Chairman ManHee Lee is the head representative of the global peace organization HWPL (Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light), which is striving for the enactment and implementation of the international peace law 'Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War (DPCW)'. The DPCW is a legal instrument comprised of 10 articles and 38 clauses that can end wars and hostilities throughout the world. HWPL is also spreading a culture of peace and implementing peace education.
Chairman ManHee Lee experienced the cruelty and tragedy of war as a veteran of the Korean War. This is one of the reasons why he founded a global peace campaign as the head of HWPL. He has traveled the globe more than 35 times to meet and persuade politicians, legal experts, journalists, professors, peace activists, civil organization leaders, heads of tribes and others to unite them for the work of peace. The significant fruits borne out of his hard work are the World Alliance of Religions' Peace (WARP) Summit and HWPL Peace Committee. The DPCW was drafted and finalised by the HWPL Peace Committee.
How, you may wonder, do I know this? About 10 years ago, when I had just been discharged from military service, I came to know HWPL and Chairman ManHee Lee while researching the topic of civil conflicts to satisfy my curiosity in ongoing global issues. At that time, the island of Mindanao in the Philippines was suffering from a major civil conflict that lasted more than 40 years, and Chairman ManHee Lee and HWPL resolved this conflict through non-violent means.
Chairman Lee brought an end to the conflict in Mindanao by holding a peace talk between the warring Catholic and Islamic groups. Before the talk, HWPL and Chairman ManHee Lee held a Peace Walk to spread the culture of peace in Mindanao with the many locals who had gathered out of a desire for peace.
Chairman ManHee Lee's pressing appeal today is that humanity unites for sustainable peace in order to pass on the legacy of peace to future generations worldwide. He doesn't just talk peace, but has worked tirelessly for it through practical peace campaigns for over a decade.
I decided to become a supporter of HWPL and Chairman ManHee Lee's peace initiatives because I also desire a world of peace for all posterity.
Today I'd like to introduce an article from HWPL official homepage regarding HWPL Peace Monuments of HWPL's Peace Projects in Mindanao, Philippines. We will look at a few peace monuments in Philippines :)
The Peace Monument in Buluan, Maguindanao
Communities named 24 January 2015 HWPL Peace Day and unveiled peace monuments. The chief negotiators who led the peace process between the Philippines government and the MILF, including Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, and Mohogher Iqbal, Governor Esmael Mangudadatu of Maguindanao, and officials of the OPAPP, joined the peace monument unveiling ceremony, a symbolic event for realizing peace.
The Declaration of World Peace Monument in MILF’s Camp Darapanan in Sultan Kudarat
On the 2nd Anniversary of the January 24 Mindanao Peace Agreement Day in 2016, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front chairman, Al-Hajj Murad Ebrahim, declared January 24 as HWPL Day and established the Declaration of World Peace Monument in MILF’s Camp Darapanan in Sultan Kudarat.
The peace monument erected inside an MILF camp was a result that symbolizes the hopes and efforts of Filipinos from all walks of life that worked past conflicts for the progress of peace in Mindanao.
Al-Hajj Murad Ebrahim, MILF’s chairman
“That symbolic gift to Chairman Lee is a manifestation of our desire to end the war in Mindanao. Part of the agreement we had with the government is to convert all the military camps of MILF, from a military camp into a productive civilian community. So now, we started already the decommissioning process. We initially turnover for safekeeping our weapons, and the moment the BOL (Bangsamoro Organic Law) will be ratified, we will be turning over bigger number of weapons for safekeeping as agreed upon. It will be put beyond use. Meaning, it will not be used for wars anymore. And then the camps will be turned into productive communities. Our combatants will focus on earning their own livelihood, living in the camp peacefully. We will be establishing also the monument of peace in our other camps when this is implemented.”
The Peace Monument at Siniloan National Integrated High School in the Philippines
The fifth peace monument was erected at Siniloan National Integrated High School and unveiled on 21 February 2022. Built in collaboration with the government, school teachers, and citizens, this monument is the first peace monument to be located within a school campus in the Philippines. The HWPL peace monument will remind students of the value of peace for generations to come.
The Peace Monument in Don Honorio Ventura Technological State University
Don Honorio Ventura Technological State University (DHVTSU) inaugurated peace markers on September 13, 2022, the first to be established in a higher education institution (HEI).
This is a joint project of CLSU, HWPL Philippines, and Volunteer Individuals for Peace (VIP), a non-government organization established by Dr. Ronald L. Adamat, Commissioner of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). In the pursuit of peace, Dr. Adamat declared that he would establish peace monuments in all state universities and colleges (SUCs) starting with SUCs under his supervision, during his speech in the Unveiling Ceremony of the Peace Monument in Siniloan Integrated National High School held in February 2022.
The Peace Monument at Plaza Asuncion in Malate, Manila
On January 24, 2023, the 11th HWPL Peace monument was unveiled at Plaza Asuncion in Malate, Manila in support for cessation of war and adherence to peace. It is the first of its kind to be established at the national capital as well as the regional center of the National Capital Region.
The project was spearheaded by the Rotary Club of Manila Metro (RCMM), in collaboration with HWPL. Since their partnership in 2021, the two organizations have collaborated on various peace activities and volunteer projects for sustainable peace in the Philippines.
Interested in HWPL's peace work for the world? Please visit following link :)
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