Passion for freedom Datu Cosain Naga, spokesperson of the Moro-Christian Peoples Alliance, had this to say of Hashim: “The death of Mr. Salamat Hashim, a great and praiseworthy leader of the Bangsamoro people, is indeed a great loss to their struggle for self-determination. Despite his firm belief in the armed revolutionary struggle as the only solution to the Moro peoples’ quest for genuine freedom, he has shown sincerity in pursuing their goal through peaceful means by participating earnestly in the peace negotiations.” Naga said Hashim’s leadership “should be duly credited for his firm resolve not to surrender arms, as demanded by the government, unless a tangible result of the peace talks is assured. Through this, he has genuinely upheld the interests of the Bangsamoro people.” Call it political savvy but it was clear Hashim and the MILF learned a thing or two from the failure of the MNLF. It was perhaps in this context that Orlando Quevedo, the archbishop of Cotabato and the president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), called Hashim, in a report by MindaNews, not only a visionary but a realist. Abhoud Syed Lingga, chairman of the non-government Bangsamoro People’s Consultative Assembly, said Hashim “had a simple passion in life: freedom.” It is this “passionate yearning for freedom that compelled him to stay with the oppressed, share their sufferings, and court death in the hands of the oppressors and enemies of peace. Many times he was offered the security and comfort of a sanctuary in friendly Muslim countries. But he gracefully spurned these offers, preferring instead to live with the impoverished Bangsamoro masses, seek refuge and comfort in prayers to his Creator, and patiently endure the spartan life of a mujahid in the harsh jungles, mountains and marshes of the Bangsamoro homeland.” In short, Hashim was a revolutionary to the very end – and, perhaps, beyond. It is said that Hashim once uttered these words: “Even if I die, the next generation will continue the struggle. I have planted the seed of jihad in the heart of the Bangsamoro.”
Posted on: Sat, 29 Mar 2014 13:26:42 +0000
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