Students and Lumads troop to Commission on Human Rights, burn 1000 candles for education and justice

From the often pro-CPP Bicol Today (Oct 28): Students and Lumads troop to Commission on Human Rights, burn 1000 candles for education and justice



Lumad Elders expressed the lumad communities’ spirituality and performed an indigenous ritual called “Panubad-tubad” at the AS steps inside the University of the Philippines, Diliman. Surviving human assaults and natural disasters have always been a concern of the many indigenous communities because they have always been a target of external economic dominations and one means of such is militarization. The ceremony, involving a chicken sacrifice, where its blood represents strength and justice –strength to fight for what is right and to bring justice for all the wrongs that has been done to them, shows IPs awareness of the integral relationship of their symbolic beliefs, their ancestral memories, and the dynamics of their social landscapes. TEXT/PHOTO BY KILAB MULTIMEDIA

Students led by the League of Filipino Students (LFS) together with the Lumad and participants of #Manilakbayan2015 stormed the Commission of Human Rights (CHR) Office in Quezon City on Wednesday morning.

The protesters demanded for immediate resolution in the killings of Lumad and other human rights violations in Mindanao.

“With utmost urgency, we insist the immediate pull out of AFP troops in Mindanao and re-opening of the alternative Lumad schools. As days pass by, even after the Lumad travelled to Manila, the AFP still continues to terrorize the children and people of Mindanao. We need speedy resolutions, we need justice,” said LFS National Chairperson Charisse Banez.

Banez challenged CHR Chairperson Chito Gascon to quickly act on the militarization in Mindanao in the name of upholding human rights.

She said that there are already more than 40,000 Lumad who were forcibly displaced from their ancestral domains due to AFP activities.

Banez added that there have been 233 documented cases of human rights violations perpetrated against Lumad children and 87 indigenous Lumad schools suffering from various forms of military attacks.

“The attacks to schools, communities, and the Lumad committed by the AFP and its para-military groups are inexcusable. We need the AFP and the Aquino administration to be held accountable for their acts of terrorism”, said Banez.

Banez reminded the CHR of the LFS-Ministry of National Defense (MND) forbidding military to enter schools. She added that military encampment in communities is prohibited by different International Humanitarian Laws.

“There is no reason for the CHR to further delay their actions. It is already despicable that the cases of human rights violations have escalated this much,“ Banez said.

1000 candles for education and justice At around 4pm, students from the Univeristy of the Philippines (UP) – Diliman showed their unwavering support for the Lumad in Mindanao by linking arms in the historic steps of Palma Hall inside the campus.

They lit 1000 candles signifying the thousands of Lumad affected by the atrocities committed by the Aquino government.

“There is no stopping us from demanding justice and our right to education. With hearts full of determination, we stand with our Lumad brothers and sisters in the call for a just and lasting peace”, said LFS UP-Diliman Chapter Chairperson Ben Galil Te.

Te noted that during the stay of the Lumad and #Manilakbayan2015 in UP – Diliman, a series of activities were set in the to show the unity between UP students and the #Manilakbayan2015.

According to Te, students from the university will teach art workshops, literacy, and numeracy as part of psychological therapy to the victims of state terrorism. He added that there will also be a cultural festival, solidarity nights, benefit concerts, boodle festivals in the following days to demonstrate the active support of UP students.

“Ngayon ang tamang panahon para lumaban! (Now is the right time to fight!) Just like the courageous Lumad people who traversed mountains and walk seas for #Manilakbayan2015, we will not let military attacks stop us from stopping this oppressive government,” said Banez.

“The people’s protests will intensify especially because the reason behind the relentless attacks to the Lumads is Aquino’s desperate desire to open the land of Mindanao to foreign mining, logging, and plantation companies,” she added.

Banez noted that it is beyond despicable that the Aquino government is more than willing to kill Filipinos, destroy the children’s future, and spread terror in the name of serving the interests of foreign corporations.

Banez said that the students and Lumad will hold protest in the General Headquarters of the AFP, the Department of Education, and other agencies of the government in the following days. They are also preparing for a nationwide walk out in different schools in November 13.

http://bicoltoday.com/2015/10/30/students-and-lumads-troop-to-commission-on-human-rights-burn-1000-candles-for-education-and-justice/