 I mean I used to remember once being asked what should I do If in my village the military binds a person to a tree and tell me to kill him with a knife May I do it or may I not do it I saw many people burned I think there is civilians people And the result will be death and blood The land has been made to absorb bombs, blood and dead bodies What is the problem now is even some of the Muslims do not understand Islam If you compare the Islamic law and the international humanitarian law We can find that this international humanitarian law is based on the Lahai or the Geneva conference But of course some of these books should be made from the teaching of religion Even though there is a person cut our body into pieces Not by that we give the rise to the hatred to that person The Buddha himself will not allow If we want to attain peace in the world we should start promoting peace among religions When I started working and forming a Buddhist monk network on social development That started with the issues where people in Thailand are having a problem with the government And there are many issues of course Many problems actually in Southeast Asia especially is about the unsettling of the national and regional security Because we are pretty much influenced by the colonialization And then how people are moving from different borders And then they grow and then have a different economic opportunity So the social changes then the economic distribution in equality and poverty It's also driving the conflict in the region There's always as I see it from here the big difference in the ethnical ratio Of course also religious respect Every country has their own problems But as a country that still supports our own lessons There are still many challenges that we face Even though Indonesia is 72 years old But the rights as a country are still not fully achieved I talk a lot about the conflict that happened That maybe caused me to be arrested in the Philippines I know for sure that what was put on me The case that we faced at that time We didn't do it as a reason to be arrested But I was arrested because maybe they saw me or my relatives In the conflict that happened At that time it was better to be taken to the hospital I think there are many things that I did wrong I believe that I am never in profit in criminal or civil case in my country Including then of country pet Many post-news even linking me to the bombing of the Philippine Embassy in Jakarta Remember the People Power Revolution was in 1986 So I was there in the transition And it was very violent where I was It was in Dalgona city Every day there would be killings The search for peace is quite important And it remains a very, very important challenge in Mindanao Because there is conflict between the government And the moral Islamic liberation front Together with the moral national liberation front There is also conflict between the government, the military And the new people's army of the communists But conflict in Mindanao is not limited to those Vertically related conflicts You also have conflicts based on resources, mining The division was a political division into provinces And then later on more divisions took place into provinces North Kotobato, then Magindanao And then another division in South Kotobato It's South Kotobato and Sarangani province And then another division in our area Sultan Kodarat province So there are now five provinces Where originally there was only one province The Regional Human Rights Commission is basically Mandated to investigate human rights violation in the autonomous region This mandate is just like the same as the National Human Rights Commission Of the Philippines But we are independent from the commission on human rights We are likewise independent from the regional government And basically most of the incidents that we are investigating Is rooted on armed conflict Every time we hear we learn that there is an armed conflict For example in Mindanao Our special investigators go down and investigate human rights violation Both conflicts in Eastern Indonesia Happened in places where a formerly Christian protestant majority Became a minority by Muslim migration Not a planned migration because Indonesians Indonesia is full of migrants everywhere And then it can become dangerous We had such conflicts in Karimantan We had it in South Sumatra But I think there is a cultural thing For me I believe that there is no religion That is promoting conflict It's not a principle under any religion to promote conflict The problem is not a religion's problem I think it's about phalithics I think Because our religions didn't teach the burden of the house The innocent people I think we should educate the people In our place a lot of kidnapping It's very bad When you look at all holy books, Bibles There are always things that you could interpret as Doing war or bringing peace And this is something that you could escalate Especially when you're talking about power And you're talking about politics Of course you say the others are our enemies It's not religion per se But the human who claim religions as their reason or the causes All religions teach us how to be loving each other So it doesn't make sense if we say that religion is the cause of the conflicts Especially for the religious leaders They have to sit together, they have to talk They have to have the dialogue And they have to find out the solutions And of course they have to bring up what is good in the religion If we look into this issue The situation in Southern part Very deeply we can see that it is not the issues of religion Because people can live still In many, many parts of Southern Thailand They still can live together And they protect one another We are talking about dialogue of words It's not just table dialogues It's not just talking theological things on the table But we are talking about how we could work together It is really high time for us to do interfaith And be sure that we can effect the people that are making the government policies So why don't we do interfaith with the people in the Congress Because they are responsible in the legislation And why can't we not forage interfaith with the rebel group For example So if we really mean to create an impact I think better start from the grassroots I believe that if every religionist will understand the teaching of his religion The people of the book, if they understand the message of the Bible There will be no trouble As the Muslims also If they really stick to the teaching of the Quran and the sunnah No, there will be no trouble I would like to examine how much we spent for the military And maybe easily one third of that could be transferred to enhance education Especially in the far flung areas Where the young people are recruited Vulnerable to recruitment to taking up arms Health of course How can you study if you do not have a full stomach Protecting against suffering All values, humanitarian values that we have Humanity Neutrality Independence and service I think service You know those four values that your organization is trying to work from Also values that the Catholic faith are working from And trying to infuse into the work of humanitarian work Or the peace process itself In the humanitarian principle you just help Without asking are you Muslim, are you Buddhist Or are you anything else or are you agnostic You just help the persons that are victimized Looking at whether they are from this particular fraction Or that particular fraction So we are totally neutral in our distribution So the need itself It's need to be addressed Not the base on the right of the donors Or the right of the people who give But the right of the affected people Hatred is not seized by hatred Love alone seeds hatred So that means we should have a loving kindness For everyone And according to Buddhism we are all friends You are a Muslim If we are human If we are religious If we are religious If we are human Because this is Islam It's the message of humanity Allah says We are sent to the mercy of the world Certainly in humans We have the ability to control and monitor what is good and bad in other people. We have to evaluate ourselves. And that is the characteristic that we have to maintain as human beings. It becomes fashionable. All these Geneva Conventions 1, 2, 3, 4 things. I think there is no opposition from what the Bible says. I mean, from the beginning to end, God wants these people to take care of... I mean, His people to take care of even those who are different, but not also different, but who are weak. And I think one of the worst of humanity is to kill those who are helpless, or to make use of those who are weak. Who really suffer? It's the civilians, it's the children, and most of them women. And we also found out very high mortality, maternal mortality, infant mortality. The best thing we think is that there is no conflict. That's the best thing, right? But if the conflict happens, this is the result of all conflicts. The civilians then want to be the victims of the conflict. I remember right in a hadith, tradition of the Holy Prophet. Once a Jew, a funeral of a Jew passing by, the Holy Prophet stood up. He respected the passing by. He knew that it was a Jew. He knew that it was not a Muslim, but he respected as human beings. And then if you can find any corpse, whether you do not know, whether he's a Muslim or not, and then you have to bury him, yes, properly. Otherwise, you have abandoned it, it's fake for humanity. This is in Wairunlamun. In the ICRC or HIL, there are also challenges. They agreed together, all of them. The Geneva Convention, the United Nations Charter of Human Rights, are valid in terms of they are based on the natural law. Respect for life is one of the most important values there. There is no Muslim. There is no Islamic country. Because there is a message in the ICRC, that I will die someday in Wairunlamun. Because there is a message in the ICRC. Because there are people in Wairunlamun. They are not victims of the armed conflict. They are fighting without the rule of law. We refuse to talk to each other. If we have interfaith, we should have interfaith. Muslims these days are celebrating much of our differences and labelling people. You are Shia, you are Wahhabi, you are Kharegites, you are Khawarij, you are extremists, all this labelling. It did not produce the peace that we need in the Muslim Ummah. But rather, it divided us. And who are benefiting from this? I will look at what is happening in the Middle East for example. And my fear, we will be importing this kind of mentality here in the Philippines. Several years ago, a bomb exploded right in front, right under the roast pig in the shop across the street. And I was celebrating mass at the time. And one of the passengers who were killed, five people were killed. One of the passengers of a jeepney went down the jeepney and was hit by a shrapnel of the bomb here. And he died at the front of the church, in the gate of the church. I will show you where it is. The young boy died here. Especially for the fundamentalists, which are now increasing. But actually that is not... Or it's a few people who really don't understand, in my understanding, who really don't understand their own religion, the essence of their own religions. And then they become exclusive. They become fundamentalists. And then that caused the conflict, that caused the violence that happens. I think it is high time for us to realize that when we do forum, we gather people in a room with good facilities. The question is, after this forum and seminar, what will we do? And I think we have to bring the interfaith activities to the grassroots. Why don't we talk to the driver? Why don't we talk to the vendor, to the fishermen? It is where we can really get the real picture of what is really happening on the ground. But where are we? Where are we? And this is, I think the first thing that we must have, creating a space for discussion. More people doing good things, that will be beneficial for the society and the world. Finding other ways to resolve conflicts. Finding other ways to talk about the value of other groups. Finding value in people of different cultural traditions. Even finding value in people of other ideologies. If they understand the real teaching, the real doctrine and their own religion about this love and wisdom, compassion. So I think that kind of right fundamentalists and so on. Reducing conflict is bringing hope to those who become victims. Because the victims of conflicts, not those who are bringing swords or crying for war or something like that. But the people, I mean the real people, they still have hearts, especially the communal conflict. And they still have a relation with one another. And bringing hope to these people that peace is still there. And peace can come sooner or later. And by working together, by coordinating our actions, we will understand better the other religions. And once we understand better, I think we will find out, ultimately, that actually more similarities than differences in the religion. That's the future of humanity.