Friday, September 12, 2008 MILF leader accuses Army of 'influencing' CHR probe By Malu C. Manar Correspondent
KIDAPAWAN CITY -- A top commander of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has accused the Army in central Mindanao of forcing villagers in Datu Piang, Maguindanao to execute affidavits that death of six Maguindanaon Muslims last Monday was caused by stray bullets and not by a bomb dropped by an OV-10 plane of the Philippine Air Force (PAF).
Commander Adan Abdullah, brigade chief of the MILF's 106th Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) whose operations include areas adjacent to Maguindanao and Shariff Kabungsuan, said the village chair of Barangay Tee in Datu Piang, Maguindanao was among those convinced by the Army officials to execute an affidavit stating that the victims were hit by stray bullets.
"The war dogs of the AFP have been trying to convince the village chair to sign the affidavit," said Adan, in an interview over Catholic-ran dxND.
The Army had allegedly influenced some residents in the area to execute the same.
"Ang masakit pa, kung may namamatay na sibilyan dahil sa pag-atake ng MILF, gabi't araw pinag-uusapan sa Senado; pero kung AFP ang nakapatay sa mga sibilyan ay tahimik sila (What saddened us is that when there were civilians who died after an attack of the MILF, it's being discussed in the Senate almost day and night, but if it's the AFP that killed the civilians, the Senate is silent)," Adan lamented.
Army Colonel Julieto Ando, chief of the civil military operations of the 6th Infantry Division, denied Adan's allegations, saying it as baseless and malicious.
"We don't have to do that. We're open to the investigation," Ando said.
In fact, Ando said that members of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) in central Mindanao have already started the investigations in Barangay Tee in Datu Piang, "without us influencing them."
The CHR proceeded to the area to check if indeed the Army violated human rights and war protocols when it launched an air and ground assault against the MILF last Monday.
"Wala itong puwersahan. Hindi mo naman mapipilit ang mga tao diyan na magsalita, di ba? (No body is being forced. You can't force the people in the area to speak, right?)," said Ando.
The Army in central Mindanao has earlier denied it dropped bombs when it used OV-10 planes in air strikes against the MILF in Datu Piang. "We only used machine guns, not bombs," said Ando in a radio interview.
