Mindanao groups demand end to martial law

MANILA. Protesters kill a chicken and let its blood flow over a pile of rocks to signify bloodshed and human rights violations in Mindanao in this photo taken May 18, 2018 in front of the military headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo. (Photo contributed by Sandugo)
MANILA. Protesters kill a chicken and let its blood flow over a pile of rocks to signify bloodshed and human rights violations in Mindanao in this photo taken May 18, 2018 in front of the military headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo. (Photo contributed by Sandugo)

MEMBERS of a human rights group in Mindanao and some Lumads killed a chicken and poured its blood into a small pile of rocks and debris to dramatize their demand for an end to martial law in Mindanao.

The "ritual" was staged in front of the military headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City on Friday, May 18. The blood from the chicken signified bloodshed and human rights violations while the pile of rocks signified the rubble resulting from the destruction of Marawi City.

“President Rodrigo Duterte and the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) turned Marawi into a city of rubble. Now Mindanao is ruined due to the over extension of martial law and all-out war,” Sandugo Moro Katutubo co-chairperson Jerome Succor Aba said.

Ryan Amper, spokesperson of Barug Katungod (Stand for Rights) Mindanao, said they have recorded about 130 cases of “extrajudicial killings” since the declaration of martial law on May 23, 2017. Most of the victims were peasants and Lumads, he added.

Aba, for his part, said 404 individuals including peasant leaders, community organizers and human rights workers were charged with “trumped-up” cases that forced some of the accused to go into hiding to secure themselves and their families.

He also said that with the extended martial law and the military’s all-out operations against threat groups, almost half a million national minorities have been forced out of their communities and are not allowed to go back to rebuild their lives.

“Most are still suffering in cramped evacuation centers receiving minimal assistance from the government. Others have sought refuge elsewhere,” Aba said.

Aba said the government should address the roots of social unrest instead, such as the exploitation by big businesses of the natural resources in ancestral domain lands.

“If (President Rodrigo) Duterte thinks he can solve the problem of rebellion by destroying his people and his own island of Mindanao – then he is wrong. Fascist measures and repression will only push us, the national minorities to further resist, fuelling even more the existing rebellion,” he said.

Duterte declared martial law in Mindanao on May 23, 2017, shortly after fighting erupted in Marawi City between government troops and fighters inspired by the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group.

The armed conflict lasted five months, displacing Marawi City's over 200,000 residents and destroying the city. Over 1,000 people, including civilians, were killed.

The martial law declaration was good for six months, but Congress extended this to end-2017 upon the recommendation of the President.

Congress extended martial law for another year until end-2018 upon the request of Duterte, with the aim of putting an end to all threats in Mindanao. (SunStar Philippines)

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