AFP accused of undermining UN Special Rapporteur

Dr. Chaloka Beyani (UN Photo)

THE Armed Forces of the Philippine is accused of distorting a statement of a United Nations official who was recently in the country to look into the plight of the internally displaced people, particularly indigenous peoples in Mindanao.

A progressive member of Congress said this was primarily because the AFP wants to discredit the Dr. Chaloka Beyani, the UN special rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced people.

“The evidently premeditated misrepresentation of Beyano’s statement is not only to cast doubts on his official exit statement, but also to discredit him, undermine his official actions as well as the UN mechanisms,” said Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate. “In their desperate and distorted desire to discredit the legitimacy of the displaced tribes, they have created a major diplomatic row with the UN, causing further embarrassment to an already troubled yet inept government.”

The twisting of fact was deliberate in order to shame Beyani and render him no longer credible to do his job, said Zarate.

“It is to the interest of the military that these special procedures are compromised or not allowed to do their jobs,” he said.

Gabriela Women Rep. Luzviminda Ilagan said the military created a major diplomatic faux pas.

“This is a grievous diplomatic faux pas that puts the Philippine government which invited Dr. Beyani in an awkward and embarrassing situation,” said Ilagan.

The story in question quoted Beyani as saying that the tribal people who sought refuge at the compound of a protestant church in Davao were “manipulated” and are not “evacuees but victims of trafficking.”

Maj. Harold Cabunoc, the chief of the civil-military relations of the military, said the story was based on the recorded meeting between Beyani and representatives of government agencies, including the military.

Recorded meeting

The Eastern Mindanao Command released recordings of the meeting between Beyani and officials of the military — apparently to prove their claim. Earlier, the military also released a press statement where Beyani was quoted as saying that the lumads in UCCP Haran were manipulated and that they were victims of trafficking.

The press statement that quoted Beyani read: “When we asked them about the circumstances in which why they left their areas they say they were at risked at force recruitment into Alamara and the movements to that area was in protest in relation to the  presence of Alamara, so they wanted to make a point that that was what happened. But I have been there for some time, I think they got manipulated.”

However, AFP’s press release badly omitted the context of Beyani’s statement — that he was referring to the failed forced eviction initiated by North Cotabato Rep. Nancy Catamco.

“When we spoke with the IPs, we were quite clear as well that the incident was not instigated by the military. The military had no responsibility over that,” he said, adding that “the situation up there have been politicized and the police may have been invited in the belief that the communities have agreed to go and found the situation which they totally did not expect on their hands.” (jmt|newsdeskasia)