Guenter Nooke, a former member of the German Parliament and currently Human Rights Commissioner of the Federal Republic of Germany, visited the Philippines from February 12-18 to conduct talks with representatives of the Philippine government and human rights groups.
The Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung took advantage of his visit and invited Guenter Nooke to Southern Philippines to conduct talks on human rights related to the Peace Process. Nooke was accompanied by his adviser, Dr. Jurij Aston from the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Berlin and Mr. Bernd Musch-Borowska from ARD Radio Singapore.
The two-day program started in General Santos where Dr. Nooke received an orientation on the political and economic situation in Southern Philippines. Upon invitation of Daisy Fuentes, Governor of South Cotabato, the group proceeded to a Barangay Tupi, a formerly troubled area, where Christians and Muslims now live peacefully together. After a short presentation of the Barangay Captain and the Mayor, Nooke exchanged views on human rights with members of the Christian and Muslim communities. Nooke informed them about the human rights policies of the German government and the on-going support of Germany for Southern Philippines. The people of Tupi expressed their gratitude to the German government and KAS which has been involved in many projects in support of the peace process. Many Muslim attendees reported that they were former Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) fighters and were now relieved that conflict in the area has come to an end.
Later in the day, the German group met representatives from the province of South Cotabato and with members of civil society to discuss the Human Rights situation in the area. Representatives of the Philippine National Police talked about their successful efforts in protecting human rights in the province of South Cotabato. However, human rights activists reported that experiences in other provinces are different and that communications between the police, the military and human rights activists are not always as good as in South Cotabato. Nooke expressed his appreciation for the situation in South Cotabato and committed to explore possibilities to improve the situation in other parts of Mindanao.
The program also included a visit to Cotabato City and talks with Mayor Muslimin G. Sema, the Secretary General of the Moro National Liberation Front, Ghadzali Jaafar, Vice-Chairman of the Political Affairs Committee of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, as well as Gen. Raymundo Ferrer, Commander of the 6th Infantry Division of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
Atty. Benedicto Bacani, Executive Director of the Institute for Autonomy and Governance (IAG) presented the current state of the Peace Process followed by a dinner forum on “Human Rights in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM)”, attended by government officials of the ARMM, members of civil society and peace negotiators. Issues related to human rights and democracy, a secular BANGSAMORO constitution, strengthening political institutions and international support for the peace process remained the focus of all these talks, where Guenter Nooke served as a highly appreciated resource person.