The GRIPS Summer Program Committee, in partnership with the Global Center for Excellence (GCOE) and the GRIPS Security and International Studies Program (SISP) Cordially invite you to attend the

Summer Program Symposium 2012

“Issues on Conflict Resolution and Peace-Building: Experience of Southern Philippines” on Thursday, September 6, 2012

Background

The conflict in Mindanao represents one of the most elusive intrastate conflicts in the world that had been begging for resolution for decades. After almost forty years of voluminous peace agreements between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and two major secessionist Muslim rebel groups, the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the war in the Southern Philippines has never ended, costing the lives of over 120,000 people and the displacement of at least 2 million others. Lasting peace never came and conflicts and violence are still common place in the region. Many scholars have tried to understand and explain the nature of the Mindanao conflicts and one of the themes identified is the continuing assertion of the Muslim South – or at least the people who believe they represent the Bangsamoro populace – for the restoration of their historical homeland which, they believe, had been immorally and illegally annexed from them.

Objectives

To be able to understand the intricacy of the conflicts in Mindanao and to appreciate the conflict resolution efforts and strategies that major actors had been employing to achieve lasting peace in the region, the symposium will have the following general objectives: 1. Understand the nature, cause and impact of conflict in multicultural, multi-religious and multiethnic communities, focusing on the Mindanao problem; 2) understand the dynamics of national and local politics in resolving intrastate conflicts; 3) get the Muslim leader’s perspective on the Mindanao conflict and draw lessons from his experience. Moreover, the symposium also hopes to achieve the following specific objectives: 1) Have a clear understanding on the programs and projects embarked by the local and national government to resolve the conflict; 2) identify the various stakeholders on the issue, understand the level of support to peace building in Mindanao, and identify the problems and issues encountered; and 3) solicit the opinion of experts and students on the issue to further improve peace building efforts in Mindanao.

Speaker’s Profile/Background:

Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu, born on August 15, 1968, is the incumbent Governor of Maguindanao, a Muslim dominated area in the Southern Philippines. He was elected in the 2010 national and local elections after challenging the powerful Ampatuan clan`s control of Maguindanao. Governor Mangudadatu gained international attention after the 2009 massacre of 57 people including his wife, 2 sisters, relatives, and lawyers, plus 32 journalists were kidnapped and murdered by members of a private army while en route to the election body’s office to file his candidacy. 196 suspects had been caught and formally charged with the murders led by former Maguindanao Governor Andal Ampatuan, Sr., his sons former ARMM Governor Zaldy Ampatuan, and former Mayor Andal Jr., against whom Mangudadatu was running for Governor.

Program for September 6, 2012

Registration

To register for the symposium, please fill out the part below and email it to Orville Ballitoc (doc10115grips.ac.jp) or Jenny Balboa (doc10111grips.ac.jp) by August 31, 2012.

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