From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Nov 2): Militant groups unhappy with court-martial of soldiers
in B’laan killings
Militant groups said Friday the court-martial proceedings the military has
announced against 13 soldiers involved in the Oct. 18 killing of the wife and
two children of a B’laan anti-mining activist in Davao del Sur was not enough. Ryan Lariba of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan chapter in the South
Cotabato-Sultan Kudarat-Sarangani (Socksargen) area said in a statement that an
independent investigation of the killings would settle the issue against the
military.... But Lariba said the result of the military inquiry effectively absolved
higher-ranking military officers, who had direct supervision of the unit
involved in the killings. “There has to be an independent body that should conduct an investigation,
and it should not include the AFP,” he said. The environment group Panalipdan said the investigation should not stop at
the erring soldiers but should also include the “higher ups” under the virtue of
command responsibility. “The investigation must include the commander of the 27th IB, Lt. Col. Alexis
Bravo and 10th ID commander Maj. Gen. Ariel Bernardo,” Panalipdan said in a
separate statement. Aside from demanding an independent probe, Lariba said soldiers and
militiamen should also be pulled out of Kiblawan, Davao del Sur and Tampakan,
South Cotabato “to prevent more abuses against the anti-mining communities”
there.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/300388/militant-groups-unhappy-with-court-martial-of-soldiers-in-blaan-killings
The KMP (The Peasant Movement of the Philippines) is a CPP front with chapters active nationwide. Panalipdan is a suspected environmental front. Get ready for a "fact-finding" mission by KARAPATAN and other CPP fronts. (KARAPATAN is the main CPP umbrella human rights front organization that often conducts fact-finding missions in the wake of alleged Philippine military HR violations. The group invariable finds the AFP guilty.) Again note the call for withdrawal of AFP/militia forces from the region. Standard ploy of CPP fronts, This would effectively cede control of the region to the NPA.
ReplyDelete