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Friday, December 13, 2002
Group teaching lumads to lie: del Rosario
By Aurea A. Gerundio
COLONEL Eduardo del Rosario, commander of the 73rd Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army accused human rights group Karapatan of coaching lumads (natives) to tell lies in their testimonies on alleged abuses committed by soldiers in the countryside.
"The lumads that were announcing adverse testimonies against the Armed Forces of the Philippines were coached by the group Karapatan to tell lies," del Rosario said in a press conference at the Davao City Police Office Thursday.
Del Rosario said the militant group is trying to destroy the relationship between the lumads and soldiers in Davao City.
In the same press forum, Datu Joel Unad, head of the Supreme Tribal Council for peace and development, said their association with the Armed Forces of the Philippines has freed them from the atrocities spawned by the members of the New People's Army.
For almost 30 years, Unad added, they experienced hardship in the hands of the communist rebels.
The lumads, he said, had supported the rebel group for many years yet they still became victims of liquidation by the NPAs.
Unad said he would push for a dialogue with other lumad groups to end the rift developing among them.
He also asked the media not to sensationalize the perceived disagreements among lumad groups on the alleged atrocities perpetrated by the soldiers.
Del Rosario, likewise, urged Karapatan to present pieces of evidence to prove the AFP's human rights violations as alleged by the group.
He also presented to reporters some publications reportedly released by some leftist groups showing him and President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in a caricature as the real terrorists.
"Kung kami ng Presidente ang mga terorista, eh ano sila, mga santo?" del Rosario asked. (If President Arroyo and I are the terrorists, then what are they? Saints?)
(December 13, 2002 issue)
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