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Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Int'l group to probe Carp-related killings
By Barbara Carla R. Quiero
AN INTERNATIONAL human rights group will begin its fact-finding mission June 6 until the 8th on agrarian-related violence in Southern Mindanao region.
The International Solidarity for Land and Justice will visit several government agencies in the region to gather supplemental data on massive cases of violence against agrarian reform beneficiaries.
The group, which will focus on commercial farms in Davao provinces, intends to identify events that led to the killing of Ka Eric Cabanit, a peasant leader, last April 24 in Panabo City.
As of this writing, the mastermind behind Cabanit's death has not been identified.
Cabanit was one of the leaders of the Pambansang Ugnayan ng mga Nagsasariling Organisasyon sa Kanayunan (Unorka-Mindanano).
The group will be divided into small groups that will conduct simultaneous gathering of information in four provinces in the region.
There will be a team from Davao, Tagum, Panabo A (Panabo), and Panabo B (Carmen).
In Davao City, the group will visit City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte's Office, Department of Agrarian Reform regional office, Philippine National Office regional office, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, and Commission on Human Rights.
Partnership for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development Services, Inc, (Parrds) executive director Belinda L. Formanes, one of the national conveners of the International fact-finding mission, said the government has been sitting on the issue.
She said many of the assailants of slain leaders remains to be unidentified.
"We want to pressure the government to really address the issue and ensure that the land reform program is implemented," Formanes said in a press conference Tuesday.
Formanes said their group has documented a total of 23 cases of agrarian reform killings since 1998 to 2006, 13 of whom are Unorka leaders and members.
Of the total 23 cases, perpetrators of the 10 killings were identified but remains at large, Formanes said.
The result of the fact-finding mission will be submitted this June 14 to the Catholic's Bishop Conference of the Philippines and presented publicly on June 19.
"We will request Archbishop Angel Lagdameo to bring this up to the plenary council so bishops can tackle it at the national level to pressure the government to serve the rights of the people," Formanes said.
Xavier Missionary Father Archie Casey of the International Solidarity for Land and Justice said they want to show that peasants will not stop in fighting for their rights despite repression.
"But we have called on organizations to secure themselves from harassments and killings," Casey said. (With reports from BOT)
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (June 7, 2006 issue)
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