Wednesday, March 05, 2008 HR violation encourages insurgency: prober
"FOR every human rights violation, it encourages insurgency!" was the statement issued by Jesus Cañete, Special Investigator of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) in Negros Oriental in an interview with local media recently.
Cañete explained that while the government is trying to end the insurgency, some government officials are accused of human right violations.
He said farmers believed that soldiers are representing the government.
He also stressed that if the military commit human rights abuses while doing operations, their efforts would be put to waste because people will no longer support them, adding that farmers' trust to the government would be lost.
In this connection, Cañete appealed the government soldiers to respect human rights in their ongoing counter-insurgency operations.
He has urged military commanders in Negros Oriental to go slow on their counter-insurgency operations and spare innocent civilians from the offensives.
Cañete issued the statement following the alleged kidnapping and harassment committed by the members of the 61st Infantry Battalion in Barangay Talalac, Sta. Catalina.
The victims' relatives sought the help of the CHR in Cebu City, but it was referred to Cañete's office.
In a signed but un-subscribed statement, the witnesses Anie Arante, Carmen Lastimoso-Arante and Rosalia Yanoc testified how the soldiers harassed and kidnapped the victims Reynold Yanoc and Flaviano Arante.
The human rights prober also expressed apprehensions following the series of arrival of additional troops of the Philippine Army deployed in Negros Oriental as part of government efforts to wipe out the rebel group New People's Army (NPA) and its allied legal fronts.
The almost 500 soldiers of the 79th Infantry Battalion and another more than hundred soldiers of its commanding control 302nd Brigade arrived last two Sundays from Bohol.
Canete said wherever there are many soldiers, there are also plenty of complaints of human rights violations. (VLC)
