Internally displaced lumad feeds a child at an evacuation shelter in Tandag City, Surigao del Sur. Photographed by Erwin Mascarinas, InterAksyon.com
Bayan Muna Representative Carlos Isagani Zarate on Friday slammed the Philippine Army's threat to deport foreign-based observers joining an international fact-finding mission to look into alleged military-perpetrated terrorism and atrocities against Lumad communities in Mindanao in the guise of counter-insurgency operations.
"The Philippine Army's threat to deport foreigners who joined a fact-finding mission that looked into alleged human rights atrocities committed by army-backed militias against the lumads in Surigao del Sur is cheap shot," Zarate said.
"This blame game tact by the Armed Forces of the Philippines is a low blow attempt to divert and cover up the real issues behind the lumad killings and displacements in Mindanao. It is aimed at whitewashing the serious allegations of human rights violations committed by its personnel and the paramilitary groups it organized," he elaborated further.
Earlier, Army spokesman Col. Benjamin Hao described as "fakes" the foreign human rights advocates who joined the mission.
He said the mission was organized by human rights organizations and members of Congress who are leftists.
"The AFP's threat of deporting the people looking into the situation of the lumads in Surigao del Sur says much about the Army's guilt in the spate of killings and other human rights violations against the lumad people. If the AFP is not hiding anything, it would gladly accept independent missions to look into the situation of the people who are directly affected by their operations," Zarate countered.
He explained that the presence of foreign delegates in the mission was to ensure an objective and unbiased report.
"Human rights organizations invite foreign observers and participants because it provides more credibility, expertise, and insight to fact-finding missions, especially in cases with many dimensions and intricacies, such as the killing of lumads, particularly in Surigao del Sur, and the massive displacement and humanitarian crisis that these problems spawned," he said.
The killings of lumad tribal leaders had triggered the evacuation more than 4,000 Manobo lumads from their communities.
Until now, the military and police have yet to make true of their promise to arrest the suspects behind the killings.
"Col. Hao's claim that the fact-finding mission will be biased, and the foreigners were acting illegally, is unfounded and ridiculous. These individuals are not mere tourists but also human rights defenders from independent organizations. They came here out of humanitarian concerns for the displaced lumad of Mindanao," Zarate said.
That the AFP has resorted to attacking the people who are exposing these rights violations "is a clear signal that the AFP and its paramilitary minions will not cease its campaign against the lumads," he added.
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/119834/zarate-slams-army-psy-ops-on-foreign-probers
Commie counterpropaganda attack launched vs. the AFP and its spokesman Col. Hao. Bayan Muna (People First) is a CPP political front and Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate is a longtime CPP activist. I almost choked on my coffee when Zarate characterized the International Fact-finding Mission as "independent" and that their report would be "fair and unbiased." What a liar he is. The IFFM is made up of Maoists, anti-imperialists and CPP sympathizers. Any report these folks issue will be highly propagandistic and its veracity extremely suspect.
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