17 March 2010 â€" President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo today stressed the significant role interfaith dialogue and cooperation has played over the years in fostering a culture of peace in the Philippines.
In her keynote address before 219 foreign delegations from Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) member countries gathered in Manila for a Special NAM Ministerial Meeting on Interfaith Dialogue and Cooperation for Peace and Development (SNAMMM), President Arroyo said the Philippines is a living witness to the importance of intercultural and interfaith tolerance, understanding, respect and dialogue for peace and developments.
“Interfaith dialogue for the Philippines is not a theory for us. For a long time now it has been a reality,” the President said.
President Arroyo added that the Philippines considers intercultural and interfaith dialogue policy framework as an enduring basis for a coming together of the country’s different cultures and faiths, within a shared environment of peace, security and development based on mutual understanding, trust and respect.
The Philippines is hosting the SNAMMM to address existing, new and emerging challenges to the promotion of a culture of peace and development among NAM's 118 member states. The NAM is an intergovernmental grouping committed to promote and protect the principles of respect for cultural and religious diversity, tolerance, understanding, and dialogue.
Specifically, the President cited the Bishops-Ulama Conference, composed of Catholic and Protestant Bishops and members of the Mindanao Ulama League, which are in constant dialogue and are in common search for comprehensive development through the unifying aspiration for peace.
She added that the promotion of intercultural and interfaith dialogue and cooperation, rooted in tolerance, mutual understanding, trust and respect, is a primary strategy to achieve peace as well as key element in the country’s peace process as embodied in our country’s Medium Term Development Plan.
More importantly, President Arroyo stressed that interfaith dialogue has been a major contributor to peace and stability in Mindanao.
“While lasting peace has yet to be achieved, we have taken heavy political risks to broker a peace. We have reached out to the affected communities to change the peace paradigm. Through our steady promotion of interfaith dialogue and respect for the diverse cultures, traditions and practices of the peoples of Mindanao, we were able to build in Mindanao the roads that opened up remote areas to the mainstream of economic activities, and construct irrigation systems in farmlands that used to be impenetrable to construction companies because of conflict,” she said.
In his opening remarks, United Nations General Assembly President Dr. Ali Abdussalam Treki expressed his appreciation to the Philippines for highlighting the commonalities between peoples, faiths and civilizations with its vast experience in interfaith dialogue.
“The Philippines is an example of how a country can create common interests and achieve harmony between its various cultures, languages, religions and faiths,” he said.
Dr. Treki also disclosed plans to hold a high-level thematic debate at the General Assembly in New York on 25 May 2010 on the dialogue among civilizations.
Meanwhile, President Arroyo urged NAM Ministers that the Manila Declaration that will be adopted in the SNAMMM should contain an action plan of practical, action-oriented policies culled from numerous local, regional and multilateral interfaith and intercultural dialogues.
“Interfaith practical actions can focus on education, youth empowerment and development and media to combat stereotypes and misperceptions,” she said. END
