Government forces have been accused of killing aleader of Bayan Muna party-list in Basilan province, two children, one of them a year old, and another person and then passing off the March 8 incident as a clash with the Abu Sayyaf, to the extent of describing the victims as extremists.
In the case of Hadji Billamin Hassan, who aside from being former provincial coordinator and a member of Bayan Muna since 2001 was also a member of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front “who advocated for peace and worked for the Bangsamoro Development Agency, human rights group Karapatan indicated he could have been executed.
Citing reports by Suara Bangsamoro, Karapatan said at around 4:30 a.m. on March 8, a composite police and military team “raided and fired at residents, without any warning, in Barangay Tum-os, Tabuan Lasa, Basilan, while reportedly in pursuit of Abu Sayyaf members.”
Three houses, including that of Hassan, 59, were targeted.
Two children, the one-year old, who was shot in the head and died immediately, and an 11-year old who was shot in the stomach and was taken to a hospital in Isabela City. Another man, Nuruddin Musaddul, who was shot while sleeping, was also killed.
“According to Suara Bangsamoro, Hadji Billamin Hassan was dragged toward the dock, hands tied behind his back,” Karapatan said. “In the afternoon, relatives found his dead body in the military detachment in Brgy. Tabuk, Isabela City; Hassan sustained three gunshot wounds.”
“The police and the military later claimed that four bandits were killed,” the group added.
The military earlier said it had killed four Abu Sayyaf gunmen in a clash in the village. But Karapatan cited Suara Bangsamoro’s account, said no fighting happened in the community.
Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay also dismissed Western Mindanao Command chief Major General Carlito Galvez Jr.’s apology for the deaths of the children as she blasted him for accusing Hassan of being a leader of the extremist group.
She said Hassan was being linked to the Abi Sayyaf “because of his role in exposing the collusion” she alleged existed between the extremists and the military in kidnap for ransom operations.
“His organization, Kapatot, which translates to ‘human rights’ in Yakan language, has partnered with human rights organizations such as Karapatan and Moro-Christian People’s Alliance in documenting rights abuses during the military crackdown in Basilan in 2001, when numerous Moro civilians were killed and illegally arrested,” Palabay said. “Hassan’s family, along with the relatives of other victims, lodged a complaint in the Commission on Human Rights on March 14, 2017.”
She said describing him as an extremist followed the practice by state security forces of “tagging … progressives or civilians as terrorists or communists … to justify the killing of civilians.”
http://interaksyon.com/article/137752/karapatan-raps-military-for-killing-of-bayan-muna-leader-children-in-basilan
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