Stop the violence, De Lima tells all sides in indigenous peoples issue
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Sunday called on the New People’s Army (NPA), state security forces and other armed groups to stop the acts of violence against indigenous peoples (IP) in Mindanao and respect international humanitarian laws (IHL) and human rights.
“[I]t is imperative that military and law-enforcement operations are conducted with the utmost concern and attention to IHL and human rights that govern the conduct of combatant forces in an armed conflict. At the same time, the nonstate actors involved, the NPA and paramilitary forces alike, must stop the armed actions that have caused countless civilian casualties,” De Lima said in a three-page statement.
“These antagonists must cease and desist from inflicting further acts of violence, whether against each other, the government or noncombatant civilians, and instead comply with IHL and observe the basic human rights to life and peace of the civilian populations in the mountains, especially that of children, women and the elderly,” De Lima said.
She said the government viewed with “deep concern” the reported acts of aggression against the indigenous people of Eastern and Northern Mindanao, among them, the Manobo of Davao del Norte, Bukidnon and Surigao del Sur.
President Aquino earlier directed the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate alleged transgressions committed against the indigenous people, many of them living in upland villages. De Lima formed a special joint team from the National Prosecution Service and National Bureau of Investigation to conduct a probe.
De Lima noted that several cases had been investigated, resulting in the filing of criminal complaints before the public prosecutor or the proper courts.
Policy of peace without impunity
“The government reaffirms its policy of peace without impunity and justice without surrender. The DOJ assures the public that any human rights violation and criminal offense committed will be investigated and prosecuted with determination. The DOJ will thus continue to conduct in depth and objective investigations, regardless of whether the perpetrators are the NPA, paramilitary groups or members of state security forces,” De Lima said.
According to the secretary, there were reports indicating that the violence was inflicted by armed groups of one indigenous tribe against the unarmed civilian population of rival indigenous communities.
She also cited initial reports suggesting that the transgressions that resulted in the death and injury of members of indigenous communities and the destruction of their property involved paramilitary groups.
De Lima said the reported involvement of paramilitary groups or private armed groups must be treated with “grave concern,” saying such groups have a “long tradition” of involvement in criminal activities in Mindanao, including vigilante operations, whether in the name of counterinsurgency or tribal retribution.
“In the DOJ investigation, we are also going to dig deeper into the links these paramilitary groups have with organized crime,” she said, adding that their reign of terror in hinterland communities must come to an end.
The secretary said there was also “no doubt” that both the NPA and its allied organizations, on the one hand, and some elements of the state’s security forces, on the other, have played a role in a situation where the upland communities “are caught in the middle of an armed rebellion and the consequent counterinsurgency operations.”
