CPA-Kalinga holds special assembly

TABUK, Kalinga (Nov.17) — The series of human rights violations and political killings in the province of Kalinga did not discourage the Kalinga folk from continuing the fight for indigenous peoples’ rights, and for peace in the province.

The Cordillera Peoples Alliance’s (CPA) provincial chapter here concluded its special assembly last week under the theme Rimbawan ti Buteng. Papigsaen ti Pakinakem ken Panagkaykaysa! Labanan ti Oplan Bantay Laya ti Rehimen ni US-Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Para Iti Talna ken Kappia, Hustisya ken Wayawaya (Overcome fear, strengthen will and unity! Fight Oplan Bantay Laya of the US GMA Regime for harmony, peace,justice and freedom).

Ama Julio Longan, vice chairperson of the Binodngan Peoples Organization (BPO) and member of the CPA Advisory Council, delivered his message through his ullalim, stressing the need to be strong and committed despite getting a piece of GMA’s wrath through her Oplan Bantay Laya (OBL) policy.

“We have experienced brutality in the hands of the GMA regime with the killing on separate incidents of Markus (Bangit) and Alyce (Claver), thus we should put our acts together. Let us overcome fear and be vigilant in order to counter this worsening situation,” stressed Ama Longan.

Over 100 delegates from the CPA-Kalinga’s member organizations and individuals attended the two-day assembly.

Representatives from the CPA Regional Office discussed the national, regional and provincial situations, highlighting the worsening economic and political crisis in the country.

Atty. Randy Kinaud of the Cordillera Human Rights Alliance (CHRA) gave an input on the basic human rights orientation and discussed the OBL, the government’s “anti-terrorism” policy. The discussion was lively eliciting from the participants their own experiences on numerous harassments and human rights violations inflicted on the Kalinga peoples by the military and its para-military groups.

An elder commented that while it is true that there are rights provided by the 1987 Constitution and other international declarations on human rights, those who are expected to implement and respect such rights often violate these.

After the discussions, participants realized that such situation strongly demands the need to unite and expose these violations through mass actions, including lobbying local government units to act on these.

Community reports furthers testified to the ongoing militarization all over Kalinga. They also shared the Kalinga peasants’ plight with a very low income due to decreased soil fertility resulting from heavy use of agro-chemicals compounded by the increase cost of agricultural inputs and very low buying price of products.

In her closing message, Norma Buslig, a staunch advocate of CPA-Kalinga, called on the delegates to remember and carry with them the assembly’s theme as they return to their communities. # Virgie Dammay for NORDIS