Military violated rights in Negros, bishops claim
MANILA, Philippines – Army troops have committed gross human rights violations against the people of Linantuyan village in Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental, two Visayas-based Christian bishops said on Friday.
Bishop emeritus Roman Tiples Jr. of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente in Bacolod and Bishop Ebenezeer Camino of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) cited an initial report of a fact-finding mission organized by the Inter-faith Movement for Justice and Peace (IFMJP) amid complaints of “distressing events" in central Negros for the past months.
"Part of the interfaith mission is to release the confirmation and results of their initial study before the national and international fact-finding team can release their own findings," said Tiples and Camino in a statement carried by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines website (www.cbcpnews.com) on Friday.
According to the report, the military continued to use the market place and the barangay hall in Linatuyan as their shelter for more than two months.
It said the military detachment, which village officials dubbed as a barangay defense system office, is built amid a populated area, adjacent to the barangay hall, market and plaza.
The fact-finding mission said that by setting up their detachment in the middle of populated areas, the military was placing villagers in grave danger in case of rebel attacks. This was what happened to the house of villager Rosita Sildora, which was damaged during a supposed encounter between government forces and New People's Army rebels recently, it said.
It also found that persons summoned and investigated by the military were subjected to grave threats and that those who asserted their basic rights were subjected to a malicious and libelous campaign.
In nearby Barangay Trinidad, according to the report, 40 residents who attended a two-day seminar conducted by the military were falsely presented as rebels who surrendered.
Tiples and Camino said the IFMJP validated violations against human rights and international humanitarian laws as mentioned by different rights bodies that conducted an inquiry into the mountainous villages. - GMANews.TV
Bishop emeritus Roman Tiples Jr. of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente in Bacolod and Bishop Ebenezeer Camino of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) cited an initial report of a fact-finding mission organized by the Inter-faith Movement for Justice and Peace (IFMJP) amid complaints of “distressing events" in central Negros for the past months.
"Part of the interfaith mission is to release the confirmation and results of their initial study before the national and international fact-finding team can release their own findings," said Tiples and Camino in a statement carried by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines website (www.cbcpnews.com) on Friday.
According to the report, the military continued to use the market place and the barangay hall in Linatuyan as their shelter for more than two months.
It said the military detachment, which village officials dubbed as a barangay defense system office, is built amid a populated area, adjacent to the barangay hall, market and plaza.
The fact-finding mission said that by setting up their detachment in the middle of populated areas, the military was placing villagers in grave danger in case of rebel attacks. This was what happened to the house of villager Rosita Sildora, which was damaged during a supposed encounter between government forces and New People's Army rebels recently, it said.
It also found that persons summoned and investigated by the military were subjected to grave threats and that those who asserted their basic rights were subjected to a malicious and libelous campaign.
In nearby Barangay Trinidad, according to the report, 40 residents who attended a two-day seminar conducted by the military were falsely presented as rebels who surrendered.
Tiples and Camino said the IFMJP validated violations against human rights and international humanitarian laws as mentioned by different rights bodies that conducted an inquiry into the mountainous villages. - GMANews.TV
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