‘China respect Unclos ruling or face international isolation’

By Ben Serrano,
Correspondent

TANDAG City — Foreign human right advocates who are members of the International Solidarity Mission who visited lumad evacuees here in Tandag City on Thursday said Asian giant China being a state party to the UNCLOS must respect the tribunal ruling or face international isolation.

The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled in favor of the Philippines disputing China’s nine-dash line claim on virtually the entire South China Sea.

The 12-member International Solidarity Mission are delegates from foreign churches aside from being human rights advocates, youth and public employees’ organizations from six different countries USA, Canada, Germany, Belgium, Germany, and Kenya.

“China will face isolation soon in the international community of nations if it continued not to respect or honor UNCLOS specifically now the tribunal ruling,” said Belgian lawyer Kris Geuns.

Their visit aimed to assess the situation of the displaced tribal communities in Tandag City, Surigao del Sur, as part of the continuing international campaign calling for the immediate return of the evacuees to their communities.

“If the ancestral lands of the lumads in Sitio Han-ayan, Diatagon, Lingig, Surigao del Sur belong to the lumads  how much more than the 200-mile exclusive economic zone West Philippine Sea are for the Filipinos,” Geuns added.

Rev. Stuart Lyster, Church Minister of the United Church of Christ Canada, Kris Geuns of Belgian Committee on Human Rights, Lawyer Douglas Booker and companion Maxx Helmer, both of the Ontario, Canada Committee of Human Rights to the Philippines; and Kamal Gauzam of the Canadian Union of Public Employees in their respond speeches claimed the Philippines was doing right when it brought the West PHL Sea issue before the Hague Permanent Court of Arbitration.

They also lamented that if China failed to follow or respect the ruling, it will give a bad precedence that invasion of one’s territorial rights is just fine because the invader is a powerful country.

The Filipino organizers of the mission said, during a news conference, some of them are members of the Ontario, Canada Committee of Human Rights to the Philippines, United Church of Christ of Canada, Canadian Union of Public Employees (British Columbia and locals 4600), United Evangelical Mission of Germany, Portland USA committee on Human Rights.

The foreigners composed the International Solidarity Mission who visited the lumad evacuees here now still staying at makeshift tents at the Surigao del Sur Provincial Sports Complex here since Sept. 1, 2015.

That day or almost one year had past some 3,000 indigenous people from Barangay Diatagon, Lianga, Surigao del Sur fled their homes after killings of two lumad leaders and tribal school executive director.

The evacuees told newsmen and the authorities they fear of being killed like what happened to their leaders or caught in the crossfire between NPA and military forces after killings of two lumad leaders and tribal school executive director.

The indigenes still fear going back to their communities since the suspects are still at large.