JOLO, SULU – Jolo is now a “Zone of Peace.”

Local officials, together with the police and the military, and human rights advocates, Thursday signed a landmark document declaring Jolo a “Zone of Peace.”

The signing of the Declaration of Principles was witnessed by Sir Michael Aaronson, chair of the Geneva-based conflict prevention group Center for Humanitarian Dialogue (CHD).

Mayor Hussin Amin said that under the declaration, even off-duty soldiers and police officers are prohibited from carrying firearms.

“The carrying of firearms, explosives or other forms of deadly weapons, whether openly displayed or concealed, by a resident or visitor, or by any government official, security detail, soldier or policeman not on official duty shall be prohibited in the Jolo Zone of Peace,” he said.

One special thing about the document is that it also seeks the prohibition of “vices that could tend to disrupt this aspiration,” Amin said.

“Likewise, the campaign against illegal drugs and other forms of criminality shall be heightened.”

To ensure that the declaration will not be violated, the mayor said the local government had empowered residents to participate actively by developing an information and communication network aimed at promoting immediate police and military response and action.

Marine Col. Celestino Ferrera, deputy commander of Task Force Comet and the signatory for the military, said he had always prayed for an alternative to war.

“As soldiers, we are the ones who are hungry for peace because we have everything to gain during peace and we have everything to lose during hostilities,” he said.

Ferrera said “peace is an elusive dream,” but with the declaration, he hoped it would not remain an impossible one.

Aaronson said it was important to take the guns off the streets to make the declaration work.

He urged the Tausug people to resolve conflicts through dialogues. Hostility would only beget more hostility, he said.

He urged officials to mediate in conflicts and ensure that the law is always implemented.

“It is very easy to blame people for carrying weapons but the reason for people to resort to violence is because they lack confidence in peaceful means to resolving feuds,” he said.