UP Diliman campus. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines – The University of the Philippines (UP) Student Regent, with the support of Diliman Chancellor Michael Tan, has called on students and faculty to join protests calling for truth and accountability on the bloody Mamasapano clash.
A statement titled “A Call for Unity” was released this week and endorsed by Tan, who is also a Philippine Daily Inquirer columnist.
“As head of our state and commander-in-chief, we recognize that Pres. Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Aquino III must take full accountability in all these events,” Neill John Macuha, UP student regent, said, unedited, in the statement.
Macuha slammed the “errors” committed by those who directed the operation, which succeeded in killing international terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan, but resulted in the death of 44 policemen, 18 Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) fighters and at least five civilians.
“We demand a comprehensive and autonomous investigation of what transpired during the Mamasapano clash, taking into consideration the President’s role and of those who had been included in the entire chain of command,” he said, adding that the role of the United States government should also be probed.
He said the pursuit of a terrorist did not merit “massive carnage” and placing in peril the ongoing peace negotiations between the Philippine government and the MILF, which was among the groups involved in the clash.
Macuha said the government should address the questions raised and not wash its hands.
He called on the UP community to join the rally dubbed “People’s March to Mendiola” on Friday.
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