The solution to violence is not to stop the path of peace, says Scotland's former first minister

MANILA
– Scotland's former first minister The Right Honorable Lord Jack
McConnell of Glenscorrodale, who recently visited the Philippines, said
that putting a stop to the peace process is not the solution to
violence, even and especially in the aftermath of the tragedy in
Mamasapano, Maguindanao, which claimed nearly 70 lives from all sides,
including civilians. The
solution to violence is not to stop the path of peace,” McConnell, who
served as Scotland’s youngest First Minister from 2001 to 2007 and has
had experience with the Northern Irish peace process and Scottish
devolution, stressed. McConnell,
in separate engagements with media and civil society members, noted
that the country should investigate and exact accountability for the
tragedy while also pursuing the peace process. The Scottish
parliamentarian said that while he understands the public sentiment in
the wake of the tragedy, members of Congress should not only think about
the present, but also 10 to 15 years from now.” It
is in these moments that leaders need to look at the long-term,” the
United Kingdom Prime Minister's Special Representative for Peace
Building said. McConnell also noted that the tragedy is an opportunity
for the country to make sure such violence need not happen again. It’s a tragic time for the Philippines, but it’s also a time for hope,” he said. The Ireland experience McConnell
recounted the story of a horrific bombing in a small market town
called Omagh in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. The bombing,
perpetrated by a group calling themselves the Real IRA,” a splinter
group of the Provisional Irish Republican Army, occurred just four
months after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in Belfast in 1998
as part of the Northern Ireland peace process. It
was a really emotional time, he said. There were calls for government
to stop the implementation of the agreement, which also entailed the
passage of a law that sought to give recognition to historic identities
and address the desire for equality in Northern Ireland. According
to McConnell, there was discrimination and an aspect of fear in the
aftermath of the bombing, which killed 29 people and injured 220 others.
At the same time, there were calls for confidence building over time
among the parties. Fortunately,
there were people who said that to suspend the path to peace would be
the worst response... to the violence, McConnell said. ‘We continue to work and hope’ For
her part, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos
Deles said that we take heart in the fact that Congress say this is
only a suspension and not a full stop of deliberations” on the
Bangsamoro Basic Law. Deles
recounted a recent trip to Maguindanao, and noted that the ceasefire
that held for more than three years, since 2012, has given local
communities in Mindanao hope for a better life. Going down there, you
see that peace has begun to take root,” she added. On
our part, we continue to work, and continue to hope,” she added. As for
rumors that the proposed BBL will be diluted or watered down, Deles
said that she trusts in the wisdom of Congress to pass a law that will
address the Filipino peoples call for peace and justice and
operationalize the intent of the Philippine Constitution for the
development of the people in the Bangsamoro. We
want to ensure that it will be a meaningful law that will finally bring
the peace that our people have been longing for,” Deles said.