Posted on 08/05/2008 1:06:45 PM PDT by NYer
.- Thousands of Catholics in two southern Philippines cities on Monday demonstrated against a government agreement granting Muslims more territory and political and economic powers. One critic characterized the deal as the building of a “Berlin Wall” in the country and another called it a “virtual declaration” of a new state.
Church bells rung and businesses closed for the protest in the mainly Catholic city of Zamboanga, Reuters says. About 10,000 people, many wearing red shirts to show their opposition, gathered at a demonstration where a Catholic archbishop and a local tribal leader wearing traditional head dress and loin cloth sat beside the city’s mayor, Celso Lobregat.
"Do not build a Berlin Wall among the people in Mindanao," Lobregat said in an address to the crowd. “We are also for peace. We don't want the creation of an area based on religion, an area that would segregate us. Christians and Muslims have been living in peace and harmony together in our city.”
Around 8,000 people, who wore red shirts and armbands and held placards, also gathered in the city of Iligan in protest.
The agreement between the Philippines government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), reportedly the country’s largest Muslim group, extends an existing autonomous region for Muslims and gives them the authority to set up their own system of education, courts, civil service, and control of resources.
It calls for a referendum to be held by next August for over 700 villages in six provinces spread across three islands to determine if residents wish to join the new region.
CBCP News reports that on Saturday North Cotabato’s Vice Governor Emmanuel Pinol said the peace negotiators “committed us to an agreement” but “without even the courtesy of showing and explaining to us the provisions [of the agreement].”
Pinol characterized the agreement as “a virtual declaration of a new and distinct state,” charging that the government’s haste to reach an agreement with the MILF is “actually putting the future of our children in jeopardy.”
Alleging that elements in the MILF are linked with Al Qaeda and the radical group Jemaah Islamiya, he questioned whether the establishment of police and armed forces would help their pursuit of an independent Islamic state.
“With the government bent on pressuring us into accepting the terms of an agreement that we have not studied, we will have to rely on ourselves to defend our homes, our families and our communities,” Pinol cautioned.
On Monday the country’s Supreme Court met to hear petitions from local Catholic politicians to stop the signing of the agreement, which is scheduled to take place Tuesday in Kuala Lumpur, Reuters reports.
The agreement would re-open peace talks to end 40 years of conflict in which more than 120,000 people have been killed and two million displaced. Analysts say a deal could trigger new violence between Catholics and Muslims in the south.
On Sunday Muslim rebels attacked rice-harvesting Catholic farmers in two towns in North Cotabato. A week earlier guerillas burned about 80 houses in the same province.
As long as the Muslim population remains around 1% of any given country they will be regarded as a peace-loving minority and not as a threat to anyone. In fact, they may be featured in articles and films, stereotyped for their colorful uniqueness.
At 2% and 3% they begin to proselytize from other ethnic minorities and disaffected groups with major recruiting from the jails and among street gangs [Europe, Australia, USA and Japan]. Six percent of US prison inmates are Muslim. Like any other minority, they won’t integrate, but work to build their own separate community.
From 5% on they exercise an inordinate influence in proportion to their percentage of the population. South Africa's Muslim population is 2%, but they control 35% of the businesses, a large percentage of the banks and have five Cabinet seats while Christians (77% of the population) have none.
They will push for the introduction of halaal (clean by Islamic standards) food, thereby securing food preparation jobs for Muslims. They will increase pressure on supermarket chains to feature it on their shelves (along with threats for failure to comply).
At this point, they will work to get the ruling government to allow them to rule themselves under Sharia; Islamic Law. The ultimate goal of Islam is not to convert the world, but to establish Sharia law over the entire world.
When Muslims reach 10% of the population, they will increase lawlessness as a means of complaint about their conditions. (Ei: car-burnings in France last October.) Any non-Muslim action that offends Islam will result in uprisings and threats.
After reaching 20% expect hair-trigger rioting, jihad militia formations, sporadic killings and church and synagogue burning (India, Mindanao, Philippines).
At 40% you will find widespread massacres, chronic terror attacks and ongoing militia warfare [Indonesia].
From 60% you may expect unfettered persecution of non-believers and other religions, sporadic ethnic cleansing (genocide), use of Sharia Law as a weapon and Jizya (infidel tax). (Sudan, Kosovo, Lebanon and Egypt).
After 80% expect State run ethnic cleansing and genocide [Western Papua (New Guinea), Iran, Biafra, Turkey and North Nigeria].
100% will usher in the peace of "Dar-es-Salaam" - House of Peace - as in Saudi Arabia, Libya and Yemen
Catholic Ping
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There are a lot of Filipinos there, but for some reason they are mostly Christian. Could it be because the Saudis expect them to work?
This is very strange. It is my understanding that what has been going on in the Philipines is that the Catholic population has been expanding into the Muslim areas, which has made the Muslims freak out.
Not sure why the Philipine government, which has been fighting a very competent counter-insurgency, would take this step.
Oriana Fallaci’s “City within a city.”
Lol! The brother of a friend works in SA. He claims that christians are not allowed to be buried in that country.
No.
The Christians in ARMM (Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao) are primarily descendants of immigrants from Luzon. The massive immigration was brought about by a very successful pacification campaign by a hitherto unknown U.S. Army Captain in 1903.
One Captain John J. Pershing.
In Zamboanga City, in the heart of Muslim Mindanao, is the hub of free speech and the like. It’s called General Pershing Square, to commemorate his success against the hostile Datus (or Rajahs).
Thanks.
The Phillipine Government is making a very bad mistake, the same one the Colombians made when they allowed the Le Farc to control a out of the way province, guerilla movements merely use those areas as safe havens to attack further into the State.
Add in a religious motivation and things look even more grim, why should the MILF back away from the extremist program that brought them a state of their own?
If anything, the tactics have proven successful, why deviate from them?
Is the region size and shape conducive to the application of “nuclear pesticides?”
Politicians everywhere seem to be doing everything they can to make world safe for jihadism.
The Philippino leadership should look no farther than the gaza strip on how that whole “Land for Peace” deal worked out when your dealing with muslims.
Prayers for the Catholics in the Phillipines.
And now the world is coming to know why the Spanish fought the Moors and took Spain back. The Communist propaganda for many years was that the Spanish Catholics were mean to the Moor butchers. It was the other way round.
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