This would be big international news if the casulaties were Americans! The AFP have been trying to round up the Abu Sayaf fighters for some time but without much success it seems. The group now seems to be joined by another rebel force that have given up on the peace process. There are many separatists in Mindanao and especially in the Sulu archipelago where these actions are taking place. Many commentators are questioning the competence of some Philippine generals. Troops manage to get themselves ambushed regularly it seems. The AFP face not only the Muslim separatist rebels but also the Maoist New People's Army. The latter are active in many rural parts of the Philippines.
Gov’t losses rise to 25 in Sulu
Seen as single biggest casualty in a day
BY VICTOR REYES
TWENTY-FIVE soldiers died and 17 were wounded in twin clashes with forces of the Abu Sayyaf and the Misuari Breakaway Group in Sulu Thursday, the biggest troop casualty in one day.
AFP public information office chief Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro yesterday said that according to intelligence reports, 27 ASG men died and 25 were wounded.
At around 7:45 a.m. Thursday, ASG and rogue MNLF forces ambushed an 11-man team from the 33rd Infantry Battalion in Dayuan village in Indanan town, killing 10 soldiers and a boy.
At around 3:30 p.m., pursuing elements of the 33rd IB caught up with the two groups in the village of Tampaking in Maimbung town, resulting in the killing of 15 soldiers.
Bacarro said the two groups were under Radullan Sahiron, Dr. Abu Pula and Albader Parad, the three top Abu leaders in Sulu.
Bacarro said: "As far as I can remember, this is our biggest casualty in a day – 25."
Last July 10, 14 Marines died in an ambush by secessionist forces in Al-Barka, Basilan. Ten of the dead were later beheaded.
Bacarro said Armed Forces chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. has ordered two Army battalions to augment eight Army and Marine battalions in Sulu.
Bacarro said the 33rd IB would be pulled out from Sulu and replaced by another Army battalion.
Bacarro said Jemaah Islamiah leaders Dulmatin and Omar Patek might be with the ASG and MBG forces.
"The troops were pursuing the group of Parad, Dr. Abu and Sahiron. So they were pursuing an enemy who were in defensive position and of course that is one tactical difficulty or disadvantage that our troops encountered," said Bacarro.
He said two MG-520 attack helicopters and two UH-1H or Huey helicopters have been sent to provide aerial support.
Bacarro said latest military information shows there are at least 200 Abu Sayyaf bandits in Sulu.
He said they have no available data on the strength of the MBG, a group loyal to former Moro National Liberation Front chairman and ARMM Gov. Nur Misuari. Misuari is in detention on charges of rebellion.
Bacarro said the military cannot say if the re-alignment of forces of Sahiron, Dr. Abu and Parad was meant to divert military focus from the ongoing operations in Basilan.
"In Basilan, we are running after the fugitives, we are running after the perpetrators of the beheading, while here in Sulu, we are running after the ASG," he said.
He said there have been no reports of residents displaced by the fighting.
He said Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro has directed the National Disaster Coordinating Council to look at contingencies or probable displacements in the area.
Esperon said successive clashes with the ASG and MBG show that government troops are closing in on them.
Esperon said the ASG is now down to 370 men, mostly deployed in Sulu.
Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye, in a statement, assured the families of the dead and wounded soldiers would be assisted. – With Jocelyn Montemayor
Showing posts with label Philippine Armed Forces. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Philippine Armed Forces. Show all posts
Friday, August 10, 2007
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Supreme Court of Philippines Orders AFL, Arroyo, and police to produce missing activist.
It remains to be seen whether anything will happen as a result of this order. No doubt everyone will deny involvement. It is a little surprising that the Court ordered this since the court is often thought of as beholden to Arroyo. Not this time around or in some other cases as well.
Philippine Supreme Court orders Arroyo, military, police to produce missing activist
The Associated Press
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
MANILA, Philippines: The Philippine Supreme Court has ordered President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the military and police to produce a missing left-wing activist in court later this week, officials said.
The July 16 order, made public by court officials Tuesday, stemmed from a habeas corpus petition filed by the mother of Jonas Burgos, who was kidnapped by gunmen on April 28.
Witnesses said they saw Burgos being dragged by six armed men and a woman who identified themselves as policemen from a restaurant in a suburban mall to a waiting car. The license plate was later traced to another vehicle impounded at the army's 56th Infantry Battalion camp in northern Bulacan province.
The military and police have denied any hand in the disappearance of Burgos, a young activist and son of a late prominent newspaper publisher, who was a crusader for press freedom during dictator Ferdinand Marcos' rule.
His mother, Editha Burgos, petitioned the court to ask Arroyo, as commander in chief, to order his release or investigate who was responsible for his abduction.
The high tribunal ordered Burgos to be produced on Friday when the lower Court of Appeals in Manila starts a hearing on his disappearance.
The military has repeatedly denied accusations by human rights groups and a U.N. envoy that it is behind a wave of extra-judicial killings and forced disappearances of activists.
The local human rights group Karapatan has reported more than 800 people — about half of them left-wing activists — have been killed in politically motivated attacks by suspected security forces since 2001. In addition, about 200 have been abducted and remain missing, it says.
International Herald Tribune | www.iht.com
Philippine Supreme Court orders Arroyo, military, police to produce missing activist
The Associated Press
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
MANILA, Philippines: The Philippine Supreme Court has ordered President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the military and police to produce a missing left-wing activist in court later this week, officials said.
The July 16 order, made public by court officials Tuesday, stemmed from a habeas corpus petition filed by the mother of Jonas Burgos, who was kidnapped by gunmen on April 28.
Witnesses said they saw Burgos being dragged by six armed men and a woman who identified themselves as policemen from a restaurant in a suburban mall to a waiting car. The license plate was later traced to another vehicle impounded at the army's 56th Infantry Battalion camp in northern Bulacan province.
The military and police have denied any hand in the disappearance of Burgos, a young activist and son of a late prominent newspaper publisher, who was a crusader for press freedom during dictator Ferdinand Marcos' rule.
His mother, Editha Burgos, petitioned the court to ask Arroyo, as commander in chief, to order his release or investigate who was responsible for his abduction.
The high tribunal ordered Burgos to be produced on Friday when the lower Court of Appeals in Manila starts a hearing on his disappearance.
The military has repeatedly denied accusations by human rights groups and a U.N. envoy that it is behind a wave of extra-judicial killings and forced disappearances of activists.
The local human rights group Karapatan has reported more than 800 people — about half of them left-wing activists — have been killed in politically motivated attacks by suspected security forces since 2001. In addition, about 200 have been abducted and remain missing, it says.
International Herald Tribune | www.iht.com
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Extra-judicial killings and the Philippine Armed Forces
THis is from Malaya a left leaning Manila based newspaper. AFP is Armed Forces of the Philippines. Malacanang is the seat of government like the WHite House in the US.Many leftist groups think that extra-judicial killing is a government policy not the result of a few rogue soldiers or commanders.
AFP sings new tune, concedes some soldiers behind killings
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BY VICTOR REYES
THE Armed Forces yesterday acknowledged that soldiers were involved in extra-judicial killings of activists but said the military leadership is not condoning the abuses.
The military and government previously blamed communist rebels for the spate of killings, saying the New People’s Army was purging its ranks as it did in the 1980s.
"We acknowledge that some members of the AFP have been involved in the deaths of some members of militant organizations but we definitely do not condone these. In fact, more than condemning acts, we have taken action to investigate them in order to prosecute those who are responsible," said AFP chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon.
Records of the human rights group Karapatan showed 825 killings since President Arroyo assumed power in January 2001. But records of the PNP’s Task Force Usig, which Arroyo tasked to look into the political killings, showed there were a little over 100 cases.
The Melo Commission, which Arroyo created in August last year also to investigate the killings, said soldiers have murdered hundreds of Left-wing activists since 2001 and their commanding officers should be held responsible.
Arroyo formed the panel after human rights groups, including Amnesty International, said the series of killings of political activists could be linked to some members of the security forces.
Retired Supreme Court Justice Jose Melo, head of the commission, said "elements in the military" were behind the fatal shooting of hundreds of leftwing activists, community workers and farmers.
"It’s a small group in the military who are doing these things with the tolerance of some commanders, but it is not the policy of the entire Armed Forces of the Philippines," he said.
Melo submitted his panel’s report to the President yesterday after the Cabinet meeting.
Melo recommended that commanding officers face military tribunals for extrajudicial killings in their areas.
"They should have known what was happening and they just kept silent," he said.
Asked how many of the murders were carried out by soldiers, Melo said: "Most of them."
Left-wing groups said the report was a whitewash.
"It has been established by documentary evidence that there is a national policy sanctioning the killing of activists," said Renato Reyes, general secretary of leftwing umbrella group Bayan.
"We have seen Cabinet-level documents that show how these killings were sanctioned at the highest levels of office. The Melo Commission had it wrong when it says the killings were perpetrated by soldiers who are merely unchecked by their superiors."
Left-wing groups have said "The Butcher," Maj. Gen. (ret.) Jovito Palparan, was responsible for many of the killings.
Palparan, who has denied the charges, said: "To me it (the report) is just propaganda. As far as I’m concerned, my conscience is clear."
Esperon said the AFP cannot file charges against Palparan because the latter has retired.
"If there is evidence against him, he can be taken to (civilian) courts but since he is already retired, we cannot pursue a case against him," he said.
Palparan reached the mandatory retirement of 56 in September last year. His last post was chief of the Army’s 7th Infantry Division.
Col. Arthur Abadilla, provost marshal, said the military can pursue a case if an officer was charged and investigated while in active service.
ALL ALLEGATIONS
Esperon conceded military did not launch an investigation after Left-leaning organizations accused Palparan of instigating the killings.
"As far as I know, he was not formally investigated…There was no formal complaint, it was all allegations so what was the basis for an investigation?... When allegations were made, it was just proper that the Melo Commission was called to investigate those things," he said.
Palparan has appeared in one of the hearings conducted by the Melo Commission. He said the allegations were meant to derail the military’s fight against the NPA.
Esperon said the military "will leave no stone unturned in our investigation and we will spare no one, regardless of rank or position."
He said several soldiers have been investigated for the killings.
Cpl. Alberto Rafon has been discharged from service for the killing of Nicanor delos Santos in October 2002.
Cpl. Esteban Vivar is facing charges before the Naga City Prosecutors Office while three others – M/Sgt. Antonio Torilla, Sgt. Rowie Barua M/Sgt. Donald Caigas – have been cleared either by the courts or government prosecutors, Esperon said.
An alleged militiaman, Ronnie Canet, was also implicated in one of the killings in the Bicol region. However, records from the 9th Infantry Division showed Canet is not in the list of its militiamen.
Esperon was quoting from the records of the Task Force Usig.
114 KILLINGS PROBED
Esperon said 114 killings have been investigated by the task force headed by Deputy Director General Avelino Razon.
"Of the 114 cases investigated by TFU, 48 cases were filed in court while the remaining 66 are still under extensive investigation. Out of the 48 filed cases, 22 are found to be perpetrated by the CPP/NPA/NDF while only six cases implicate military personnel," he said.
Esperon gave reporters a compiled list of victims of summary executions by the communists from 2000 to May 2006. Of the 1,227 victims, Esperon said 843 were civilians while the rest were soldiers and policemen.
"We challenge the CPP/NPA/NDF to account for the deaths of these people," said Esperon.
He posed the same challenge to Karapatan, which is among the organizations, accusing the military of involvement in the killings of leftist people.
President Arroyo ordered the Department of Foreign Affairs to ask Spain, Finland, Sweden and the European Union to send representatives who would help look into the extra-judicial killings.
MORE TIME NEEDED
Arroyo, in a statement, said it was unfortunate that none of the militant organizations have participated in the hearings of the Melo Commission. She said this is the reason she asked the panel to continue its work and submit supplemental reports from time to time.
Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said the panel members acknowledged they need more time to complete their probe because not all the parties involved participated.
This is also the reason Arroyo ordered the DFA to send formal proposals to the EU, Spain, Finland and Sweden on the sending of representatives to assist the commission in its probe.
"The feeling is the others might be more inclined to participate with these investigators but these investigators would be working under the umbrella of the commission," Bunye said.
Arroyo first announced her government’s intention to seek the help of the foreigners in September last year.
Bunye said Arroyo also ordered the AFP, PNP and the defense department to review and update documents on command responsibility.
Bunye said this means the policy of command responsibility should be laid out in very clear, unmistakable and understandable terms.
SPECIAL COURTS
Arroyo also directed the defense and justice departments to work with the Commission on Human Rights on the creation of a joint fact-finding body that will look deeper into the killings.
She also wants the justice department to enhance the witness protection program "to cover all witnesses to the unexplained killings of an ideological/political nature."
She directed the chief presidential legal counsel to draft a letter to the Supreme Court "seeking the creation of special courts for the trial of charges involving unexplained killings of a political/ideological nature."
Arroyo stressed she deplores the killings.
"I aim to stop it once and for all…the Philippines is likely the most democratic country in the region. I have no tolerance for human rights violations, particularly the killings of journalists and activists," she said.
SCAPEGOAT
Foreign and local Leftist activists called on Arroyo to take concrete actions on the killings.
They also said the commission’s recommendation that commanding officers face military tribunals for extrajudicial killings in their areas only told activists what they already knew and just made Palparan a "scapegoat."
During the Asian Conference on Participatory Democracy and Alternative Forms of Popular Power held at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, an Indonesian delegate who was conferred the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2001, said the Philippine government would eventually "humiliate" itself if it does not act on the cases of killings.
Dita Indah Sari, Magsaysay awardee for emergent leadership, said "the announcement is not enough if there’s no effort and political will (on the part of the government) to be responsible and take concrete steps and go further."
Indah Sari, head of the trade union called the National Front for Indonesian Labor Struggle, said Leftist groups face a similar problem in Indonesia.
She said while there is the National of Commission of Human Rights in her country, the "government does not want to take steps to follow (the recommendations)."
"The government is trying to protect itself… to protect its own clique…It is very much clear that the state is behind this…Many reports (of human rights violations) come in… but nothing comes out from them. The people doing these violations are still on top of the government, on top of the military… (They are) untouchables. The government didn’t want to have conflicts with these people. What the government wants to do is wait for the issue to be calmer," Indah Sari said.
The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) challenged government to file charges against Palparan. – With Jocelyn Montemayor, Reinir Padua and Reuters
AFP sings new tune, concedes some soldiers behind killings
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BY VICTOR REYES
THE Armed Forces yesterday acknowledged that soldiers were involved in extra-judicial killings of activists but said the military leadership is not condoning the abuses.
The military and government previously blamed communist rebels for the spate of killings, saying the New People’s Army was purging its ranks as it did in the 1980s.
"We acknowledge that some members of the AFP have been involved in the deaths of some members of militant organizations but we definitely do not condone these. In fact, more than condemning acts, we have taken action to investigate them in order to prosecute those who are responsible," said AFP chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon.
Records of the human rights group Karapatan showed 825 killings since President Arroyo assumed power in January 2001. But records of the PNP’s Task Force Usig, which Arroyo tasked to look into the political killings, showed there were a little over 100 cases.
The Melo Commission, which Arroyo created in August last year also to investigate the killings, said soldiers have murdered hundreds of Left-wing activists since 2001 and their commanding officers should be held responsible.
Arroyo formed the panel after human rights groups, including Amnesty International, said the series of killings of political activists could be linked to some members of the security forces.
Retired Supreme Court Justice Jose Melo, head of the commission, said "elements in the military" were behind the fatal shooting of hundreds of leftwing activists, community workers and farmers.
"It’s a small group in the military who are doing these things with the tolerance of some commanders, but it is not the policy of the entire Armed Forces of the Philippines," he said.
Melo submitted his panel’s report to the President yesterday after the Cabinet meeting.
Melo recommended that commanding officers face military tribunals for extrajudicial killings in their areas.
"They should have known what was happening and they just kept silent," he said.
Asked how many of the murders were carried out by soldiers, Melo said: "Most of them."
Left-wing groups said the report was a whitewash.
"It has been established by documentary evidence that there is a national policy sanctioning the killing of activists," said Renato Reyes, general secretary of leftwing umbrella group Bayan.
"We have seen Cabinet-level documents that show how these killings were sanctioned at the highest levels of office. The Melo Commission had it wrong when it says the killings were perpetrated by soldiers who are merely unchecked by their superiors."
Left-wing groups have said "The Butcher," Maj. Gen. (ret.) Jovito Palparan, was responsible for many of the killings.
Palparan, who has denied the charges, said: "To me it (the report) is just propaganda. As far as I’m concerned, my conscience is clear."
Esperon said the AFP cannot file charges against Palparan because the latter has retired.
"If there is evidence against him, he can be taken to (civilian) courts but since he is already retired, we cannot pursue a case against him," he said.
Palparan reached the mandatory retirement of 56 in September last year. His last post was chief of the Army’s 7th Infantry Division.
Col. Arthur Abadilla, provost marshal, said the military can pursue a case if an officer was charged and investigated while in active service.
ALL ALLEGATIONS
Esperon conceded military did not launch an investigation after Left-leaning organizations accused Palparan of instigating the killings.
"As far as I know, he was not formally investigated…There was no formal complaint, it was all allegations so what was the basis for an investigation?... When allegations were made, it was just proper that the Melo Commission was called to investigate those things," he said.
Palparan has appeared in one of the hearings conducted by the Melo Commission. He said the allegations were meant to derail the military’s fight against the NPA.
Esperon said the military "will leave no stone unturned in our investigation and we will spare no one, regardless of rank or position."
He said several soldiers have been investigated for the killings.
Cpl. Alberto Rafon has been discharged from service for the killing of Nicanor delos Santos in October 2002.
Cpl. Esteban Vivar is facing charges before the Naga City Prosecutors Office while three others – M/Sgt. Antonio Torilla, Sgt. Rowie Barua M/Sgt. Donald Caigas – have been cleared either by the courts or government prosecutors, Esperon said.
An alleged militiaman, Ronnie Canet, was also implicated in one of the killings in the Bicol region. However, records from the 9th Infantry Division showed Canet is not in the list of its militiamen.
Esperon was quoting from the records of the Task Force Usig.
114 KILLINGS PROBED
Esperon said 114 killings have been investigated by the task force headed by Deputy Director General Avelino Razon.
"Of the 114 cases investigated by TFU, 48 cases were filed in court while the remaining 66 are still under extensive investigation. Out of the 48 filed cases, 22 are found to be perpetrated by the CPP/NPA/NDF while only six cases implicate military personnel," he said.
Esperon gave reporters a compiled list of victims of summary executions by the communists from 2000 to May 2006. Of the 1,227 victims, Esperon said 843 were civilians while the rest were soldiers and policemen.
"We challenge the CPP/NPA/NDF to account for the deaths of these people," said Esperon.
He posed the same challenge to Karapatan, which is among the organizations, accusing the military of involvement in the killings of leftist people.
President Arroyo ordered the Department of Foreign Affairs to ask Spain, Finland, Sweden and the European Union to send representatives who would help look into the extra-judicial killings.
MORE TIME NEEDED
Arroyo, in a statement, said it was unfortunate that none of the militant organizations have participated in the hearings of the Melo Commission. She said this is the reason she asked the panel to continue its work and submit supplemental reports from time to time.
Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said the panel members acknowledged they need more time to complete their probe because not all the parties involved participated.
This is also the reason Arroyo ordered the DFA to send formal proposals to the EU, Spain, Finland and Sweden on the sending of representatives to assist the commission in its probe.
"The feeling is the others might be more inclined to participate with these investigators but these investigators would be working under the umbrella of the commission," Bunye said.
Arroyo first announced her government’s intention to seek the help of the foreigners in September last year.
Bunye said Arroyo also ordered the AFP, PNP and the defense department to review and update documents on command responsibility.
Bunye said this means the policy of command responsibility should be laid out in very clear, unmistakable and understandable terms.
SPECIAL COURTS
Arroyo also directed the defense and justice departments to work with the Commission on Human Rights on the creation of a joint fact-finding body that will look deeper into the killings.
She also wants the justice department to enhance the witness protection program "to cover all witnesses to the unexplained killings of an ideological/political nature."
She directed the chief presidential legal counsel to draft a letter to the Supreme Court "seeking the creation of special courts for the trial of charges involving unexplained killings of a political/ideological nature."
Arroyo stressed she deplores the killings.
"I aim to stop it once and for all…the Philippines is likely the most democratic country in the region. I have no tolerance for human rights violations, particularly the killings of journalists and activists," she said.
SCAPEGOAT
Foreign and local Leftist activists called on Arroyo to take concrete actions on the killings.
They also said the commission’s recommendation that commanding officers face military tribunals for extrajudicial killings in their areas only told activists what they already knew and just made Palparan a "scapegoat."
During the Asian Conference on Participatory Democracy and Alternative Forms of Popular Power held at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, an Indonesian delegate who was conferred the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2001, said the Philippine government would eventually "humiliate" itself if it does not act on the cases of killings.
Dita Indah Sari, Magsaysay awardee for emergent leadership, said "the announcement is not enough if there’s no effort and political will (on the part of the government) to be responsible and take concrete steps and go further."
Indah Sari, head of the trade union called the National Front for Indonesian Labor Struggle, said Leftist groups face a similar problem in Indonesia.
She said while there is the National of Commission of Human Rights in her country, the "government does not want to take steps to follow (the recommendations)."
"The government is trying to protect itself… to protect its own clique…It is very much clear that the state is behind this…Many reports (of human rights violations) come in… but nothing comes out from them. The people doing these violations are still on top of the government, on top of the military… (They are) untouchables. The government didn’t want to have conflicts with these people. What the government wants to do is wait for the issue to be calmer," Indah Sari said.
The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) challenged government to file charges against Palparan. – With Jocelyn Montemayor, Reinir Padua and Reuters
Philippine Armed Forces blames for many murders
I am a little surprised at this report. The president Gloria Arroyo is no doubt not at all pleased with it. There have been peace talks with the NPA from time to time but the fact that the US has the NPA on its terror list has not helped negotiations. The New People's Army as the Maoists in Nepal have continued armed struggle long after the demise of Maoism and rise of market capitalism in China-- the so-called socialism with Chinese characteristics aka state steered capitalism with massive corruption but with much growth in production.
I lived in the Philippines with my wife for over a year. She owns property in Gabawan an area frequented by the NPA. The NPA is not good for property values!
They collect revolutionary taxes from those who can pay. There are several parties in the legislature that are regarded as fronts for the NPA. The leader of the Philippine COmmunist Party is in exile in the Netherlands.
The NPA is mostly in rural areas. In some areas the NPA more or less co-exists with the military but in others the commanders are staunch anti-communists who not only engage with the NPA but engage in extra-judicial murder of activists in general.
Journalists are often the target of these murders. After Iraq the Philippines is the most dangerous country in the world for journalists. In spite of this the Philippine press is exceedingly active and uncowed. The press is much more varied and even more combative than in Canada or the US.
Army blamed for hundreds of murders
Photo: AP
AdvertisementCarmel Crimmins in Manila
January 31, 2007
PHILIPPINE soldiers have murdered hundreds of left-wing activists since 2001 and their commanding officers should be held responsible, the head of a government inquiry has said.
Jose Melo, a retired Supreme Court justice, said yesterday that "elements in the military" were behind the fatal shooting of hundreds of left-wing activists, community workers and farmers.
"It's a small group in the military who are doing these things with the tolerance of some commanders, but it is not the policy of the entire armed forces of the Philippines," Mr Melo said.
The President, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, appointed Mr Melo to lead an inquiry into the murders last year after rights groups, including Amnesty International, said the shootings could be linked to some members of the security forces.
Mr Melo recommended that commanding officers face military tribunals for extrajudicial killings in their areas. "They should have known what was happening and they just kept silent," he said.
Dr Arroyo's spokesman said the Government would ensure justice was done if the report had implicated anyone.
The military's chief-of-staff, Lieutenant-General Hermogenes Esperon, told the Melo Commission in September that there was no official policy to kill "suspected enemies of the state".
The military and government has previously blamed communist rebels for the recent surge in killings, saying the New People's Army was purging its ranks, as it had done in the 1980s.
The shootings - often carried out in daylight by masked gunmen on motorbikes - have continued into 2007. Many of the victims were members of organisations the military views as fronts for the group.
The Philippines, also fighting Muslim insurgencies, has been battling the New People's Army since 1969 in a conflict that has killed more than 40,000 people. Dr Arroyo declared an "all out war" on the communist insurgents last year.
Local human rights group Karapatan has said more than 700 leftist activists, farmers, community organisers and journalists have been killed since Dr Arroyo came to power in 2001.
Asked how many of the murders were carried out by soldiers, Mr Melo said: "Most of them".
He told a local newspaper that some of the killings were attributed to politicians and some to the security guards of landlords.
Reuters
I lived in the Philippines with my wife for over a year. She owns property in Gabawan an area frequented by the NPA. The NPA is not good for property values!
They collect revolutionary taxes from those who can pay. There are several parties in the legislature that are regarded as fronts for the NPA. The leader of the Philippine COmmunist Party is in exile in the Netherlands.
The NPA is mostly in rural areas. In some areas the NPA more or less co-exists with the military but in others the commanders are staunch anti-communists who not only engage with the NPA but engage in extra-judicial murder of activists in general.
Journalists are often the target of these murders. After Iraq the Philippines is the most dangerous country in the world for journalists. In spite of this the Philippine press is exceedingly active and uncowed. The press is much more varied and even more combative than in Canada or the US.
Army blamed for hundreds of murders
Photo: AP
AdvertisementCarmel Crimmins in Manila
January 31, 2007
PHILIPPINE soldiers have murdered hundreds of left-wing activists since 2001 and their commanding officers should be held responsible, the head of a government inquiry has said.
Jose Melo, a retired Supreme Court justice, said yesterday that "elements in the military" were behind the fatal shooting of hundreds of left-wing activists, community workers and farmers.
"It's a small group in the military who are doing these things with the tolerance of some commanders, but it is not the policy of the entire armed forces of the Philippines," Mr Melo said.
The President, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, appointed Mr Melo to lead an inquiry into the murders last year after rights groups, including Amnesty International, said the shootings could be linked to some members of the security forces.
Mr Melo recommended that commanding officers face military tribunals for extrajudicial killings in their areas. "They should have known what was happening and they just kept silent," he said.
Dr Arroyo's spokesman said the Government would ensure justice was done if the report had implicated anyone.
The military's chief-of-staff, Lieutenant-General Hermogenes Esperon, told the Melo Commission in September that there was no official policy to kill "suspected enemies of the state".
The military and government has previously blamed communist rebels for the recent surge in killings, saying the New People's Army was purging its ranks, as it had done in the 1980s.
The shootings - often carried out in daylight by masked gunmen on motorbikes - have continued into 2007. Many of the victims were members of organisations the military views as fronts for the group.
The Philippines, also fighting Muslim insurgencies, has been battling the New People's Army since 1969 in a conflict that has killed more than 40,000 people. Dr Arroyo declared an "all out war" on the communist insurgents last year.
Local human rights group Karapatan has said more than 700 leftist activists, farmers, community organisers and journalists have been killed since Dr Arroyo came to power in 2001.
Asked how many of the murders were carried out by soldiers, Mr Melo said: "Most of them".
He told a local newspaper that some of the killings were attributed to politicians and some to the security guards of landlords.
Reuters
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