Formal peace talks must be accompanied by public peace communication. While the confidentiality of peace negotiation must be respected, people's confidence on of the peace process must also be won. this presentation shares some insights on how to get the larger public incolved in the peace process, especially in the context of Mindanao, Philippines.
Personal Resilience in Project Management 2 - TV Edit 1a.pdf
Mindanao. peace communication
1. BEYOND THE PEACE TALKS
Contribution from Public Consultation
to Peace Communication
ALBERT E. ALEJO, SJ
Mindanawon Initiatives for Cultural Dialogue
Ateneo de Zamboanga University
2. MILF call for sincerity
If the Aquino administration is engaged in
real-problem solving in the negotiation, it
is likely to...strike a balance between
transparency through consultation and
confidentiality, because real, hard, and
successful negotiation especially
sovereignty-based will not succeed if
everybody is allowed to poke their noses
on it.”---MILF: Peace talks may be over in 1 year, depending on
gov’t sincerity. GMANews, (October 30, 2010)
3. Peace process, to a very great
extent, must be participatory
While we respect the creative confidentiality
necessary for any formal negotiation, we
are also duty bound to defend the people’s
right to sufficient information on matters as
important as the source of their security.
4. …especially Mindanao Peace
The Mindanao peace process, in particular,
is too precious to be left alone to the
formal negotiation between the two
fighting forces, even under the watch of
foreign facilitators and observers. We
need to heed the visions, voices, and
values of diverse groups, starting from the
communities who are directly hit by
conflict and extending to all the rest of the
country whose lives are also at stake.
5. Political Solution, yes…
Yes, there must be political solutions to
historically-rooted problems. We should
have learned by now that no amount of
development projects can resolve deep-
seated issues on identity and self-
determination.
6. … but also social cohesion
please!
But while it is true that only governments
and revolutionary groups may sign peace
agreements, ultimately, it’s the people who
have to mend the social fabric, rebuild
institutions, heal wounds, respect
boundaries, and restore friendship. It’s the
people who have to endure or enjoy the
consequences both of starting war and
stopping it.
7. How do people participate?
People have spoken and continue to
speak through various channels. But more
especially, we can hear them through
various consultations and dialogues
initiated by different organizations, from
the religious to the business sectors, from
academics to artists, from civil society
organizations to traditional religious
leaders.
8. First, consult them…
“There has been a surfeit of public
consultations post MOA-AD, most notably
Konsult Mindanaw and Dialogue
Mindanaw. The challenge is to draw the
best inputs from these consultations, not
‘reinvent the wheel’ on this, further consult
more purposively and creatively on what
has not yet been covered, and establish
mechanisms for these to effectively fork
into the actual peace negotiations.” ---Sol
Santos, Aquino’s GRP-MILF Peace Talks: Hopes, Fears, Tasks (2010)
9. Then, communicate with them…
Newspapers today carry a lot more views---
and assertions---on the road to peace in
Mindanao . This really calls for the urgent
creation of a Communication Team or
Mechanism that will feed the people with
more carefully worded information,
background, and analysis of events,
positions, and emotions
10. What do we address?
1. EMOTIONS. People feel hurt, harbor
mistrust, but could also be hopeful. And
these emotions could vary from personal
experiences to regional or sectoral
differences. We cannot equate one
emotion with one whole ethnic or regional
block. Communication Program must
make people feel that their feelings are
being acknowledged.
11. 2. IDEAS. Many people still do not
understand the difference between MNLF
and MILF; but some other people are
already asking about foreign intervention
in the peace process. We cannot
presuppose that what is familiar to active
CSOs or academe are clear to the people.
Or whether what is clear to the people is
actually accurate.
12. Call for Sincerity
(a) Both panels are sincere. First, we need
to tell the people that the two panels have
actually agreed on a number of good
things. It is not true that the talks are not
going anywhere. The two peace panels,
for example, have agreed on measures
cessation of hostilities, rehabilitation, and
even on the non-use of landmines. And it
is good for people to know this.
13. (b) There are really difficult issues. Try to
explain the validity of many positions and
interests, thus helping people understand
why these things are not as easily
resolved. During our consultations and
dialogues, we realize how appreciative
people could be once they themselves
see the difficulty of finding readymade
solutions to deep-seated problems.
14. (c) Create a channel for feedback. The
Communications Program must also offer
a clear channel for people to express their
updated sentiments: could be in the form
of an office with email, fax, fone number,
twitter, facebook, forums, etc. In the mean
time, other forms of sincerity must be felt
by the people, e.g. real effort to confiscate
loose firearms, arrest war profiteers, and
security cluster reform.
15. (d) There must be a “face” that represents
all these sincere efforts. By “face” is meant
a real person or a small group of persons,
who embody and exudes the sincerity of
the main peace stakeholders, especially
the government. The members of the
peace panel must be known to the people,
but, the political task of facing the public
may be done by more charismatic
personalities.
16. Don’t exclude the people!
“Even the best efforts of government
leaders constantly face constraints and
limitations. It may be that if people own the
process, they will work hard to ensure
viable outcomes and overcome the
inevitable obstacles that arise once the
agreement is in place. 2)
17. …The earlier we engage in the task of
building the social infrastructure of peace,
the sooner societies will come closer to
another reality where the dignity of
difference is celebrated, political tolerance
observed and a just peace becomes
possible.” ---Ed Garcia, Accord. Owning the
Process: Public Participation in Peacemaking (200
18. People will judge the process…
“The last thing we want is to have an
excellent draft of a peace agreement, only
to be rejected by the people, simply
because we failed to communicate with
them.”--- Sen. Teofisto Guingona, III.
Mindanao Media Summit (November 7,
2010)
19. At the end of the day…
“While governments and revolutionary
groups may sign peace agreements,
ultimately, it’s the people who have the
burden---and the joy---of rebuilding
schools and houses, re-trusting
institutions, welcoming ex-combatants,
looking for new breed of leaders,
nourishing the environment, energizing
tired bodies, bridging gaps across
mindsets, healing painful memories, and
appeasing the spirits of the land.”
20. BEYOND THE PEACE TALKS
Contribution from Public Consultation
to Peace Communication
ALBERT E. ALEJO, SJ
Mindanawon Initiatives for Cultural Dialogue
Ateneo de Zamboanga University