CAMP GEN EMILIO AGUINALDO, Quezon City (DWDD) – AFP supports Tagle’s call for dialogue, unity for Lumad.
Brigadier General Joselito Kakilala, commander of the Civil Relations Service (CRS) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), has expressed support to Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle’s call for a dialogue involving all stakeholders in connection with the plight of the Lumad tribe in Mindanao.
“Time is rife to thresh out and listen to all sides of what’s really going on in our Lumad communities. The AFP is always open to dialogue with all stakeholders to end the violence against the Lumads. We deeply appreciate the concerns of Archbishop Tagle and rest assured the AFP will fully cooperate with him and al stakeholders in this endeavour to end the plight of the Lumad people,” Kakilala said.
On Thursday, Tagle personally visited representatives of the Lumad tribe camping at the Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila where he had patiently listened to their complaints and demands.
Tagle also issued a statement and one of his points was calling on all stakeholders to sit down and talk about and resolve the plight of the Lumad tribe.
“Kinakailangan nating lahat na umupo, mag-usap, at magtulungan upang tunay nating mabigyang lunas ang kalagayan ng ating mga kapatid na katutubo sa Mindanao,” Tagle said.
“Mayroon tayong lahat na naging pagkukulang at kasalanan sa nagyayari ngayon sa ating mga kapatid na Lumad,” he added.
Kakilala said Tagle’s call for dialogue will give the AFP the opportunity to explain its side amid all the accusations hurled by leftist groups blaming the violence and atrocities to the military.
“The real problem is the New People’s Army and their front organizations who have been exploiting Lumads to advance their bloody armed struggle, economic and political interests,” he said.
Kakilala said the NPA should stop making Lumad communities as “laboratories of their senseless protracted war.”
He said that based on the report of the Eastern Mindanao Command, 3 out of 4 NPA armed regulars who surrendered are Lumads and at least 22% of the NPA Lumad surrenderees are minors aged 10 – 17 years old and many of them are recruited from tribal communities.
“We are calling on all stakeholders to dig deeper and understand what is really happening in our Lumad communities. Our soldiers are deployed in these Lumad communities precisely to stop further violence and stop the exploitation of Lumad people, especially the children,” Kakilala added.
He said the AFP supports Tagles suggestions to declare Lumad communities as “peace zones” as one of the mechanism of the Peace negotiations so that there would be smooth delivery of basic government services to Lumad areas which the NPA and their front organizations do not want.
“That’s why the AFP had been for a long time espousing the concept of localized peace tralks with the NPA. In fact, this is the concrete way to having a peace zone,” Kakilala said.
Kakilala lamented that while the AFP is being vilified by leftist organizations such as Karapatan they also refused to even raise a finger or even condemn the violence and atrocities of the NPA against Lumad tribesmen.
“For example, the recent abduction and the brutal execution of Lumad chieftain and Loreto, Agusan Del Sur Mayor Dario Otaza and his 27-year old son Daryl,” kakilala said.
Kakilala maintained that the AFP will continue to provide security for Lumad communities that are continuously threatened by NPA rebels not only to protect them from armed attack but also to stop the insurgents from recruiting Lumad children to fight for them.
“This is precisely the reason why we are deploying more troops in these areas because we want these killings to stop. We are there to keep the peace,” he said. AES / MCAG
http://dwdd.com.ph/2015/afp-supports-cardinal-tagles-call-for-dialogue-unity-for-lumad-issues-2/
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.