OVER a hundred
lumad evacuees from Compostela Valley have fled to refugee facilities in Davao City
“We evacuated
because the soldiers have occupied our community on November 23, noon time.
When they reached our village they asked me if they can stay in Side 4. I asked
them how many days will you be staying? They told me two years because they
will be providing assistance,” said village leader Oraya Mansayloan.
Despite dialogue
with the troops’ commander, Lt. Danjo Lagula, the soldiers refused to move away
from the civilian houses.
Meanwhile, rights
group Karapatan reiterated calls for the immediate disbandment of paramilitary
groups under the influence of the military, for the lumad evacuees in various
areas in Mindanao to return in their homes for
Christmas.
“We demand the
immediate pull-out of troops from lumad communities to stop the exodus of
people from the villages and to let the [evacuees] go home for the holidays,”
Karapatan secretary-general Cristina Palabay said.
“While the Aquino
administration pretended not to hear our demands during the 30-day
Manilakbayan, it continues its fascist attacks in our communities. Aquino’s
‘daang matuwid’ has to end. The people, especially the lumad, will lead Aquino
on the road to prison,” said Manilakbayan spokesperson Kerlan Fanagel.
In 2015 alone,
there are at least 19 incidents of forced evacuation and 7,000 documented
victims in Mindanao, Southern Tagalog and Cagayan Valley
The majority of
the more than 7,000 evacuees came from the Caraga region; most of them are at
the Tandag Sports Complex for three months now. The almost a thousand evacuees
in the UCCP-Haran in Davao
City
“Forced
evacuation due to intensified military and paramilitary counterinsurgency
operations has brought so much damage to the lives of the Filipinos, especially
among children,” Palabay said.
“The continuing
attack against lumad communities and schools, including the recent evacuation
in Compostela, show both the hypocrisy and desperation of the US-Aquino regime,
especially with Oplan Bayanihan’s failure,” added Fanagel.
http://manilastandardtoday.com/news/-main-stories/193653/more-tribesmen-flee-new-anti-red-action.html
As Philippine military units move into Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)/New People's Army (NPA) controlled/influenced areas there is usually a period of adjustment as the local insurgent infrastructure is unraveled and the communist strangledhold over local lumad communities is broken.
ReplyDeleteOften times it is not the military that forces the evacuation of local lumad communities but rather lumad flight is fostered by the anti-military propaganda/scare tactics of CPP front organizations.
In the above instance all the information on the "forced evacuation" of lumads from Compostela Valley comes from CPP front group spokespersons Karapatan secretary-general Cristina Palabay,and Manilakbayan spokesperson Kerlan Fanagel. Fanagel also serves as the chairman of the Pasaka Confederation of Lumad Organizations in Southern Mindanao yet another CPP front organization.
It is not uncommon for CPP front groups to sow disinformation and fear that cause local lumad communities to flee their homes with the objective of undermining/discrediting the Philippine military presence in indigenous communities, generating sympathy for the lumad evacuees, and fostering popular support for their demands for the complete withdrawal of all military/paramilitary forces from what are/were CPP/NPA controlled or influenced areas.