The wars for the independence of a particular ethnic group are not uncommon in modern society. The article by Regencia describes the positions of the Government of the Philippines regarding the conflict among Muslims and the local population. One of the primary thoughts is the assumption of the need for the autonomy of militant people.
Similar ideas take place in the academic literature. According to Kaufmann, “stable resolutions of ethnic civil wars are possible, but only when the opposing groups are demographically separated into defensible enclaves” (138). In other words, if the interests of two opposing sides do not intersect, there are no conflicts. However, in the case of the Philippines, the situation is different. The government cannot come to an agreement on creating autonomy for Muslims who are in the minority on the islands.
During the reign of the current president, dozens of houses were destroyed, and, as Regencia notes, “over 1,000 fighters, soldiers and civilians were killed.” This figure is significant in order to take emergency measures, which, however, have not yet been implemented.
To carry out work on granting autonomy to Muslim citizens, it is required to implement a number of legislative initiatives. The government can solve this problem, and if all decisions are taken quickly and in concert, people will no longer suffer. Nevertheless, as practice shows, the Philippines’ authorities are not in a hurry to proceed to emergency measures, which, in its turn, negatively affects the rating of the government. Regencia also mentions the corruption that is observed among local officials. All these problems significantly complicate the process of making an appropriate decision and the peaceful resolution of the conflict.
Works Cited
Kaufmann, Chaim. “Possible and Impossible Solutions to Ethnic Civil Wars.” International Security, vol. 20, no. 4, 1996, pp. 136-175.
Regencia, Ted. “Philippines to Fast Track Muslim Self-Rule in Mindanao.” Aljazeera, 2018. Web.