(20/08/08) The Human Rights Network Philippines has started an urgent action concerning the human rights situation in the Philippines after violent clashes erupted between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and government troops in the the southern island of Mindanao.

The government of the Philippines had agreed to expand an existing Muslim autonomous zone in a bid to end decades of violence, the BBC reports. However, Christian communities opposed the deal and when the Supreme Court blocked it on August, 4th, the rebels launched attacks. Fierce fighting broke out after several hundred guerrillas occupied villages in North Cotabato province. Tens of thousands of people have been displaced by the fighting, villages have been burned and shops looted.

The Human Rights Network, of which the UEM is a founding member appeals to all parties involved in the conflict to refrain from violence and to find a political solution.

The United Church of Christ in the Philippines - a UEM member church - in a statement counsels all UCCP members to »exercise Christ's message of love for our Muslim brothers and sisters«. The statement further reads: »We must do our best to understand the plight of the Bangsa Moro in attaining self determination and ancestral domain; likewise, we must empathize with their disappointment at the process of the peace talks. Most importantly, we must resist any temptation to foster prejudice and ill - will on the basis of faith.«

The Human Rights Network Philippines asks churches and individuals to participate in the urgent action by writing letters of appeal to the President of the Philippines, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, to the MILF, to the Supreme Court as well as to the Presidential Advisor on the Peace Process.

Model letter:

model letter

Letters of the Human Rights Network:

Letter to the President

Letter to the MILF

Letter to the Office of the Presidential Advisor on the Peace Process

Letter to the Supreme Court