From Conflict to Peacebuilding: The Case of The Philippines-Moro

Year 2022, Volume: 10 Issue: 1, 90 - 127, 31.01.2022

İbrahim Kumek

Abstract

In the Philippines-Moro conflict, one of the longest-lasting armed conflicts in Southeast Asia, the negotiation process that started in the mid-1970s ended in 2014 with the signing of a comprehensive peace agreement. In this study, starting from the ground presented by the Ripeness Theory, the question of how the final agreement is reached in the peace negotiations process is examined. It is aimed to contribute to the Ripeness Theory, which was developed about when and under what conditions the negotiations can be started, with the conceptualization of the ‘mutually demand balance’. Accordingly, the peace agreement is concluded at the point where the demands of the conflicting parties for the solution of the problem are met at the optimum level. The relationship between demands and identity is revealed, and it is claimed that unmet demands lead to the perception of attack on identity, and therefore conflicts cannot be ended. The focus is on the Philippines-Moro example, as it is an intra-state conflict and an agreed peace process in terms of the demand-territory-identity relationship. In the peace process, the uncompromising attitude of the Philippine governments on the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country against the Moro liberation movements demanding self-determination in the ‘ancestral domain’ caused the continuation of the conflicts; however, it has been determined that the agreement is reached when these demands are met with the ‘extended autonomy’ solution.

Keywords

Bangsamoro, Philippines-Moro Conflict and Peace Process, Ripeness Theory, Ontological (In)Security

Çatışma Ortamından Barış İnşasına: Filipinler-Moro Örneği

Abstract

Güneydoğu Asya’nın en uzun süreli silahlı çatışmalarından biri olan Filipinler-Moro çatışmasında 1970’lerin ortalarında başlayan müzakere süreci, 2014’te kapsamlı barış anlaşmasının imzalanmasıyla nihayete ermiştir. Bu çalışmada, Olgunluk Teorisinin sunduğu zeminden hareketle, barış müzakereleri sürecinde nihai anlaşmaya nasıl varıldığı sorusu araştırılmaktadır. Müzakerelerin ne zaman ve hangi koşullarda başlatılabileceğine dair geliştirilen Olgunluk Teorisine ‘karşılıklı talep dengesi’ kavramsallaştırması ile katkıda bulunmak hedeflenmektedir. Buna göre, bir barış anlaşması çatışan tarafların sorunun çözümüne yönelik taleplerinin optimum düzeyde karşılanma derecesine vardığı noktada yapılmaktadır. Çalışmada, talepler ile kimlik arasındaki ilişki ortaya çıkarılmakta, karşılanamayan taleplerin kimliğe yönelik saldırı algısına yol açtığı, bu nedenle çatışmaların bitirilemediği öne sürülmektedir. Talep-toprak-kimlik ilişkisi açısından devlet içi bir çatışma ve anlaşmaya varılmış bir barış süreci olduğundan Filipinler-Moro örneğine odaklanılmaktadır. Barış sürecinde ‘atalara ait topraklarda’ self-determinasyon talep eden Moro kurtuluş hareketlerine karşı, Filipinler hükümetlerinin ülkenin toprak bütünlüğü ve egemenliği konusunda taviz vermez tutumunun çatışmaların devamlılığına neden olduğu; ancak bu taleplerin ‘genişletilmiş özerklik’ çözümü ile karşılandığı durumda anlaşmanın sağlandığı tespit edilmiştir.

Keywords

Bangsamoro, Olgunluk Teorisi, Ontolojik Güven(siz)lik, Filipinler-Moro Çatışması ve Barış Süreci

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