Monday, May 29, 2006
Activist shot dead; groups blame military
MANILA -- Gunmen killed a left-wing activist in Laguna, police said Sunday, and his colleagues blamed the military for his death.
Noli Capulong, a founding member of left-wing group Bayan, was fatally shot four times by two men on a motorcycle as he drove his car through the village of Parian in Laguna province late Saturday, according to Arman Albarillo, a regional Bayan leader.
Capulong, 51, died instantly, Albarillo said.
Shortly before his death, Capulong had attended a meeting at which he defended dozens of impoverished families facing eviction from private land in the village.
Police officer Ulysses Rabe said he didn't know who was responsible for the murder but that police were investigating.
Bayan secretary-general Renato Reyes said his group suspected the military may have been behind Capulong's death, along with the murders of other left-wing activists who military officials had linked to communist guerrillas.
The military has denied any hand in the killings.
Albarillo said he had recently cautioned Capulong that his life could be in peril. Capulong also wrote a left-wing column for a local newspaper.
"I warned him just three days ago to be careful," Albarillo said. "He replied that I should be careful as well and added that if he's attacked, he would be happy to die serving the country."
About 100 left-wing activists condemned the latest killing at the main gate of the military headquarters in suburban Quezon City. They carried a banner decorated with paper skulls and a message: "End Arroyo's killer government."
Karapatan, a local human rights group, has named nearly 600 civilians, mostly left-wing activists, who it suspects have been killed by government forces or their agents since 2001.
President Arroyo has ordered the police to investigate the attacks. Her spokesman Ignacio Bunye said Saturday that the government abides by the rule of law and is proud of its human rights record. (AP)
(May 29, 2006 issue)
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