Internally displaced lumads staying temporarily in Tandag, Surigao del Sur. Photographed by Erwin Mascarinas, InterAksyon.com
Human rights organizations, such as Bayan and Karapatan, on Tuesday slammed the Aquino administration for getting in the way of an invitation for United Nations special rapporteurs to visit the country and look into the spate of killings of Lumad leaders in Mindanao.
The slain lumad leaders have been tagged by some sectors of the military and law enforcement establishments as sympathizers of the communist New People's Army (NPA).
"Why is the government refusing to allow the sending of invitations to relevant UN rapporteurs who want to look into the spate of Lumad killings in the Philippines? What is the government trying to hide?" asked Bayan secretary-general Renato Reyes Jr.
On Monday, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesman Charles Jose had said the government cannot accommodate such request a this year for the UN special rapporteurs to come and investigate the reported killings of the tribesmen.
Jose made it clear that government is letting its relevant agencies to do the investigation and bring the perpetrators to justice.
"What is the DFA doing that is so important that it cannot accommodate requests by international human rights defenders who are alarmed by the extrajudicial killings committed by the AFP and paramilitary groups?" Reyes shot back.
"By refusing to issue invitations to relevant UN bodies, the Aquino regime is continuing its official cover up of the gross human rights violations under its watch. The AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) and PNP (Philippine National Police) investigations will amount to nothing," he added.
After Karapatan secretary-general Cristina Palabay made public their request for UN special rapporteurs to help them investigate the Lumad killings, AFP spokesman Colonel Resituto Padilla immediately slammed the group for attempting to "internationalize" the issue.
Padilla said efforts by left-leaning groups, such as Karapatan and Bayan, among others, are meant "to vilify" the AFP in particular and the government in general.
He said groups tagged the military as the "monster" behind paramilitary groups that they allegedly formed, trained, and armed to harass and kill if necessary "pro-NPA tribesmen" as part of the AFP's counter-insurgency program dubbed Internal Peace and Security Plan (IPSP) "Bayanihan".
But the killings of the lumad leaders in Mindanao have not only alarmed local and international human rights groups but also the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), as well.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima has formed a DOJ-National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) team to probe the killings.
CHR Chairman Chito Gascon debunked the claim of the military that the lumad killigns reportedly perpetrated by para-military groups such as the Alamara, Magahat, Bagani, Bolo Battalion, among others, were but a case of "tribal war".
In the wake of the move by DOJ-NBI to investigate the matter, Karapatan and Bayan feared a possible whitewash because De Lima is already set to leave her post to pursue her aspiration to run for a Senate seat in 2016 under the slate of administration presidential bet Mar Roxas.
Reyes also slammed CHR, especially its representatives sent last week to Mindanao to investigate the killings, for not delving into the incident of killings but just on the reported presence of NPA rebels in Lumad communities.
"The CHR probe also appears to be a disappointment for the Lumad victims," Reyes said.
"The results of the DOJ-NBI probe remain uncertain at this point, now that De Lima is on her way out. In any case, the presence of international investigators will strengthen the cause of human rights. It will be most helpful for the Lumad victims. Alas, that is not the concern of this government," he added.
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/118189/bayan-karapatan-slam-dfa-for-blocking-un-look-see-into-lumad-killings
The commies don't like the fact that they won't have another opportunity to lead a UN human rights official around by the nose and spoon him their anti-government/anti-military propaganda with regard to the status of indigenous people in Mindanao like they did with Chaloka Beyani during his visit in July 2015.
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