Govt, MILF, CPP-NPA-NDF: Declare a peace day ceasefire!

September 01, 2011

photo copyrighted to PhilANCA and Gil Nartea

KILOS PARA SA KAPAYAPAAN AT KATARUNGAN (KILOS!)

Peace is our Right: Declare a Peace Day Ceasefire!     

A Citizens’ Call for a September 21 Ceasefire

 

We—peace advocates from diverse political, cultural, faith and social backgrounds—urge the Government of the Philippines and the CPP-NPA-NDF to declare a 24-hour ceasefire on September 21. Especially on that date, the ongoing ceasefire between the GPH and the MILF must be upheld.

 

We support the peace processes and affirm our collective right to peace – peace that is not just the absence of war but also the absence of structural violence. We believe that peace is freedom from fear, want and humiliation.

 

We draw on the UN-declared International Day of Peace and Non-Violence to highlight the urgent need for peace. The UN General Assembly resolution was passed unanimously in 1981 to give way to a Global Day of Ceasefire. Until now, an annual peace day ceasefire has never been realized in the Philippines.

 

As we appeal for a ceasefire day, we ask for a million supporters for the peace processes through the One Million Voices for Peace Campaign (OMV). From August to December the OMV campaign will launch photo petitions, Facebook likes, fun runs, local mobilizations and celebrations, film screenings, sports events, indigenous rituals and forums to be held in different communities, regions and key cities nationwide.

 

What difference can one day of ceasefire make? Clearly, it is the difference between life and death at the battlefield. But more importantly, a day of peace is a ray of hope for the Filipino people. It is a day that makes us all believe that—in the brief moment when guns are silenced—peace is possible. A day of ceasefire gives us a glimpse of what we expect to attain in our lifetimes, a just and sustainable peace… freedom from violence in whatever form.

 

The Filipino people can take a day of respite from all the violence and take the time to reflect on and commit to peace. They can be nourished by a day of ceasefire for as the struggle for towards peace continues thereafter.

 

WE SUPPORT THE PEACE PROCESSES. WE WANT A JUST AND LASTING PEACE. DECLARE CEASEFIRE ON PEACE DAY!

Kilos para sa Kapayapaan at Katarungan (KILOS!) is the broadest coming together of the Philippine civil society organizations working toward a just and lasting peace in the country. KILOS! Is a concerted effort at  engaging the different stakeholders talking at the peace tables and the larger Philippine society. Its main convenors are network of networks from peace civil society organizations: Mindanao Peaceweavers, Boses Mindanaw, Waging Peace Philippines – GPPAC Southeast Asia, Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform, Indigenous Peoples Network, and the Sulong CARHRIHL Network.

 

Give Peace A Shot is a photo petition: 1) supporting the peace talks; 2) popularizing conflict and peace issues in the Philippines; and 3) calling for a peace day (21 Sept) ceasefire declaration from all sides. Click the image to view the campaign site.

 

 

 

(NOTE: Please contact the GenPeace secretariat (generationpeacenetwork@gmail.com or +6324266064) if you would like to join the call for a September 21 Peace Day Ceasefire) 

Signed:

Kilos para sa Kapayapaan at Katarungan

Initiatives for International Dialogue

Mindanao Peaceweavers

Waging Peace Philippines

Generation Peace Youth Network

Central Philippine Univ. Republic

Link.exe Club

PMB – UP Visayas

Pol Sci Society – Iloilo

JBLFMU-A/NAPC-YSS

Business Executive Council – JBLFMU, Molo

SCAP Iloilo

CARAGA Youth Leaders Network

Black Line Community

MSWDO, LGU-Dinagat

Supreme Student Government, SUNRISE

Passak Inc

United Network of Young Peacebuilders

Diatagon Lianga ADR

CARAGA Youth Leaders Network

CARAGA State University –Central Student Government

Society of Future Foresters Environmentalist and Agroforester – Nueva Vizcaya

FIETIA

Kabalikat Students Action Party

Zeta Beta Rho Honor Fraternity

Mussaenda Honor Sorority

Varsity Courier

Rajahmuda High School

Tiyakap Kawagib

PRC-Cotabato Chapter

Young Advocates for Peace

Bolayoka Inc. LYC

Notre Dame University Youth Peace Advocate

APL- Youth – Cotabato City

Bangsamoro Center for Just Peace

United Network for Peace and Development

Alyansa ng Kabataang Mindanao para sa Kapayapaan

Initiative and Movement for Gender Liberation against Discrimination

Tinalak-Mindanao

Children Advocates Guild

Advertisement