Ridon: CHR downplaying role of military in Lumad killings

Manila — The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) is underplaying and even to a certain extent absolving the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in its prime role in the internal displacement and killing of Lumads in Mindanao, Kabataan Partylist Rep. Terry Ridon said Tuesday, in response to a report released by the CHR that state that both the military and the New People’s Army (NPA) are recruiting Lumads for combat.

“The problem with the CHR’s report is that it downplays the role of the AFP in the internal displacement and the continuing violation of rights of the Lumad. The CHR is whitewashing the issue by painting a portrait of the Lumad as simply being ‘used’ by the AFP and the NPA in the ongoing civil war in the countryside. What the CHR fails to show, however, is that the Lumad themselves are being targeted by the military – with or without the presence of the NPA,” Ridon said.

“The CHR report fails to put the issue in context, and fails to answer essential questions such as why the military and its paramilitary forces are attacking Lumad schools, communities, educators, and children. Instead of investigating the perpetrators of the killing of Emerito Samarca, Dionel Campos, Datu Bello Sinzo, and many other Lumad lea-ders who fell victim to the Aquino administration’s Oplan Bayanihan, all it could do is shrug its proverbial shoulder and say, ‘well, both sides are at fault, anyway.’”

“CHR Chair Chito Gascon should know better, as he has served as part of the GPH panel in past peace negotiations with the National Democratic Front. The issue here is not whether the AFP or the NPA are recruiting Lumads to their ranks. The issue is how the AFP is forcing the Lumad to form paramilitary groups and join the CAFGU under duress. The issue is how the AFP is militarizing ancestral lands, not to neutralize the enemy ranks, but to protect private business interests.

“Our simple appeal to the CHR: Listen to the Lumad datus now here in Manila, and they will tell you how many Lumads are forced by the AFP to join counterinsurgency campaigns, how the military threaten the families of the Lumads if they don’t abide. Listen to the likes of Bai Bibyaon Ligkayan Bigkay, Lumad datu of Talaingod, and you’ll also understand why there are Lumads who would rather join the NPA to fight back against the continuing plunder of their ancestral lands and the abuses perpetrated by the army’s counterinsurgency program.

“This is exactly why we are pushing for the continuation of the peace negotiations between the Philippine government and the NDF – to address the root causes of the conflict, to understand deeper why some Lumads would rather join the resistance than continue being oppressed and persecuted by the military. The Lumads are not mindless people simply caught in the crossfire.  They have a reason to fight back. This is what the CHR fails to understand. This is what the CHR is obscuring,” Ridon said. PR