has helped the peace-building participants process the terrible incident of the Nanjing Massacre and envision a positive way forward to propose what they can do to change this cycle of violence and hatred.
We heard the lived story of a Nanjing Massacre survivor. The massacre happened in 1937 when the Japanese military committed genocide against fifty thousand to three hundred thousand victims (the lower estimate is according to scholarly research, and the higher estimate is that given by the Chinese government). The survivor was eight years old at the time. She and her four-year-old sister were the only survivors of her family. Japanese soldiers killed her parents, grandparents, and two older sisters. The younger sister was taken to an orphanage. The older sister was brought up by her uncle and aunt. Both sisters lived a hard life. The older sister withstood all hardship and lived to this day to tell the story.
After hearing her story, some of the Japanese participants broke into tears, especially when they heard the survivor say that it was no fault of the young Japanese people who were there in the room. In fact, when she visited Japan to protest against the Japanese government officials who said that her testimony was a hoax, many Japanese people were kind to her. The Chinese participants stayed close to the Japanese participants and comforted them in as many ways as they could. Some came to me and asked, “What can I do or say to our Japanese friends?” or said, “I don’t know what to do.”
The following day we saw the records of the gruesome history at the Nanjing Massacre Museum. I couldn’t help but pray and bow with respect before the walls with three hundred thousand names to commemorate the victims. I felt sad that my country committed such inhumane atrocities in Nanjing.
But the participants in the peace-building training––young Chinese, Koreans, Mongolians, and Japanese––having taken peace-education and peace-building courses beforehand for five days, all thought deeply on the matter, and the following are some of the questions and comments that resulted. One Mongolian participant explained: “Every horrifying photograph and artifact had an explanation that said ‘the Japanese military did this’ or ‘the Japanese government did that.’ Can’t we change the subject of the sentences to ‘war did this’ or ‘war brought about this horrifying situation? War changed normal people into beasts and heartless beings?’”
One Korean participant said: “No matter what ethnic background we come from, don’t we need to know and predict the possibility that in times of war, we ourselves might build that evil in us and do the beastly things that were done in Nanjing?”
One Chinese participant said: “I feel we have to think what we can do from here. What can we do to make this world a better and safer place to live? What can we do to learn from history and prevent any inhumane activities from happening again? We should never again violate the dignity of others.”
One Japanese participant said, “Such horrifying events still happen to this day. We still hear in the news of one country killing people of another country, of one ethnic group killing another ethnic group or military men raping women of the so-called enemy country or ethnic groups. I want to find ways to stop these frightening things from happening again, and that is why I am here to participate in the NARPI program.”
The Northeast Asian participants posed such questions and shared their thoughts. They responded in solidarity: “What we need to do is to design peace education and peace-building programs that would enable present and future generations to find nonviolent ways to resolve conflict and change the structure of the world from the culture of war to the culture of peace, just as we have taken the peace-building and education sessions, we feel that our attitudes have changed.”
Some Chinese participants said that they had heard many times as they were growing up about the horrible things that the Japanese military had done. Some said that they were a bit nervous in the beginning to meet the Japanese participants. But through the five-day training, all the participants gradually got to know each other, and as they learned about peace building, they were able to change their mind-set to a more cooperative and accepting attitude. Their change of attitude gave me hope that our young generation can learn how to make decisions and find positive ways to go forward.
to learn how easily a person, regardless of nationality, can be trapped by the psychology of brutality when involved in war. Such brutality is often caused by hatred of others, as is clearly illustrated in acts of racism. The most fundamental problem we must address when dealing with any war crime is the profound fear of death that soldiers experience. In order to overcome fear during war, people tend to rely upon violence, which in turn degrades their morals and manifests itself as an outbreak of brutality. ([Westview, 1996], 9–10.)
If war causes atrocities that manifest brutality in human beings, then practice of religion and an education to prevent war or even to abolish war would be of significant importance to avoid recurring crimes against human dignity. The Seville Statement, a statement about violence signed by scientists in May 1986 at Seville, Spain, proved that violent behaviors associated with war are not inborn but something humans have learned. The statement provided scientific evidence that humans are not doomed to perpetual violence; humans have the potential to build peace, and this potential can be educated and nourished.
Conclusion
With widespread teaching of the sacred writings and with comprehensive peace education, individuals would know how to release their bitterness to prevent them from building conditions that would attract violence. Nurturing peaceful characteristics within all humans could eventually lead to the development of a culture of peace. In his article “Forgiveness, Education, Public Policy: The Road Not Yet Taken,” John Rodden notes: “Educators committed to what has become known as ‘character education’ have repeatedly asked: How can we develop people who are more considerate and compassionate, citizens who strive to bring out the best in others and not use or exploit them?” (Modern Age [Fall 2004]: 333). The answer is, cultivating the hearts that welcome the other through religious teachings and peace education. So be it.
MUSHTAQ YUSUFZAI / NBC NEWS