Int’l Human Rights Day countdown: Tuwid na daan, wakasan
Human rights day for the lumads in Mindanao is a farce, says the group which headed the Manilakbayan ng Mindanao that called national attention on lumads displaced by the military.
Int’l Human Rights Day countdown: Tuwid na daan, wakasan
Human rights day for the lumads in Mindanao is a farce, says the group which headed the Manilakbayan ng Mindanao that called national attention on lumads displaced by the military.
“As the upcoming International Human Rights day is getting near, indigenous people all over the world suffer the most violent attacks brought by imperialist plunder and militarization. States all over the world continue to disrespect and trample on the citizens’ rights. The Philippine government continues to denigrate on its avowed duty since its adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights roughly seven (7) decades ago” said Kerlan Fanagel, a Lumad spokesperson of Manilakbayan 2015.
Fanagel pointed that despite their month-long protest caravan in Manila, their calls for pull-out has been ignored by the BS Aquino administration. “Further, more troops have been deployed in Lumad areas causing another wave of displacement of Lumad” he added.
According to Fanagel, in the months of November to December alone, there has been four (4) incidents of forced evacuations of Lumad communities due to military encampment of schools and communities: some 250 Matigsalogs from Compostela and Kitaotao Bukidnon were forced to evacuate from their homes due to attacks on schools in two (2) separate incidents; an estimated 1,000 Manobos from Lebak, Sultan Kudarat also have fled their homes; while around 150 Matigsalogs from Kabanglasan Town are now currently staying in the Provincial Capitol of Bukidnon due to military operations.
Before the departure of the Manilakbayan campaign late in October, churches and other urban centers have already accommodated around 5,000 lumad evacuees, 3,000 of which came from Lianga, Surigao del Sur following the September 1 killings in the Alcadev community.
Fanagel said the Aquino government is now suffering from criticisms from the international community for its inaction on the attacks on the indigenous peoples.
Fanagel mentioned the embarrassment caused by the AFP Eastern Mindanao Command to misquote a United Nations envoy who urged the pullout of military troops.
He said it is imperative now that the government pull-out its troops and disband paramilitary forces so that the lumads in Mindanao can return to their homes. “It is the only way that it can redeem itself from disgrace in the international scene, and keep the people from losing respect and allegiance on its moral ascendancy, if there is any left” he added.
Fanagel said 60 military combat battalions are now fielded all over Mindanao, with 21 combat battalions deployed in Southern Mindanao or Davao Region, 14 deployed in CARAGA Region, ten in SOCSKSARGEN Region, eight in Northern Mindanao Region and seven in Zamboanga Peninsula, while an unaccounted number of troop movements are in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao or (ARMM).
He added that, this figure did not include other battalions such as Intelligence Battalions, Engineering Battalions, Mechanized Battalions, Civil-Military Operations (CMO) Battalion, CAFGUs, SCAA and several paramilitary groups.
“These deployments only show that the war mongering Aquino administration has heightened its human rights violations of the indigenous peoples and suppression of their right to seek redress from foreign interests in our Ancestral Domains. It is definitely not credible to any recognition or peace award because of its blatant violations even in the face of international indignation” said Fanagel.
“We challenge President Aquino to be honest on his promise to the “Lumad” he said he met in Malacañang in November- that he will consider the problems faced by Lumads in Mindanao” Fanagel concluded.