Conference of Civil Society Network For Peace -CiSNOP (Aceh, Mindanao, Patani, Myanmar, Papua, Timor leste) Aceh,

February 2014 I. Background of the Program

The conflict always occurred in certain time and can be happened everywhere. One conflict resolved, and new conflict will emerge. The society cannot avoid to conflict, but it must be managing the conflict, to prevent or to solve it.

South East Asia is one of regional that has many conflicts. There are several factors spoiled to conflict, such as self-determination, the interest to exploit the natural resources, religion, ethnic, and other social conflicts. In Particularly countries like Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, and Myanmar, the issues on self-determination have many experiences. They are different from with other countries like Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Laos and Singapore, which have the conflict caused by social background such as political in internally, religions, ethnic, and social discrimination. Particularly in East Timor, the most constraint is postconflict transformation agenda, to deals with truth and reconciliation, transitional justice, and future development.

John Paul Lederach mentioned that the sustainable peace developed through gradually approaches in involving all of stakeholders, particularly the middle range to strengthen capacity of internal and maximizing the external roles.

Peace and stability is the most important issue towards ASEAN community in 2015. In fact, there are some countries members, namely Indonesia, Philippine, Thailand and Myanmar, are still dealing to solve the armed conflict. In term of ASEAN, all of countries members of ASEAN must be committed to obey principle of ASEAN; non-interference in the internal affairs of one another. ASEAN or country members of ASEAN cannot do intervention to solve the conflict at other countries in ASEAN members without officially diplomatic request. For example, the involvement of representative of ASEAN in monitoring the peace process in Aceh. It was requested by Indonesia government to allow the representative of

ASEAN to be involved in monitoring team.

Afterwards, the involvement of Malaysia as mediator in doing negotiation between Government of Philippine with MILF, It was requested by Philippine government. While, in the case of negotiation between Thai government with BRN in Southern of Thailand, Malaysia government was engaged to facilitate the meeting between both of parties for finding the peace framework in solving the conflict in deep Sootuh of Thailand, Malaysia was also got permission by Thai government because Thai and Malaysia are neighbor country. And most of Patani peoples live in Malaysia.

Although Malaysia involved in peace process in Philippine and Thailand, but as a country of ASEAN, Malaysia should be committed to obey the ASEAN principles, that is, they have to respect the integrity and sovereignity among the countries of ASEAN.

Acehnese Civil Society Task Force (ACSTF) along with the People Empowerment Foundation, (LEMPAR), Bangsa Moro Civil Society Networks, and Civil Society in East Timor, are initiating a civil society network at regional level. It is consolidated into Civil Society Networks For Peace (CiSNOP). The main expectation of this consolidation agenda is to share the knowledge and lessonon peace-building process among civil society organization within the countries, then to strengthen the capacity of civil society on promoting the peace building in South East Asia. Overall Objective To strengthen the quality of participation in the sixth countries of civil society in peace building process through developing solidarity group, sharing the experiences and lesson, for improving the capacity, and promoting peace initiatives by insider peace-builders in developing stability and security in South East Asia.

Objectives: 1. To establish a good relationship among the civil society organizations of those six countries: Aceh, Mindanao, Patani, Papua, Myanmar and Timor Leste. 2. To share the lesson on peace process and post-conflict process among those countries for strengthening the Peace-building in South East Asia. 3. To promote the local champion as insider peace builders for strengthening peacebuilding agenda at each countries.

Target Groups The target group of this program is civil society and civil society organization from six countries. It is expected to consolidate the actions of civil society for strengthening the peace building,

The components of civil society groups are student and youth groups, women groups, and independent journalist groups.

Estimated Results 1. Students and Youth Organizations are able to involve and participate in peacebuilding process and promoting the peaceful atmosphere at regional level. 2. Participation of women, and minorities in the peacebuilding process increased 3. Mass media are able to contribute to the establishment of a more credible, transparant and inclusive peacebuilding through informative and educative reporting 4. Civil society are able to engage and consult with their own state and ASEAN in relation with peacebuilding process. 5. Civil society are able to create insider peacebuilders as peace maker for solving the conflict

Activities:

The Consolidation of Civil Society Network for Peace in SEA 1. Conducting a Peace Consolidation Conference The Civil Society Network of Peace Conference can be a consolidation agenda among civil society organization from 6 countries to go through peace process and postconflict process. The conference will have the presentation of peace-building framework, ideas and actions of peace and conflict resolution. Those will be conveyed by the experts. The conference will have two keywords speech by Ramos Horta and Otto Syamsuddin Ishak. They will elaborate about post-conflict and transitional agenda in East Timor and Aceh.

Afterwards, the representative of civil society organizations from those six countries will present the current situations of peace process and post-conflict agenda, including the peace frameworks and initiatives organizing by civil society and civil society organizations.

All of ideas on current situation can be a basis of ideas to analysis the situation at regional level, particularly, dealing to political and economic policies that are implementing by the countries of ASEAN: related to how to create peace and security and stability go towards ASEAN community in 2015.

Another important issue is related to the situation on civil society and grass-root: how the civil society engages to peace building in those 6 countries and effort to strengthen the grass-root for peace building.

Finally, the conference will have a number of recommendations for consolidating the network of civil society for peace, a number of strategic agenda for strengthening the conflict resolution, particularly on-going peace process countries such as Patani, Mindanao and Myanmar. Including the strengthening post-conflict situation, transition phase, and democratization towards development phase.

2. Dissemination of conference to 6 countries The results of conference will disseminate to 6 countries. The dissemination presents the result of conference for cultivating a consciousness of civil society and support the peace building. Other thing is having new ideas for empowering the Civil Society Network for Peace (CiSNOP)

The dissemination activities are to conduct the public lectures at several university and focus group discussion with civil society leadership.

II.

RELEVANCE OF THE ACTION

2.1 Relevance to the objectives/sectors/themes/specific priorities The objective of proposed actions is to strengthen quality participation of those six countries of civil society in peace building process through developing solidarity group, sharing the

experiences or lesson, advocating peace initiatives, strengthening the capacity on peacebuilding, and promoting insider peace builders. It will be achieved through a series of key activities such as strengthening the civil society networks for peace building, capacity building in term of conducting workshop, empowering the community, and peoples exchanges, as well as promoting local champion. The acheivement of the objective is believed could contribute to the specific objective, which is to establish a good relationship between four countries civil society organization in Aceh, Mindanao, Patani, and Timor Leste, to strengthen the capacity four countries civil society organizations in Peace building and Post-conflict process, and to advocacy peace initiatives as civil society agenda for strengthening the insider peace builders. ACSTF will execute the proposed actions in partnership with Civil Society Organizations collaborating within Civil society network for peace CiSNOP, a consortia of six countries CSOs, Aceh, Patani, Papua, Myanmar, Mindanao and Timor Leste. The consortia has initiated to share the experiences of peacebuilding in 6 countries and to promote insider peace builders to initiate peace building atmosphere at each of country. The establishment of the network is mainly for the consolidation of the CSO resources for sustaining peace in South East Asia. In collaboration with journalists, CiSNOP would like establish a teamwork for strengthening the participation of journalist and media in peace process, including monitoring and campaigning for peaceful in South East Asia. It has also initiated a media campaign aiming at raising communities as insider peace builders. However, the next or the following efforts to improve the capacity and management of the network for better impact to peace building are necessary. The future actions of the consortia will ensure the regional networks ownership by the civil society groups, women groups, mass media groups, and the consortia members and will in turn sustain the efforts to promote substantive and possitive peace in South East Asia. The proposed actions will address the following expected results : Enhanced advocacy and lobbying capacities of organisations and individuals working in the field of peacebuilding; Increased capacities of peacebuilding organisations, particularly, those at grass-root level, to guarantee their organisational sustainability in the medium and long-term; Public discourse on peace or specific issues relevant to peacebuilding is fostered and the debate on these issue is opened up;

Stronger networking among civil society organisations committed to promote peace process on national, regional and global scales; Enhanced understanding, stronger analysis and greater dissemination of effective policy choices.

2.2 Relevance to the particular needs and constraints of the target country/countries, region(s) and/or relevant sectors

According to ASEAN policy, to promote peace at regional level, all of countries agreed to establish Asean Institute for Peace abd Reconciliation (AIPR). It was established on May 8, 2011. The mandate of Institute shall be the ASEAN institution for research activities on peace, conflict management and conflict resolution, as requested by ASEAN Member States. The Institutes work will include, inter alia, promotion of those activities agreed in the ASEAN Political-Security Community Blueprint and additional activities as agreed by ASEAN Member States. Meanwhile, the constraints are the Institute that will be operated in accordance with the ASEAN Charter, and they are guided by the principles of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia. That means that AIPR must be following the determination of principles on non-interference in the internal affairs of ASEAN Member States.

ASEAN decided to establish the ASEAN community in 2015, the most constraints are political and security issues. In the roadmap of an ASEAN community 2009-2015, all of member state agreed to promote peace and stability in region. In other point, ASEAN is also committed to conflict prevention/confidence building measures, preventive diplomacy, and post-conflict peace building.

At country level, the conflict resolution still ongoing, at some countries doing the negotiation with armed groups, such as Indonesia negotiation with Papua Merdeka, Philipines negotiation with MILF, Thailand to solve the conflict in Patani, Myanmar is negotiating with ethnics groups.

Indonesia was resolved to conflict with Timor Leste, Referendum was a solution to solve the conflict. Timor Leste was independence in 1999, they have rights to determine an

independent state, but they should transform the atmosphere of conflict to development approaches. Afterwards, Indonesia was succeded to solve the Conflict in Aceh through dialogue approaches, it facilitated by Hendry Dunant Centre (in 2000 2003) and continued by a mediator from Finland, Crisis Management Initiative (in 2005). The peace agreement between Government of Indonesia and Gerakan Aceh Merdeka (GAM) known as Helsinki Peace Agreement, it was a political agreement adopted to Indonesia constitution as the Law On Governance of Aceh (LoGA). Both of cases describing a fruitful experiences and it should be a lesson learn for other countries in the case like Timor Leste and Aceh.

Recently, Indonesia is facing to solve the conflict in Papua. The government of Indonesia establish a special unit for accelerating the development agenda, and trying to identify the dominant of armed groups for negotiation in peace talks.

Furthermore, Philipines was signed peace agreement in 1998, the peace agreement between governments of Philipines with Moro National Liberation Front. MNLF agreed to accept the autonomy areas of Mindanao. MNLF was led by Nur Misuari become a political leader but he could not bring the opportunity to develop Mindanao, even the corruption cases were increased and peace building under his leadership was failed. So, the Philippine government initiated to negotiate with Moro Islamic liberation front (MILF), it was mediated by prime minister of Malaysia. Both of parties agreed to sign the peace agreement on October 15, 2012. But, both of parties still negotiate to find out the agreement to three issues, such asthe expansion of ARMM territory through a plebiscite, the establishment of a provisional government and Issues on wealth-sharing.

While, Thai government started the peace talk in March 2013, it was facilitated by Malaysia government. The process was signal for creating peace in the Southern of Thailand although the meeting did not develop the peace talk framework. The peace talk initiative was failed after the 3rd meeting, but both of groups agreed that dialogues will be a good way to find the solution for solving the conflict in Patani.The main goal to start the dialogue was to reduce the violence in whole areas. In other side, the civil society and civil society organization in Patani criticized the commitment of Thai government to solve the conflict through dialogues. Many initiatives were taken by civil society groups, such as capacity building on peace, human rights and democracy, campaign the situation and human rights violation, as well as developing the networks with other civil society at national, regional and international level.

The changing of Myanmar started in 2011 when Thein Sein was elected as president. He committed to develop the democratic state and become the welcoming state to global. In 2012, Aung Suu Kyi won election and her political party reached 42 seats of parliament. It is chance to reform Myanmar and to revise the constitutions in democratic form. Myanmar has suffered from ethnic divisions, including between the majority Buddhist population and the Muslim Rohingya minority in the country's west. At least, 237 people have been killed in violence between two groups over the past year and about 150,000 people have lost their domicile. Recently, the government are continuing the peace dialogue with ethnic groups to find the political framework for future of Myanmar, including Kachin state. Between Myanmar government with Kachin rebels have already signed a cease-fire agreement. According to Aung San Suu Kyi, the important agenda to reform Myanmar is to change the constitution in appreciating to minorities ethnic groups, included Rohingyas minorities.

East Timor just got independence in 1998, as new state in South East Asia. They are still struggling to be a member of ASEAN. Currently, the constraint of East Timor is related to post-conflict agenda, especially, related to stability and security issues. East Timor has to face the transition era, to maintain the relation with International state and make a plan as development plan of East Timor, as well as take roles to participate in global level.

Furthermore, Timor Leste experiences in the post-conflict agendas were concentrating to some important issues such as Cessation of hostilities and violence; demobilization, disarmament and reintegration; refugee repatriation; establishing a functioning state; achieving reconciliation and integration; and Economic development. As an independent state, East Timor has many opportunities to develop the state as expected previously. In fact, they have to face many problems and challenges after independent such as internal political dynamic, dependence to international state particularly on monetary and fiscal, and developing a common agenda for future development, as well as developing economic prosociety.

Based on the description of situation above, the problem of peace and stability in South East Asia is a priority to go towards ASEAN community in 2015. ASEAN must be aware of the situation of armed conflict in Indonesia (Papua), Thailand (Patani), Philippine (Mindanao) and a struggle go towards democratic state in Myanmar, as well as, in East Timor to

strengthen post conflict go towards development. Asean should strengthen the civil society, so that all Asean countries are able to keep in touch one another in order to reach the peace.

Initiator of institution Achehnese Civil Society Task Force-ACSTF-(Aceh) Peoples Empowerment Foundation-PEF-(Bangkok) The Academic of Patani Raya for Peace and Development -LEMPAR (Patani) Bangsamoro Civil Society Network-BCSN- (Mindanao) Lutamahuk (East Timor)