Gumbay Piang (21st Century Crisis)

Tun Sri Ahmad Salamal Salahuddin (Jawi: تون سري احمد سلامال صلاح الدين, September 1, 1912 - December 1, 1979)  also known by his Islamic name Hajj Ahmad Salam al-Salah al-Din (Arabic: الحاج أحمد صلاح صلاح الدين) was a Philippine, Mindanaoan and Moro politician, nationalist, military leader, and polymath who founded the Parti Kebangsaan Mindanao or the "Mindanao Nationalist Party". He led Mindanao and Sulu's independence struggle, he found and served as the first President of the de facto Republic of Mindanao and Commander-in-Chief of the Mindanao Free Army, the armed wing of the de facto republic.

Born into Maranaoan royal descent in Marawi City, Ahmad Salahuddin fought the Japanese occupation of the Philippines and led well-coordinated insurgencies against Japanese forces in Mindanao. In 1945, he refused to acknowledge Mindanao as Philippine territory, and thus-began the insurgencies against Filipino occupation.

Influenced by Indonesia's independence movements, Salahuddin spent a portion of his time in the Dutch East Indies (modern-day Indonesia) to gain inspiration where he eventually received counsel from Sukarno as the two traded ideas, including a mutual interest in Malay language.

Upon his return to Mindanao, he declared an independent republic and in 1946 after his return from the Dutch East Indies, and in 1949 eventually united the peoples of Mindanao whether they be Muslim, Christian or any religion to establish the Mindanao Nationalist Party.

Fighting through four Philippine presidencies, the Republic of Mindanao was ended in 1967 during the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos when the Mindanao Free Army was defeated, and thus signed a treaty with the Philippine government, brokered by Indonesia. However, he retained political influence in the Southern Philippines. In 1968, he was elected to become the Governor-General of Mindanao. He was the first Muslim to attain a high position such as this.

Though failing to gain independence from the Philippines, Salahuddin was and is still regarded as a cultural and political hero for people of the Southern Philippines. He is known as being the protecting father of native southern Filipino culture, who resisted attempts to Latinize the south. In 1979, he died of old age and his funeral was attended by thousands of people which he requested at will for the commoners to be at his funeral. He was buried in his home city of Marawi City where a mausoleum was built in his honor. Even Villa Ortiz, the former leader of the Conservative Party (a political enemy of the Mindanao Nationalist Party), attended his funeral to pay his respects.

He was a polyglot, and was fluent in Malay, English, Maranoan, Arabic, Chavacano and Filipino. He was also a skilled fighter that had atttended many martial arts and army schools in the Philippines, Indonesia and the United States.

There are many places and parks in Mindanao named after him, and built in his honor. A memorial park, known as the Salahuddin Merdaka Memorial Park was built in honor of Mindanao's independence struggle. The Salahuddin International Airport in Cotabato City was built in his honor as well. In February of 2012, under the presidency of Benigno Aquino III, he was proclaimed a national hero.

Under executive order of then-president Corazon Aquino, he, along with Jainal Abirin are considered founding fathers of the Mindanao Constabulary, the southern branch of the Philippine National Constabulary of the Armed Forces.

Childhood
Ahamad was born to Omar Salahuddin and Zeinab Salahuddin on September 1, 1912 in Marawi City in the Moro Province. The family was largely agrarian, and his father was a wealthy landlord and a chief, and he was to inherit the throne.

American occupation
Ahmad Salahuddin was involved in militancy at the age of 18, and was recruited as part of the Lanao Armed Defenses. Salahuddin's uncle was killed in a fight with American soldiers. Rather than fighting the Americans, Salahuddin and his father collaborated and worked out peace treaties with the Americans, having shared a mutual hate for Spanish influence. The latter favored English over Spanish to become the predominantly-spoken language in the archipelago.

World War II
In 1925, Omar Salahuddin passed away, and Ahmad became the next Datu of the House of Salahuddin. He was incorporated into the Moro Unit, which was a native army within the U.S. Armed Forces. In 1941, Japanese forces invaded the Philippines and Salahuddin quickly organized a militant force known as the Pejuang Kebebasan Mindanao, or PKM which is Malay for "Mindanao Freedom Fighters". Through the four-year course of the Japanese occupation, Salahuddin led successful insurgencies against Japanese bases in Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago. Hideki Tojo, the military commander of the Japanese Empire commenced a public concern in Tokyo, stating that the Japanese forces had met their match in the Moro rebels of Mindanao. In 1945, the Japanese surrendered the Philippines to the Americans. However, Salahuddin refused to recognize Mindanao as Philippine territory, thus starting a new independence struggle.

Life in Indonesia
In 1945, Salahuddin paid close attention to the independence movements in Indonesia and spent nearly an entire year in the Dutch East Indies. He had British naval vessels take him to the Dutch East Indies, posing as a journalist since they had suspicions that he would influence the independence movement in Indonesia. His goal was to gain wisdom, insight and inspiration from the Indonesian nationalists, and he met eventual-first president of Indonesia, Sukarno. Salahuddin closely observed Sukarno's works and resided in Jakarta.

It is in Jakarta on June 23, 1945 that Salahuddin and close-friend Karimal Sayid recorded a copy of Sukarno's five-point Pancasila, and other parts of the Jakarta Charter.

On August 17, 1945, Salahuddin attended the the Indonesian Proclamation of Independence in the city of Bandung, where Sukarno and his wife lived. Mohammad Hatta, Sukarno's speaker helped Salahuddin's proficiency in Malay, seeing that he spoke rather broken and creole-like Malay.

First Cotabato City Convention - 1946
Salahuddin returned to Mindanao via Indonesian naval escorts on January 1, 1946, and re-incorporated the ideas and inspiration from Indonesia's independence movement. He gathered tons of Moro chiefs from all over the southern Philippines, to gather in Cotabato City, in which they discussed the future Constitution, government, and political bodies. This historical event in Philippine history is known as the First Cotabato City Convention (Malay: Konvensyen Bandar Kota Batu).

On January 2, it is then that Salahuddin wrote his own version of Sukarno's Pancasila. These were the points: The Moro chiefs also agreed that Malay needed to be the language of unity, as it did in Indonesia. This proposal had already existed via Salahuddin's choosing. They had also decided that they need a unified armed wing to protect the interests of the the peoples of Mindanao and Sulu from foreign military threat, which included the Filipino army.
 * 1) Religious freedom
 * 2) Civilized and just humanity
 * 3) Unity of Mindanao
 * 4) Democracy through inner-wisdom and representative consensus-building
 * 5) Social justice for all people of Mindanao and Sulu

January 3, the Constitution of Mindanao (Malay: Perlembagaan Mindanao) is completed, and announced for the future Republic.

Propaganda Mission
After the First Cotabato City Convention, Salahuddin and his colleagues, which included co-militant Karimal Sayid and brother-in-law Musinal Islam, began the Misi Untuk Menyatukan, which is a Malay phrase for "mission to unify".

This was a propaganda move, in which Salahuddin and Sayid conducted independence rallies and speeches around the island, as well as the Sulu Archipelago to gain support.

They were successful, partly due to the lack of presence of Filipino forces in the islands.

Second Cotabato City Convention - 1947
Having gained the full support of Mindanao and Sulu's people, Salahuddin announced a second convention on January 3, 1947 in Cotabato City. This time, the crowd was twice as larger, and not only confined to Moro Muslim chieftains but also of Hindu, Buddhist, Lumad and Visayan Catholic leaders and barangay datus. This second convention focused on creating a unified political party and governing body for the natives of Mindanao and Sulu. One of the noted non-Muslim attendees was Christopher Francis, a Protestant ex-Catholic Visayan living in Zamboanga City, who share a mutual hate for the Roman Catholic Church and showed full solidarity for the people of Mindanao.

In this convention after several naming proposals, Karimal Sayid's name for the party, the Parti Kebangsaan Mindanao ("Mindanao Nationalist Party") was chosen, and therefore became the main representing political governing body of Mindanao. In this convention, it was also decided that the Mindanao Free Army (Malay: Mindanao Tentera Percuma) would the unified armed-wing of the future republic of Mindanao. However, they also decided that natives have the freedom to establish independent armed groups to ensure protection and safety of their communities.

Head of the Mindanao Nationalist Party 1947-1955
On January 4, 1947 Ahmad was pronounced as the Head of the Mindanao Nationalist Party, with Karimal Sayid being the President and Christopher Francis as the Spokesperson. Ahmad served as this position for two terms, until Karimal Sayid took the position.

President of the de facto Republic of Mindanao 1949-1959
In 1949, Indonesia gained its independence. In Cotabato City, Ahmad finally announced the Declaration of Independence for the Republic of Mindanao. Though the Philippine government did not recognize it, the declaration went essentially unopposed due the lack of Filipino troops in the south. This ended in 1950, when president Elpidio Quirino began to send soldiers to put down the uprising. Salahuddin spear-headed the armed resistance, emerging as a "people's leader". Indonesian president Sukarno expressed his support for the nationalists, and personally visited Zamboanga City to see Salahuddin. However, he also viewed the Philippines as an important ally, and soon visited Quirino in Manila to try to act as a mediator in the dispute.

The will of Salahuddin's nationalists proved to be too strong and stubborn, that the Filipino army had to repeatedly withdraw its forces from Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago. In 1953, Salahuddin sent a personal letter to Manila stating that more Filipino soldiers were going to die if they did not cease to stop sending soldiers to interfere in Mindanao's political wishes.

The Philippine government continued to reject Mindanao's declaration of independence, and sent more untrained soldiers to the de facto republic. Salahuddin's independence war lasted through four presidencies, with three of those presidents failing to consolidate Philippine occupation of Mindanao.

Governor-General of Mindanao and Sulu 1968-1979
In 1967, president Ferdinand Marcos consolidated Philippine occupation of Mindanao and declared martial law in Mindanao and Sulu. Due to the strong leadership of Marcos, the Filipino forces defeated the Mindanao Free Army. This had effectively ended the Republic of Mindanao, however it only ended it by name and the anti-Philippine government sentiments and insurgencies continued.

Marcos wanted to establish a Governor-General for Mindanao, and leader for the Mindanao Constabulary. He hosted the 1968 Regional Elections for Mindanao and Sulu. Salahuddin won a landslide victory over Juan Cortes, and became the first Muslim Governor-General of the Philippines and the first Muslim to attain the second-highest ranking position from a President.

In 1969, Ahmad Salahuddin and Ferdinand Marcos worked out a compromise, in which the people of Mindanao would have their culture and religion protected if they surrendered. Salahuddin demanded a condition, stating that the people of Mindanao and Sulu keep their weapons whilst ending the armed resistance. Marcos reluctantly accepted the condition, and the Mindanao Peace Treaty was signed. Many of the former fighters of the Mindanao Free Army became part of the new Mindanao Constabulary, much to the dismay of Ferdinand Marcos.

Other activities
In 1972, Ahmad Salahuddin made the hajj, or the holy pilgrimage to the city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. In Saudi Arabia, he became known as Hajj Ahmad Salahuddin (Arabic: الحاج أحمد صلاح الدين). While in the Middle East, he learned Arabic. He wanted to go Israel, but could not due to the situations with the Arab-Israeli conflict. While in Kuwait, he stated his support for the Palestinians and the Arab people, a public speech done in Arabic.

In 1973, he returned to visit Indonesia, the country which inspired the Republic of Mindanao, visiting Sukarno's grave and paying his tributes and respects to his "old friend". He stated that he rather got emotional during the visit. President Suharto awarded Salahuddin with the Silver Star of Indonesia award. However, Salahuddin did show to have a disgust for Suharto, viewing him as the Indonesian counterpart to Ferdinand Marcos. Salahuddin did his best to avoid having to come into contact with Suharto and made up excuses of fake illness to avoid having to attend Indonesian government events during his presidency.

In 1975, he visited the United States, his first visit to a western nation to address the Muslim-American and the growing Filipino-American community. From there, he traveled to Canada and Mexico. He visited Egypt afterwards and finished his world tour by visiting Andalusia in southern Spain before returning to the Philippines.

Despite seeing Philippines as a former enemy, Salahuddin eventually accepted being called a "Filipino", and supported Filipino-American rights. He said, "I'm a Filipino by citizenship, Moro by heritage and nationality. After all, we Moros and Filipinos alike fought Japanese conquerors for the sake of our lands during the Second World War and were falsely divided by colonial powers."

Death
On December 2, 1979, while on a visit to Manila, Salahuddin died of a heart failure and of old age. The news of his death went nationwide in the Philippines, and caused a sense of shock and grief in Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago. He was buried on December 5, 1979 in his hometown of Cotabato City. Politicians from all over the Philippines attended his funeral, and as per his will, commoners attended his funeral. He died with the respect of many Filipinos, even Villa Ortiz and other members of the Conservative Party, a strong political enemy of the Parti Kebangsaan. Other prominent politicians included Ferdinand Marcos, his wife First Lady Imelda Marcos, Indonesian president Suharto, and King Khalid bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia.

His grandson and then-president of the Parti Kebangsaan gave the funeral speech in English.

"Two days ago, we lost the beloved leader, my grandfather Ahmad Salahuddin. It is he who allowed and worked to the lengths to protect the people of Mindanao and of the Sulu Archipelago, keeping our cultures untouched from harm. We will celebrate the accomplishment he has made for us. Had it not been for his courage, his strength and his will, Mindanao would be nothing more but a victim of assimilation. May he Rest in Peace."

Legacy
Ahmad Salahuddin, along with Karimal Sayid and Christopher Francis, is seen as a political, cultural and religious hero for many people of the southern Philippines, since he is regarded as being the ever-lasting protector of Mindanao and Sulu's native culture.

On December 2, 1987 under the presidency of Corazon Aquino, a memorial park in Cotabato City, known as the Salahuddin Merdaka Memorial Park was built in order to commemorate the cultural struggle of Mindanao's natives.

On December 2, 1993 president Fidel Ramos renamed the Cotabato City Airport, to the Salahuddin International Airport as part of its expansion. He also conducted a public speech in Cotabato City, honoring Mindanao's fallen and calling them "true warriors of the Philippines."

He said in his speech, "Ahmad Salahuddin was one living example of the warrior spirit and unending willingness of Mindanao's people to defend their country. These natives defended their land against the Spanish conquerors, the Americans and the Japanese. I believe that their accomplishments are underrated by most Filipinos today, for they really were the true warriors of the Philippines. Mabuhay and Merdaka Mindanao!"