Bangsamoro is the name of the autonomous region where the Muslim population in the Philippines lives. Spanish colonialists came to the Philippines in the 16th century. The Muslim Moro people resisted against Spanish colonialism for 330 years. According to some historians, the resistance of the Moro people is the longest in history. Under the tutelage of Spain, Moro (officially Mindanao) was not part of the Philippines but was a separate region. After the Spanish colonial era, the U.S. defeated Spain in 1898 and received the Philippines in exchange for $25,000. Bangsamoro was a separate region under the U.S. period, too. From 1899 to 1916, some 20,000 Bangsamoro were killed. The Philippines became independent in 1946, but did not regard Bangsamoro as a separate state. Moro people have lived in their own independent country for 500 years but the independent Philippines attempted to bring it to an end. The Moro people showed passive resistance from 1946 to 1972.Following massacres and ethnic cleansing by the Filipino government in 1972, the Moro people established armed resistance groups. There were four main groups fighting the government in the Bangsamoro region. The first one, the Mindanao Independence Movement (MIM) was founded in 1968 and demanded autonomy. But in a short time the MIM was deactivated. Second, the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) was a political organization in the Philippines that was founded by Nur Misuari in 1969. The MNLF struggled against the Filipino Government to achieve independence. There were peace talks and two signed agreements in 1976 and 1996. The MNLF renounced its claim of independence and now this group is weak and divided. Third, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) was founded by Salamat Hashim in 1977 and looked for autonomy. Over the course of time, MILF has become the main opposition power and currently the Filipino government is holding peace talks with the group. The last group is Abu Sayyaf, which is allegedly linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) that controls large swathes of Iraq and Syria. The radical group has carried out deadly bombings, kidnappings, assassinations, and extortion since 1991. Abu Sayyaf was condemned repeatedly by MNLF and MILF.Moro people have long suffered from human rights abuses. About 120,000 people have been killed while some 2 million have become refugees. About 200,000 homes, 535 mosques and 200 schools were destroyed by Filipino army. Moro people have been deprived of education as result of the government's policy.The Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro was signed between the Filipino government and MILF on Oct. 15, 2012. In this context, the Third Party Monitoring Team (TPMT) was founded to observe peace progress. The TPMT is composed of the five members (two local NGOs, two international NGOs and one independent person). The Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro (CAB) was the final peace agreement signed between the government and MILF on March 28, 2014 in Manila. According to the agreement, MILF has agreed to decommission its armed wing. In return, the government admitted establishing an autonomous Bangsamoro.But, peace talks were interrupted with an unexpected "Mamasapano clash" on Jan. 25, 2015. Clashes took place between the Philippines National Police including special forces (joint U.S. Army Special Force) and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters BIFF and MILF. In the clashes, 44 Special Action Force members, 18 MILF members, five BIFF members and several civilians died. After the attack, a MILF spokesman accused the SAF squads of starting the fight, claiming that the group responded in self-defense, and proposed the continuation of the peace process. Also the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed concern over the incident and hoped that the incident would not affect the peace process in Mindanao.Hüseyin Oruç, vice president of the IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation, is one of the members of TPMT from Turkey. Oruç told Daily Sabah, "The process that came to a critical point was interrupted with such a ridiculous operation. One of the groups in the SAF has targeted Zulkifl-i Abdhir, without informing the Filipino president. Zulkifl-i Abdhir was killed in the operation with the intelligence provided by the U.S. Unfortunately MILF was accused. But the process is not over. It continues as it makes gains and the agreements are still valid. We made an effort in this process and will do more as the TPMT. A referendum will be held in Bangsamoro in the coming days. Moro people will vote for their own constitution. The administration of the autonomous region will be in the hands of Muslims after the referendum."