Philippines vs. Mindanao

1978 - ongoing by 2011

Core issue: The issue of territorial independence in southern Philippines remained open and active through the struggle of the Moro Organizations, which pushed for secessionism from the Philippines.

Type of conflict ending: Conflict ongoing by 2011

The start of the war between the Philippine government and the Mindanao region is difficult to pinpoint as colonial history and control over the territory is an intrinsic part of the violence. The Mindanao region was home to a large Muslim population since the 10th century, when Islam was brought to the people by traders. This caused the beginning of the territorial conflict in the 16th century when Spanish conquerors tried to bring Christianity to the Philippines and control the Mindanao region. The Spanish brought the name Moro to referrer to the people in the south, due to the connection with Spain's previous conflict with the Muslim Moors.

The claims of a separate Moro identity and the resentment of not achieving an independent status after the Philippines became independent from the United States in 1946 fueled escalation. In an effort by the Philippine government to create social cohesion in the entire country, many Christians were encouraged to move from the rest of the Philippines into the south, which caused unrest between the Muslim and Christian populations. This unrest was marked by several flashpoints, which included the 1968 Jabidah Massacre during which Philippine special forces killed 60 Philippine Muslims.

These events changed the mostly unorganized violence into a coherent movement called the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) which was in direct conflict with the Christian government. The war caused many civilian casualties on both sides and due to oil embargoes both sides were forced to enter peace talks. In 1976, the Tripoli Agreement provided partial autonomy, if not independence, to 13 provinces in Mindanao. However, since the core issue of territorial autonomy was not completely resolved, a protracted conflict continued. Ten remaining provinces were either not offered autonomy or were not willing to compromise on full independence. This led to continued violence during which new independence groups were formed. In 1978, when violence reached a new peak, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) was created as a splinter group of the MNLF.

During the 1980s and 1990s, the MILF and the MNLF acted as underground militant groups carrying out attacks on military and civilian targets. There were further attempts at peace talks, and in 1996 the MNLF signed a treaty to create an Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. The agreement encompassed less territory than the 1976 Tripoli Agreement, and included provisions for the disarmament and reintegration of MNLF fighters. Not long after the agreement, the government launched an offensive to destroy radical Moro groups which were not signatories of the peace deal. Throughout the 2000s, violence continued between the government and MILF as well as other more radical groups like the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG). Although there have been attempts to initiate negotiations by the Philippine government, there was never a successful peace process. By 2011, the frozen conflict over territorial autonomy was not resolved.

Sources

Adam, J. and B. Verbrugge, 2014. "Informal Conflict Management in Exclusivist Political Orders: Some Observations on Central Mindanao", Austrian Journal of South-East Asian Studies, 7 (1), 61-74.

Adam, J., 2016. "Genealogies of the colonial present: the rediscovery of the local in conflict management interventions in Mindanao, the Southern Philippines", Conflict, Security & Development, 16 (5), 387-404.

Buendia, R.G., 2005. "The state-Moro armed conflict in the Philippines Unresolved national question or question of governance?", Asian Journal of Political Science, 13 (1), 109-138.

Buendia, R.G., 2008. "Looking into the Future of Moro Self-Determination in the Philippines", Philippine Political Science Journal, 29 (52), 1-24.

Özerdem, A., S. Podder, and E. L. Quitoriano. 2010. "Identity, Ideology and Child Soldiering: Community and Youth Participation in Civil Conflict - A Study on the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in Mindanao, Philippines", Civil Wars, 12 (3), 304-325.

UCDP - Philippines: Mindanao [online], 2019. UCDP - Uppsala Conflict Data Program. Available from: https://ucdp.uu.se/conflict/308 [Accessed 30 Oct 2019].