Gold control root of ‘tribal wars’ in Surigao del Sur — AFP official

From the Daily Tribune (Oct 5): Gold control root of ‘tribal wars’ in Surigao del Sur — AFP official

A ranking military official admitted that control over gold and other minerals within Lumad communities in Mindanao have sparked the recent killings of indigenous people (IP) leaders recently that already caught not only national, but also international attention.

Maj. Gen. Oscar Lactao, commander of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division (ID), pointed to the New People’s Army (NPA) as the culprit in the “tribal wars” in Surigao del Sur and nearby provinces by conducting atrocities against anti-communist IP communities.

“The crux of the problem is the conflicting interests of parties to control the resources that are found in the IP’s ancestral domain, particularly gold and other minerals,” Lactao said.

“Among those interests belong to the NPAs who have since been involved in harassment and direct armed attacks against our Lumads who resist their presence,” he added.

According to Lactao, the NPAs view the lumad communities as very good source of recruits and funds — apparently due to mining.

“They want to control our IP communities because to them, they are a rich source of recruits. To them, the ancestral domain of our Lumads does not just give them men to fight for them but also the funds and other logistics to ensure their existence,” Lactao said.

On Sept. 1, two Lumad leaders and a school administrator were killed in Lianga, Surigao del Sur while a cooperative building was burnned after being attacked by armed men.

The militant group Karapatan tagged the paramilitary group Magahat Bagani, supposedly being backed by the military, as behind the attack at Alcadev Compound in Barangay Diatagon.

The military has repeatedly denied supporting Magahat Bagani, and pointed out that the conflict among tribal groups in Lianga was between pro- and anti-communist communities.

Local police have already identified some of the attackers in Alcadev and filed charges against them and 20 others unidentified.

Lactao said that the military and the police have formed a task force to address the killings.

“We have formed the joint PNP and AFP task force that is tasked to apprehend the perpetrators of the recent killings — preferably alive for them to face the full force of the law,” Lactao said.

Lactao also said that Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Gen. Hernando Iriberri, who hails of Surigao del Sur, directed the military to assist in deescalating the conflict among the tribal groups.

“General Iriberri has ordered me to take all the necessary steps to support the PNP in capturing the perpetrators while working for a mediation process to de-escalate hostilities and to avert a full-scale conflict among rival lumad tribes. We wish nothing but peace and progress for all of our lumad communities,” Lactao said.

http://www.tribune.net.ph/nation/gold-control-root-of-tribal-wars-in-surigao-del-sur-afp-official