Photo courtesy of BARMM web page
Moklo' slur shows why TJR must go beyond peace earls
COTABATO CITY -- Public use of a derogatory term against the Moro people shows that the Transitional Justice and Reconciliation (TJR) process must go beyond peace agreements and confront the prejudice and discrimination at the root of the Bangsamoro conflict, according to a member of the MILF Technical Working Group on TJR.
In a commentary titled "Muklo: Where TJR Meets Reality," published on the Facebook page of the Bangsamoro Multimedia Network (BMN), Anwar Upahm said the Bangsamoro struggle is not only about territory, political power or self-governance. It is also about dignity, recognition and freedom from prejudice and discrimination.
He wrote the commentary in response to a Facebook post by broadcaster and columnist Ramon Tulfo, which referred to members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) as "Moklo." Upahm said the term carries a painful history tied to ethnic and religious discrimination, humiliation and social exclusion.
He noted that the Transitional Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) had recorded the use of the same slur against Muslims in its documentation of the Bangsamoro historical experience.
For Upahm, the incident shows why TJR must go beyond peace agreements and political arrangements. Genuine reconciliation, he said, requires confronting the prejudices, discriminatory practices and social attitudes that helped cause and sustain the conflict.
He singled out the Guarantee of Non-Recurrence (GNR), one of the pillars of TJR. He said that under the GNR, preventing another armed conflict is not enough: no Moro should be humiliated or discriminated against because of religion, ethnicity, identity or historical association with the Bangsamoro struggle.
"How can we speak of reconciliation while derogatory labels against an entire people remain acceptable in public discourse?" Upahm asked.
He called for a firm but principled response to discrimination, saying that accountability and public education must go together. He also cautioned against answering prejudice with another form of prejudice and stressed the importance of mutual respect.
Upahm said the success of the peace process should not be measured only by the implementation of agreements or the establishment of the Bangsamoro Government. It should also be measured by whether future generations of Moros can live with dignity and without being treated as outsiders in their own country.
"The challenge of TJR is not only to prevent another war, but also to prevent the mindset that once made war possible. Peace is not merely the silence of guns. It is the end of the prejudices that keep people divided," he said.
Upahm is Director I of the Higher Education Office for Maguindanao under the Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education (MBHTE) of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).