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Bu-lat-lat (boo-lat-lat) verb: to search, probe, investigate, inquire; to unearth facts Vol. IV, No. 34 September 26 - October 2, 2004 Quezon City, Philippines |
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Bu-lat-lat (boo-lat-lat) verb: to search, probe, investigate, inquire; to unearth facts Vol. IV, No. 34 September 26 - October 2, 2004 Quezon City, Philippines |
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HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH Vigilantes
Descend on Tagum In
just four months, human rights and church organizations recorded 40 cases
of summary executions in Tagum City.
Residents fear that a Tagum Death Squad, a copycat of the Davao
City Death Squad, is now operating in the city.
By
Grace S. Uddin
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RAGE AGAINST DARKNESS: Activist lets torch burn at rally against summary killings, Tagum City |
TAGUM
CITY, Davao del Norte -- In just four months, Karapatan or the Alliance
for the Advancement of People’s Rights, an alliance of human rights
advocates, and the Promotion of Church People’s Response (PCPR), an
organization of church people committed to human rights, recorded 40 cases
of summary executions in Tagum City in the last four months. On
the other hand, the city police claimed that there were only 26 cases of
killings. Police attributed these killings to drug-related operations of
syndicates. They also claimed that all the victims were involved in drug
trafficking. Residents
fear that a Tagum Death Squad, a copycat of the Davao City Death Squad, is
now operating in the city. The
Davao City Death Squad is a motorcycle-riding vigilante group which prey
on small time drug pushers and users, petty criminals and juvenile
delinquents. Until now, the Davao city police and Mayor Rodrigo Duterte
have denied the existence of this death squad. |
In
a rally last Sept. 21 to remember the 32nd anniversary of
Martial Law, cause-oriented organizations decried these killings as
reminiscent of the dark days of the Marcos dictatorship.
Leaders and members of multi-sectoral organizations who
participated in the prayer rally, held in front of the Christ the King
Cathedral in this city, denounced the seeming indifference of police and
local government officials and their failure to investigate the killings.
This
is the second rally held to denounce the killings during the last two
months.
With the rise in the number cases of summary executions, cause-oriented organizations fear that other forms and cases of human rights violations such as warrantless arrests and forced disappearances will likewise increase in the future. Bulatlat
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