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Lumad protest RP seat in UN Rights Council

BAGUIO CITY (May 15) — “Allowing the Philippines to have a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council is not simply a huge oversight. It is a grave insult to the thousands of victims of human rights violations under the Arroyo regime.  The Philippines is sitting in that council while hiding its blackened human rights record,” says Datu Monico Cayog, chairperson of the Kusog sa Katawhang Lumad sa Mindanao or KALUMARAN (Alliance of Indigenous Peoples in Mindanao), alliance of six regional Lumad organizations.

Cayog added that Lumads bear the biggest brunt of human rights violations perpetrated by the government.

The Philippines was elected in the 47-member UNHRC based on its “contribution to the promotion and protection of human rights,” allegedly a criterion set under the UN General Assembly resolution creating the council.

UN representative Lauro Baja Jr. was quoted as saying that the country’s election “is a telling testimonial from member states of UN and the international community on human rights in the Philippines.”

“If the UN thinks that this government deserves a place in the Human Rights Council, they might as well have given the same spot to former President Marcos if the UNHRC existed then,” Cayog said, calling the government to immediately relinquish the post “if there is still any decency and shame left in the Arroyo government.”

Cayog refuted the Baja statement citing the 2003 report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of Indigenous Peoples Rodolfo Stavenhagen expressed distress about “multiple reports of serious human rights violations involving indigenous peoples, within the framework of a process of militarization of indigenous areas.” The same report stated that militarization can be directly linked “to the powerful interests of mining, logging and agribusiness enterprises, which acquire control over indigenous lands and resources even against the wishes of the indigenous communities and without their free and prior consent as the law establishes.”

The Bagobo leader maintains that the same violations — destruction of property, forced evacuation and relocation, threats and harassment, and general disruption of the cultural and social life of the community – are in fact intensifying in Mindanao and the rest of the country today.

Cayog reported how, in Talaingod, Ata-Manobo families were forced to leave their homes en masse after the military started occupying their houses around September last year. Elements of the 29th Infantry Battalion and 58th Infantry Battalion set up camps in the sitios of Tibukag and Paiton while the 73rd Infantry Battalion Re-engineered Special Operations Team (RSOT) encamped in the sitio of Nsilaban.  

“Residents also saw soldiers use cannons to bomb the village of Tibugaw, Talaingod where some residents, especially the women, fled from the area carrying their children with them.  A four-month old baby, who was very sickly, died in the course of their evacuation.  There was also a five-year old girl who fell off from the cliff and died. Even soldiers accounts confirm this,” Cayog said.

“In Calagangan just this February, military-backed Alamara members fired at Matigsalog civilians resting during their lunch break. Three children were injured and 20 others were traumatized. Joan Lingkuran, the village para-teacher, and two others were also killed,” Cayog added.

Cayog also expressed indignation at how the government has remained deaf to the demands of the Subanen in Siocon, Zamboanga del Sur for the removal of the TVI mining company, which has encroached on their ancestral lands despite their opposition.

“As with the case of the B’laan in Tampakan protesting against the presence of Sagittarius Mines, the rights of the Lumad will always be secondary to local officials and government agencies who willingly collude with the multinational mining giants,” he said.

Cayog dared the Arroyo government to immediately issue another invitation to Special Rapporteur Stavenhagen to confirm the truth about his claims.   The Department of Foreign Affairs reportedly did not issue an invitation to the Rapporteur to come to the Philippines for a follow up on his 2002 visit.

“Why would there be hesitation on the part of the Arroyo government to invite him if there was nothing to hide?” Cayog asked. “This again shows the human rights hypocrisy of this regime,” he added. # via NORDIS

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