This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. VII, No. 1, Feb. 4-10, 2007
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
Refugees of AFP-MILF Clash
Suffer Poor Conditions at Centers The
most recent armed clashes between members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)
and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) have temporarily stopped, but
residents of Midsayap, North Cotabato still refuse to return to their homes
despite their squalid conditions at evacuation centers.
BY AUBREY MAKILAN The most recent armed
clashes between members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) have temporarily stopped, but residents of
Midsayap, North Cotabato still refuse to return to their homes despite their
squalid conditions at evacuation centers. Land conflict The most recent armed
confrontation between the MILF and the AFP affected Natularanmu barangays
(villages of Nabalawag, Tugal, Lower Glad, Rangaban, and Mudsing) in Midsayap. In an interview with
Bulatlat, Ana Maria Labrador, Natularanmu Peace Council secretary,
said that the conflict emanated from a land dispute. The area in dispute, she
said, is a 24-hectare land in Rangaban. She said the land which used to be
tilled by Moro peasants is now being cultivated by Christian members of an
organization called Bantay Bayan, the only group accredited by the government to
develop the land. Labrador also said the
ownership of the land is still being contested in court by a certain Mateo
Falcon, a Christian, and Uling Panansang, a Muslim.
This conflict, she said, triggered the armed
confrontation between the MILF and the AFP despite the 2003 ceasefire agreement
between the two sides. The Luwaran, the website of
the MILF, reported that 14 bombs were dropped by the AFP last Jan. 26 from
10:30-11:30 a.m.. A certain woman identified as Noria was reportedly killed and
several were wounded. Bai Zaynab Ampatuan,
national deputy.secretary-general of Suara Bangsamoro Party said that the
“intensifying clash between the AFP and MILF could have been prevented if the AFP
reported to the Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities, which
was formed by the International Monitoring Committee, any violation allegedly
perpetrated by the MILF.”
Evacuation At least 6,000 residents
were forced to evacuate Rangeban, Tugal and Mudsing, after Philippine Air Force
OV-10 planes reportedly bombed MILF posts. Jesus Dureza, presidential
adviser to the peace talks, said the ground and air assault by government forces
persisted for two days. Mohaqher Iqbal, head of the
MILF negotiating panel, said the bombing by government troops of several
villages was indiscriminate. Government officials denied that the AFP dropped
bombs, but a report by the Bantay Ceasefire, a grassroots-based civilian
ceasefire monitoring group, confirmed the bombings. In its report, it said two
government planes dropped bombs in Mudsing at about 10 a.m. of Jan. 27. It added
that the bombing forced the villagers to leave barangays Tugal, Rangeban, Nes,
Nabalawag and Tumbras.
Natularanmu villagers were given a training
course on community-based disaster management by the Mindanao Interfaith
Services Foundation, Inc. (MISFI), a local organization under the network of the
Citizens Disaster Response Center (CDRC) last July 2006, said Danny Gumanao of
MISFI.
Gumanao said that the training enabled the
people to respond immediately to the situation.
But lack of supplies, Labrador said, hampered
the evacuees from applying appropriate procedures in maintaining the evacuation
centers.
Among the evacuation centers being occupied by
Midsayap residents are Flauta Elementary School, Barangay Site in Lower Glad,
Agriculture Elementary School, Poblacion Siete, and Agriculture Naitonal High
School.
Worsening conditions
Labrador told Bulatlat that she is still
receiving text messages informing her that more evacuees are arriving at the
Agriculture Elementary School. Because of the increasing number of evacuees,
comfort rooms are hardly kept clean. And worse, the evacuation centers are
already cramped..
As a result, many evacuees are afflicted with
colds, cough, fever, and diarrhea.
Despite the worsening conditions at the
evacuation centers, and the reported cessation of armed hostilities, the people
refuse to return to their homes out of fear.
Maraming tulong pero hindi sapat,”
(The evacuees receive a lot of assistance. But these are still inadequate.)
said Labrador. She said food, water, and other resources are badly needed as the
volume of evacuees continues to rise.
Labrador warned that if this situation lasts for
another week, “Mas mahirap pa ang dadanasin nila.” (They will suffer
more.)
Meanwhile, the CDRC appeals for help for the
Midsayap evacuees. Donations may be sent through its office at 72-A Times St.,
West Triangle Homes, Quezon City or through telephone numbers 924-0386 or
929-9822. Bulatlat © 2007 Bulatlat
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Bulatlat
"A war could not have erupted if this was peacefully addressed by concerned
committees since the peace talks is on going anyway," said Ampatuan.
The Suara Bangsamoro party would lead a fact-finding mission in the area to
verify reported violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.
Ampatuan said that the mission aims to come up with “a humanitarian and peaceful
resolution to the recent conflict for the benefit of civilians affected by this
on-going clash.”