CHR warns against atrocities in fighting

MANILA, Philippines—As the military poured more weapons into Mindanao following President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s order to “annihilate” the Abu Sayyaf bandits, the country’s top human rights watchdog Sunday warned warring sides against committing atrocities on both civilians and combatants.

Commission on Human Rights (CHR) Chair Leila de Lima appealed to both sides to respect human rights and the international humanitarian law while calling on the government to extend immediate assistance to civilians affected by the fighting.

“Armed battle is not an excuse for anyone to violate the human dignity of opposing forces or to violate the rights of civilians,” De Lima said in a statement.

Relatives said at least five of the 23 soldiers killed in Wednesday’s clashes in Basilan between soldiers and the Abu Sayyaf were hacked by the bandits, who cut off some fingers to get the rings.

The military said only one soldier had a hack wound. At least 21 Abu Sayyaf bandits also died in the fighting.

As government troops stepped up their pursuit operations, the Abu Sayyaf Sunday fired at two low-flying military helicopters over Basilan, slightly wounding three journalists working for state television.

De Lima said it was “ironic” that the reported atrocities coincided with the holding on Wednesday—the day of the Basilan fighting—of a national summit on international humanitarian law.

The summit called on parties to a conflict to respect the rights of protected persons, including prisoners of war, wounded soldiers, civilians, medical personnel and noncombatants.

At Camp Aguinaldo military general headquarters in Quezon City, the military said it would reroute to Mindanao logistical resources, such as ammunition and other war materiel, primarily designated for use in other conflict areas in the country.

“We are going to pour in more resources in Mindanao, but this will not entail additional expenses on the part of the government,” Armed Forces spokesperson Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr. told the Inquirer.

All available resources

Brawner said fresh calls to stamp out terrorism in Mindanao would not affect in any way the campaign against the communist insurgency.

Visiting Zamboanga City on Saturday, where she presided over a military command conference, Ms Arroyo ordered soldiers to “annihilate” the Abu Sayyaf.

It wasn’t the first time the government had vowed to finish off the Abu Sayyaf, a terror group linked to Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida network.

“That means we should harness all available means and resources so that we would be able to conclude this campaign against the Abu Sayyaf at the soonest possible time,” the Western Mindanao Command chief, Maj. Gen. Ben Dolorfino, said in an interview on ANC.

Dolorfino reiterated previous government declarations that the military would defeat the Abu Sayyaf terror group.

“Our timeframe is at the soonest time possible and we hope that we’ll be able to accomplish this by the end of the year,” he said.

MILF blamed

Military operations, backed by humanitarian work for civilian communities, were continuing on the ground, he added.

“The encounter on Wednesday was in response to earlier orders for the Abu Sayyaf to be crushed,” Brawner said. “It is just unfortunate that we suffered heavy losses and this is because the MILF joined the fighting.”

He was referring to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), some of whose men were accused by the military of staging the ambush that killed 18 Marines who were trying to help other beleaguered soldiers in Wednesday’s fighting.

In renewed efforts to defeat the Abu Sayyaf, Brawner said the military high command was also looking into the possibility of fielding additional troops on the ground but such a move was unlikely, for now.

Without giving specific numbers, Brawner said a Marine brigade and special operations command forces were operating on Basilan Island.

Abu Sayyaf tipped off?

He also said the military was looking into the possibility that the MILF leaked information to the Abu Sayyaf on the military’s planned attack on its camp in Silangkum village.

“Right now, we don’t have any conclusion, but, yes, we are looking into that,” Brawner said, reacting to reports from wounded soldiers that the Abu Sayyaf appeared prepared for their assault.

Dolorfino earlier said the military operation had been coordinated with the MILF forces nearby to prevent a misencounter with the Moro rebels.

The AFP on Friday filed a protest with the Coordinating Committee on Cessation of Hostilities against the MILF’s 114th base command for ambushing the Marines on their way to rescue their comrades, despite a ceasefire.

Rebel propaganda

Brawner said Moro fighters from the neighboring Albarka town joined the Abu Sayyaf in the fierce gun battle in Tipo-tipo.

“Apparently, the Abu Sayyaf called for reinforcements from the MILF in that neighboring town,” he said.

Brawner rejected an MILF claim in its website that the bodies of three of the Moro fighters killed in the clash were also mutilated by soldiers.

One of the bodies belonged to an MILF ground commander whose ears were cut off, according to the website.

Brawner branded the MILF claim as propaganda to cover up its mistake in joining Wednesday’s fight.

CHR Commissioner Cecilia Quisumbing, who chaired the human rights summit, said the conference “shows that Filipino society does not want a repeat of the terrible things committed during World War II, such as the Death March, hamletting and sexual slavery.”

“Filipino soldiers and civilians are suffering from war when we should be celebrating the anniversary of the end of the World War in the Pacific, August 15, 1945,” she said.

The CHR also called on the government to make “timely preparations” for basic services and assistance to the affected communities.

“The summit highlighted the need for better services for internally displaced persons,” De Lima said. “I hope we learned lessons from last year when it took months to respond to the needs of tens of thousands of IDPs, if not hundreds of thousands,” the CHR chair said.

She was referring to last year’s fighting in central Mindanao between the government and “rogue” MILF followers.

Panelists during the summit reported “dehumanizing” conditions in some evacuation centers, Quisumbing said.

The Oslo-based Norwegian Refugee Council said in its 2009 report that 600,000 people fled the fighting between the military and rebel groups in Mindanao in 2008, “the world’s largest new displacement last year.” –Jocelyn Uy, Alcuin Papa, Philippine Daily Inquirer
with a report from Inquirer Research