Mindanao groups demand end to martial law

MEMBERS of a human rights group in Mindanao and some Lumads killed a chicken and poured its blood into a small pile of rocks and debris to dramatize their demand for an end to martial law in Mindanao.

The “ritual” was staged in front of the military headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City on Friday, May 18. The blood from the chicken signified bloodshed and human rights violations while the pile of rocks signified the rubble resulting from the destruction of Marawi City.

“President Rodrigo Duterte and the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) turned Marawi into a city of rubble. Now Mindanao is ruined due to the over extension of martial law and all-out war,” Sandugo Moro Katutubo co-chairperson Jerome Succor Aba said.

Ryan Amper, spokesperson of Barug Katungod (Stand for Rights) Mindanao, said they have recorded about 130 cases of “extrajudicial killings” since the declaration of martial law on May 23, 2017. Most of the victims were peasants and Lumads, he added.

Aba, for his part, said 404 individuals including peasant leaders, community organizers and human rights workers were charged with “trumpedup” cases that forced some of the accused to go into hiding to secure themselves and their families.

He also said that with the extended martial law and the military’s all-out operations against threat groups, almost half a million national minorities have been forced out of their communities and are not allowed to go back to rebuild their lives.

“Most are still suffering in cramped evacuation centers receiving minimal assistance from the government. Others have sought refuge elsewhere,” Aba said. SunStar Phil-