Posted on 07/17/2008 4:39:17 PM PDT by forkinsocket
MANILA, July 17 (Reuters) - The Philippines will hold a plebiscite early next year in more than 700 southern villages to set up an ancestral homeland for Muslims, part of a deal with the country's biggest rebel group, officials said on Thursday.
Hermogenes Esperon, the president's peace adviser, told reporters the proposed Muslim homeland would also be empowered to collect about 75 percent of taxes from oil, mines and fisheries in the area.
He was speaking in Manila a day after government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) negotiators hammered out a deal in Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian capital.
"The government has agreed to grant broader political, social and economic power to the Muslims based on a deal we have reached with the rebels in Malaysia," Esperon said, adding everything that was agreed was within the country's constitution.
(Excerpt) Read more at africa.reuters.com ...
Okay, fellas, who wants to hammer a MILF?
I’m confused how any square inch of the Philippines could be considered an “ancestral homeland” for muslims.
You assume they will live to regret it. Likely a dangerous assumption....
Shades of a future for Europe...
Oooh, you’re baaad! ;-)
Fear runs deep in those without conviction.
Oh sure, give in and they’ll be peaceful citizens. These terrorists are the former Huks (communist) who now switch to Muslim (ROP) after being Mohammedan (Moros) in the first place. In other words, do whatever it takes to get your way. President Magsaysay had the right idea - hunt them all down.
Are there no leaders today worthy of the name?
Uh-oh. Camel’s nose under flap of tent...
I’m quite puzzled about that also.
Beginning to sound like we had the wrong ‘dominoes’ in mind, back in the sixties...
The Filipinos will likely come to recognize this decision as the start of the end of the Republic of the Philippines.
The Moro people have lived in the southern Phillipines for a very long time.
They converted to Islam not long before the Spanish showed up and converted the rest of the Filipinos to Catholicism.
They're every bit as native as the Christians are.
It should be a nation-wide vote, not a local one.
I seem to recall the United States Army and Marines handed the Moros their asses to them...back in what, 1902 or so?
Yes, then-Captain John J. Pershing is supposed to have made his point after capturing some Moros who had been on a rampage (sound familiar?). These Moros were kidnapping Americans, holding them for ransom and then beheading them.
Pershing took eleven of the twelve captured Moros had them shot, with bullets dipped in pig’s blood and grease. He had the remaining captive dig the graves and Pershing had the dead Moros buried in pig manure, head down and facing East - away from Mecca.
Pershing then released the one captive, warning him that the same fate would befall any Moros that he captured. Needless to say, there were no more beheadings.
On another note, that Moro insurrection was directly responsible for the development of the 30-06 cartridge and the 1903 Springfield. The 30-40 Krag just didn’t have the killing power.
Could you imagine a modern day Pershing even attempting such a thing nowadays, when we crucify officers for saying it’s fun to kill some of the GD terrorist muslims?
Regarding the weapons notes: I didn’t know the Moros Insurrection was responsible for the development of the 30-06, but I read that it was one of the reasons we developed the .45 cal. pistol.
“The Philippine government will regret this move.”
Yes it will. A bastardized “Palestine” right next door.
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