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Thursday, June 01, 2006
Government vows to arrest perpetrators of string of killings (4:21 p.m.)
MANILA -- The government, under pressure from humanrights groups and critics, promised Thursday to take action against perpetrators behind a string of
killings of left-wing activists and journalists.
Amnesty International urged President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo early this week to disband and bring to justice any group found responsible for the killings of hundreds of people since 2001. It also asked her to make it clear to all, including the military and police, that involvement in killings will not be tolerated.
"Those who perpetrated these senseless killings will not go far," said Presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye said.
"The law enforcement authorities are on their tracks and we need the cooperation and support of all concerned sectors to get them."
Bunye said Arroyo has created a police task force to coordinate investigations and submit a regular progress report but did not give any timetable.
At the same time, he defended the government's human rights record, saying it stands for democracy, human rights and criminal justice. An atmosphere of
political freedom and untrammeled media can be seen and felt by all, he insisted.
The local human rights group Karapatan said as of last week, 73 activists and their supporters have been killed by suspected government forces or their agents so far this year, and 172 people died in 2005. A total of 152 others have been abducted and remain missing since 2001, while 607 have been killed over
the same period.
The military, which often refers to members of left-wing political associations as fronts for a decades-long communist rebellion, has denied any involvement.
Communist guerrillas, in a statement Tuesday, vowed to punish what they called "Black Army" death squads-alleged shadowy assassins directed by military
officers and a Cabinet security committee.
The government's Commission on Human Rights, church leaders and a group of international lawyers also have expressed alarm over the killings and abductions.
(AP) |
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