AFP violate children’s rights in areas under armed conflict
By ARTHUR L. ALLAD-IW
www.nordis.net
BAGUIO CITY — In a remote town of Sadanga, Mountain Province, detachments were established by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in school compounds allegedly to neutralize the usual presence of the New Peoples Army (NPA), a revolutionary force which operates in the area and in the whole Cordillera region.
Sources said that there are at least three schools in the said town where military camps were established: in the Sadanga Elementary School in Tap-ag, Sadanga National High School in Sangey, and Belwang Elementary School in Belwang. Troops camped there were identified to be from the 54th IB led by a certain Lt. Joseph Sabas.
With the troops’ presence, some teachers positively favor and justify the armed presence that they are there to guard the schools from the influence of the rebels.
Reached to verify the presence of military camps in the said schools, the mayor of the town confirmed the troops’ encampment inside the campuses. When residents were interviewed they even identified the locations to be within the campuses mentioned.
“Yes, it is with the permission of the barangay officials kasi ayaw namin umaumay NPA nga agrecruit young people me” (because don’t like the NPA visits to recruit our youth), explained Sadanga Mayor Gavino Ganggangan in an SMS message.
This revealed that the presence of the military troops in the area is traceable to the anti-insurgency campaign of the government to maintain “peace” because various mining applications covering that area are already inked.
While Mayor Ganggangan, alleged barangay officials, and some teachers welcomed the military presence in the area, others are more concerned of the validity of the military presence and its effect on the school children.
In June this year, a team of UNICEF officials headed by Robert MacTavish went to visit the area. As the camps were proven to be inside the school campuses, they reportedly wrote the AFP to act on the removal of the camps as it endangers the safety of the children, a local member of the team revealed. But the troops remained there to the present.
Armed conflict
In an interview with Anastacia B. Tamayo, she explained that International Humanitarian Law (IHL) applies in the areas (in the Philippines) where two contending forces exist. As indicated by the information from the mayor and the teachers both the AFP and the rebels operate in Sadanga area (as in other areas of the region), various instruments under IHL apply. These instruments are to protect civilians, children, non-combatants and institutions like schools, hospitals and church, she added.
The children are caught in the “crossfire” in this situation due to the presence of the two forces, hence there is the intervention of the IHL, opines Tamayo, chapter administrator of the Philippine Red Cross here. She cited that the Philippine Congress passed, on December 11, 2009, Republic Act 9851 which mandates that government act on crimes against the International Humanitarian Law.
More instruments protect children
In a media seminar on child protection in this city, speakers explained that the presence of the military camps inside school campus is tantamount to the violation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Child.
The presence of armed groups unduely influenced and in-still fear on the children, explained Cesar Giovanni Soledad, program manager of the International Labour Organization.
Protection and care of children affected by armed conflict are mandated by the Convention on the Rights of the Child which the Philippine government is obliged to implemented.
Children in armed conflict are even protected under our national system, reiterated Ariel Hans Sebellino, executive director of the Philippine Press Institute.
To implement the convention, the Philippines particularly passed Republic Act (RA) 7610 which provides special protection for children against abuse, exploitation and discrimination, including children in armed conflict.
FPIC necessary
An expert on indigenous people’s rights pointed that the presence of military in the community needs the free, prior and informed consent from the concerned citizens.
The source said that the FPIC as mandated by the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997 is required as the program or policy of military deployment affects their existence or self-determination as a collective group.
On the other hand, in a phone interview, Cordilleras’ Department of Education office, Delfin Salidao, the legal officer, points out that military detachment or barracks inside the school campus is not allowed as a policy of their office.
He referred this reporter to call their division office in Mountain Province if they had granted such request by the AFP, which, he claimed, maybe allowed. The calls to check their MP Division failed due to typhoon-cut communication lines.
Rights vs. Military camps non-negotiable
Rights advocates – both in the international and local – claimed that the rights of the children against military camps and barracks inside school campuses are prohibited and non-negotiable, as provided by the UN instruments, Convention on the Rights of the Child and local laws.
The UNICEF said that the convention contains universally set of non-negotiable standards and obligations which provide protection and support for the rights of the children.
“As the Philippine state is a signatory to the said convention and ratified it on July 26, 1990, it must strictly observe it without exemption,” said Jude Baggo, secretary-general of the Cordillera Human Rights Alliance (CHRA) reiterating RA 7610, Art X, Sec. 22, paragraph e which states: “Public infrastructure such as schools, hospitals and rural health units shall not be utilized for military purposes such as command posts, barracks, detachments and supply depots.” # nordis.net
Friday, November 11, 2011
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Why the NATO powers are trying to assassinate Moammar Gaddafi
Why the NATO powers are trying to assassinate Moammar Gaddafi
Protecting civilians or western oil companies?
June 13, 2011
By Brian Becker
Wikileaks-released State Department cables from November 2007 and afterwards show the real reason for the mounting U.S. hostility to the Libyan government prior to the current civil war.
NATO has been dropping devastating bunker-busting bombs on Muammar Gaddafi's home in an attempt to assassinate him. One son and several grandchildren have died but Gaddafi has survived. The State Department cables give background to the hostility directed against Gaddafi by the United States and other NATO powers.
One State Department cable from November 2007 (Wikileaks reference ID 07TRIPOLI967) sounds the alarm of “growing evidence of Libyan resource nationalism” by the Gaddafi government. This was almost identical language employed by the U.S. and British governments against Iranian Prime Minister Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh when he nationalized Iran’s oil field in 1951. Mossadegh was overthrown by a 1953 CIA coup that restored the Shah to the throne. It allowed U.S. and British oil companies to re-take ownership over Iran’s oil until the 1979 revolution.
The crime of “resource nationalism”
Condemning “Libyan resource nationalism” is diplomatic language. The U.S. government was furious that Gaddafi was moving to rein in and limit the power and profits of the western-owned oil giants that he permitted to come back into the country after George W. Bush in 2004 lifted economic sanctions against Libya.
The same cable refers to an angry speech that Gaddafi made in 2006 which was interpreted as a virtual act of war by the oil companies and the U.S. and western governments.
Gaddafi's speech included these unacceptable words: “Oil companies are controlled by foreigners who have made millions from them—now, Libyans must take their place to profit from this money.”
Oil reserves in Libya are largest in Africa
Libya has the largest oil reserves in Africa and the ninth largest in the world with 41.5 billion barrels as of 2007. The U.S. government and oil industry surveys conclude that Libya has 63 years of reserves at current production rates if no new reserves were to be found. But Libya is considered to have many unexplored reserves. Libya has been a big prize for the western oil giants both because of the quantity of oil and of the particularly high quality of Libyan oil.
In 2008, according to another leaked State Department cable, Gaddafi summoned Conoco-Phillips Chief Executive Jim Mulva to a meeting in Sirte, Libya. There he threatened to expel U.S. oil companies and “threatened to dramatically reduce Libya’s oil production.”
The oil companies and the State Department, as the cables indicate, were increasingly agitated by Gaddafi’s interference with their operations. The Washington Post, which is a big cheerleader for the U.S./NATO bombing campaign, published a story on June 11, 2011, about the leaked Libya cables: “Labor laws were amended to ‘Libyanise’ the economy, and oil firms were pressed to hire Libyan managers, finance people and human resource directors.”
Gaddafi 2009 speech suggested nationalizing Libyan oil
Another Wikileaks-released State Department cable from Jan. 30, 2009, (Wikileaks reference ID 09TRIPOLI71) discusses a January 2009 speech by Gaddafi, stating, “Muammar al-Qadhafi suggested that Libya and other oil exporting states could nationalize their oil production in view of sharply plummeting petroleum prices.”
The U.S. government fully backed the Saudi monarchy and the Mubarak dictatorship, but turned on Libya—not because the regime violated human rights or democracy, but because Gaddafi sought to limit their power. The oil companies, however annoyed they were by having to work with the Libyan government, would have certainly continued their current business operations. The opening of a civil war inside of Libya in February 2011, however, gave a perfect pretext to overthrow the regime and place in power a government that the NATO powers hope will serve as a client regime.
In any country, Libya included, the masses of people can have many valid and legitimate grievances against their government. Even those who support Gaddafi against the NATO bombers probably have grievances. But the U.S., British, French and Italian governments are at war to protect their own interests. Protecting civilians and promoting democracy is of zero concern to Conoco-Phillips, Exxon-Mobil or any of the other oil giants.
The Wikileaks-released State Department cables make it clear that the basis for U.S. hostility to the Gaddafi regime was about who should control Libya’s vast oil reserves. Should it be Libya or should it be the biggest capitalist oil enterprises from western countries?
“Those who dominate Libya’s political and economic leadership are pursuing increasingly nationalistic policies in the energy sector that could jeopardize efficient exploitation of Libya’s extensive oil and gas reserves,” the November 2007 cable states.
Anti-Gaddafi rebels in Washington, D.C.
In mid-May 2011, just six weeks after the NATO bombing of Libya began, leaders of the anti-Gaddafi rebel movement came to Washington, D.C., for “talks.” They spoke at the U.S.-Libya Business Council. The big oil companies were present. The rebels have employed a public relations/lobbying organization based in Washington, D.C., called the Harbour Group.
The principals of the Harbour Group include Hillary Clinton’s staff director from the 1992 presidential campaign of Bill Clinton. Another served as a spokesperson for the presidential campaigns of Ronald Reagan and other conservative Republicans. The third served as a public relations figure in the last three Democratic presidential conventions, according to Reuters.
“Now you can figure out who’s going to win, and the name is not Gaddafi,” Nansan Saleri, the founder of the Houston-based Quantico Reservoir Impact company told the Washington Post. Saleri, former head of reservoir management at Saudi Aramco, explained why the company wouldn’t do business in Libya until now. “Everything in Libya—everything—had to be approved by Gaddafi or one of his sons,” he told the Post. Saleri continued, “Certain things about the mosaic are taking shape. The western companies are positioning themselves.” Within five years, he predicted, “Libyan production is going to be higher than right now and investments are going to come in.”
Libya today is resisting the new colonialism. The colonizers assign noble names such as “protecting civilians” to their military mission. But their role in Africa and the Middle East during the past decades and centuries deprive such propaganda of any credibility. They rely though on the uniformity of the corporate-owned media coverage about their “humanitarian motives” to disguise their crass and cynical plans in Libya and elsewhere.
Protecting civilians or western oil companies?
June 13, 2011
By Brian Becker
Wikileaks-released State Department cables from November 2007 and afterwards show the real reason for the mounting U.S. hostility to the Libyan government prior to the current civil war.
NATO has been dropping devastating bunker-busting bombs on Muammar Gaddafi's home in an attempt to assassinate him. One son and several grandchildren have died but Gaddafi has survived. The State Department cables give background to the hostility directed against Gaddafi by the United States and other NATO powers.
One State Department cable from November 2007 (Wikileaks reference ID 07TRIPOLI967) sounds the alarm of “growing evidence of Libyan resource nationalism” by the Gaddafi government. This was almost identical language employed by the U.S. and British governments against Iranian Prime Minister Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh when he nationalized Iran’s oil field in 1951. Mossadegh was overthrown by a 1953 CIA coup that restored the Shah to the throne. It allowed U.S. and British oil companies to re-take ownership over Iran’s oil until the 1979 revolution.
The crime of “resource nationalism”
Condemning “Libyan resource nationalism” is diplomatic language. The U.S. government was furious that Gaddafi was moving to rein in and limit the power and profits of the western-owned oil giants that he permitted to come back into the country after George W. Bush in 2004 lifted economic sanctions against Libya.
The same cable refers to an angry speech that Gaddafi made in 2006 which was interpreted as a virtual act of war by the oil companies and the U.S. and western governments.
Gaddafi's speech included these unacceptable words: “Oil companies are controlled by foreigners who have made millions from them—now, Libyans must take their place to profit from this money.”
Oil reserves in Libya are largest in Africa
Libya has the largest oil reserves in Africa and the ninth largest in the world with 41.5 billion barrels as of 2007. The U.S. government and oil industry surveys conclude that Libya has 63 years of reserves at current production rates if no new reserves were to be found. But Libya is considered to have many unexplored reserves. Libya has been a big prize for the western oil giants both because of the quantity of oil and of the particularly high quality of Libyan oil.
In 2008, according to another leaked State Department cable, Gaddafi summoned Conoco-Phillips Chief Executive Jim Mulva to a meeting in Sirte, Libya. There he threatened to expel U.S. oil companies and “threatened to dramatically reduce Libya’s oil production.”
The oil companies and the State Department, as the cables indicate, were increasingly agitated by Gaddafi’s interference with their operations. The Washington Post, which is a big cheerleader for the U.S./NATO bombing campaign, published a story on June 11, 2011, about the leaked Libya cables: “Labor laws were amended to ‘Libyanise’ the economy, and oil firms were pressed to hire Libyan managers, finance people and human resource directors.”
Gaddafi 2009 speech suggested nationalizing Libyan oil
Another Wikileaks-released State Department cable from Jan. 30, 2009, (Wikileaks reference ID 09TRIPOLI71) discusses a January 2009 speech by Gaddafi, stating, “Muammar al-Qadhafi suggested that Libya and other oil exporting states could nationalize their oil production in view of sharply plummeting petroleum prices.”
The U.S. government fully backed the Saudi monarchy and the Mubarak dictatorship, but turned on Libya—not because the regime violated human rights or democracy, but because Gaddafi sought to limit their power. The oil companies, however annoyed they were by having to work with the Libyan government, would have certainly continued their current business operations. The opening of a civil war inside of Libya in February 2011, however, gave a perfect pretext to overthrow the regime and place in power a government that the NATO powers hope will serve as a client regime.
In any country, Libya included, the masses of people can have many valid and legitimate grievances against their government. Even those who support Gaddafi against the NATO bombers probably have grievances. But the U.S., British, French and Italian governments are at war to protect their own interests. Protecting civilians and promoting democracy is of zero concern to Conoco-Phillips, Exxon-Mobil or any of the other oil giants.
The Wikileaks-released State Department cables make it clear that the basis for U.S. hostility to the Gaddafi regime was about who should control Libya’s vast oil reserves. Should it be Libya or should it be the biggest capitalist oil enterprises from western countries?
“Those who dominate Libya’s political and economic leadership are pursuing increasingly nationalistic policies in the energy sector that could jeopardize efficient exploitation of Libya’s extensive oil and gas reserves,” the November 2007 cable states.
Anti-Gaddafi rebels in Washington, D.C.
In mid-May 2011, just six weeks after the NATO bombing of Libya began, leaders of the anti-Gaddafi rebel movement came to Washington, D.C., for “talks.” They spoke at the U.S.-Libya Business Council. The big oil companies were present. The rebels have employed a public relations/lobbying organization based in Washington, D.C., called the Harbour Group.
The principals of the Harbour Group include Hillary Clinton’s staff director from the 1992 presidential campaign of Bill Clinton. Another served as a spokesperson for the presidential campaigns of Ronald Reagan and other conservative Republicans. The third served as a public relations figure in the last three Democratic presidential conventions, according to Reuters.
“Now you can figure out who’s going to win, and the name is not Gaddafi,” Nansan Saleri, the founder of the Houston-based Quantico Reservoir Impact company told the Washington Post. Saleri, former head of reservoir management at Saudi Aramco, explained why the company wouldn’t do business in Libya until now. “Everything in Libya—everything—had to be approved by Gaddafi or one of his sons,” he told the Post. Saleri continued, “Certain things about the mosaic are taking shape. The western companies are positioning themselves.” Within five years, he predicted, “Libyan production is going to be higher than right now and investments are going to come in.”
Libya today is resisting the new colonialism. The colonizers assign noble names such as “protecting civilians” to their military mission. But their role in Africa and the Middle East during the past decades and centuries deprive such propaganda of any credibility. They rely though on the uniformity of the corporate-owned media coverage about their “humanitarian motives” to disguise their crass and cynical plans in Libya and elsewhere.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Korte Suprema inutusan ang military na palayain si Sherlyn Cadapan, Karen Empeño, at Manuel Merino
SC to military: Release student activists
By Ina Reformina, ABS-CBN News
Posted at 06/20/2011 8:07 AM | Updated as of 06/20/2011 10:53 AM
MANILA, Philippines - *The Supreme Court (SC) has affirmed a decision of the Court of Appeals(CA) ordering the military, led by retired army general Jovito Palparan, to immediately release University of the Philippines(UP) student activists Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeno, along with Manuel Merino, from their detention.*
In a decision by the court En Banc promulgated last May 31 and penned by Associate Justice Conchita Carpio Morales(ret), the high court directed Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan, Jr.(ret), Lt. Col. Rogelio Boac, Lt. Col. Felipe Anotado, Lt. Francis Mirablelle Samson, Arnel Enriquez and Donald Caigas, who were once assigned to the 7th Infantry Division and the 24th Infantry Battalion, and found by the high tribunal as the "responsible and accountable individuals," to immediately comply with the appellate court's decision on September 17, 2008, acting on a case for Writ of Amparo, for the activist's immediate release.
"Respondents Lt. Col. Felipe Anotado, Lt. Francis Mirabelle Samson, Gen. Jovito Palparan, Lt. Col. Rogelio Boac, Arnel Enriquez and Donald Caigas shall remain personally impleaded in the petitions to answer for any responsibilities and/or accountabilities they may have incurred during their incumbencies," the decision read.
"Owing to the retirement and/or reassignment to other places of assignment of some of the respondents herein... the incumbent commanding general of the 7th Infantry Division and the incumbent battalion commander of the 24th Infantry Battalion, both of the Philippine Army, are enjoined to fully ensure the release of Sherlyn Cadapan, Karen Empeño and Manuel Merino from detention."
Basahin and buong balita
Kaugnay na balita: Raps filed vs Palparan for enforced disappearances
By Ina Reformina, ABS-CBN News
Posted at 06/20/2011 8:07 AM | Updated as of 06/20/2011 10:53 AM
MANILA, Philippines - *The Supreme Court (SC) has affirmed a decision of the Court of Appeals(CA) ordering the military, led by retired army general Jovito Palparan, to immediately release University of the Philippines(UP) student activists Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeno, along with Manuel Merino, from their detention.*
In a decision by the court En Banc promulgated last May 31 and penned by Associate Justice Conchita Carpio Morales(ret), the high court directed Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan, Jr.(ret), Lt. Col. Rogelio Boac, Lt. Col. Felipe Anotado, Lt. Francis Mirablelle Samson, Arnel Enriquez and Donald Caigas, who were once assigned to the 7th Infantry Division and the 24th Infantry Battalion, and found by the high tribunal as the "responsible and accountable individuals," to immediately comply with the appellate court's decision on September 17, 2008, acting on a case for Writ of Amparo, for the activist's immediate release.
"Respondents Lt. Col. Felipe Anotado, Lt. Francis Mirabelle Samson, Gen. Jovito Palparan, Lt. Col. Rogelio Boac, Arnel Enriquez and Donald Caigas shall remain personally impleaded in the petitions to answer for any responsibilities and/or accountabilities they may have incurred during their incumbencies," the decision read.
"Owing to the retirement and/or reassignment to other places of assignment of some of the respondents herein... the incumbent commanding general of the 7th Infantry Division and the incumbent battalion commander of the 24th Infantry Battalion, both of the Philippine Army, are enjoined to fully ensure the release of Sherlyn Cadapan, Karen Empeño and Manuel Merino from detention."
Basahin and buong balita
Kaugnay na balita: Raps filed vs Palparan for enforced disappearances
Saturday, June 18, 2011
MAKABAYAN pinuna ang pakikialam ng Estados Unidos sa South China Sea
MAKABAYAN hits US meddling in South China Sea
Rebuffs China’s domineering tactics in Spratly’s
THE Makabayan bloc in Congress led by BAYAN MUNA Partylist Rep. Teddy Casiño assailed the United States for "meddling into the territorial dispute with China and several Southeast Asian countries in the South China Sea."
The coalition also criticized Pres. Benigno Simeon Aquino III for “political mendicancy” in asking US support on the issue.
“It is not surprising that Pnoy is delighted about the statement of US Ambassador to the Philippines Harry Thomas that they will work with the Philippine government on issues including the disputed South China Sea and the Spratlys. What is lamentable is that the US is once again playing interventionist politics and that Malacanang is touting its own political mendicancy,” Casiño said.
He added that “the US should not meddle in the South China Sea dispute. We are no longer the “Little Brown Brothers” from our colonial past with the US. Using the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty as a pretext and invoking “partnership” with us in all subjects as they say do not justify at all US interference in our foreign affairs.”
“In fact, the cold war era treaty with the US should be terminated and the Philippine ambassador to the US should stop shopping for ukay-ukay military surplus from US Foreign Military Sales and Financing,” he pointed out.
The US move, including a US Senate resolution condemning China, Casiño said, “only provokes more tension in the disputed area. The US is indeed engaging and containing China in the region but PNoy should not let our own sovereign country be dragged into their jingoist and hegemonic position.”
“The Declaration of the Conduct of Parties on the South China Sea should be advanced for more cooperation even without the ASEAN or other regional grouping like the APEC where the US has conveniently pushed for its own exploitative interests detrimental to the region. Cooperation in the region, not rivalry and competition, without US interference should be asserted by peoples and nations directly involved in the contested area,” Casiño pointed out.
“The statement of US senators Jim Webb and James Inhofe condemning China on the issue creates more tension. So are the “aggravating words” with China being issued from Malacanang. We should stop this pro-US warmongering,but above all China should stop its domineering and aggressive stance on the Spratly issue” the Makabayan solon said. ###
Rebuffs China’s domineering tactics in Spratly’s
THE Makabayan bloc in Congress led by BAYAN MUNA Partylist Rep. Teddy Casiño assailed the United States for "meddling into the territorial dispute with China and several Southeast Asian countries in the South China Sea."
The coalition also criticized Pres. Benigno Simeon Aquino III for “political mendicancy” in asking US support on the issue.
“It is not surprising that Pnoy is delighted about the statement of US Ambassador to the Philippines Harry Thomas that they will work with the Philippine government on issues including the disputed South China Sea and the Spratlys. What is lamentable is that the US is once again playing interventionist politics and that Malacanang is touting its own political mendicancy,” Casiño said.
He added that “the US should not meddle in the South China Sea dispute. We are no longer the “Little Brown Brothers” from our colonial past with the US. Using the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty as a pretext and invoking “partnership” with us in all subjects as they say do not justify at all US interference in our foreign affairs.”
“In fact, the cold war era treaty with the US should be terminated and the Philippine ambassador to the US should stop shopping for ukay-ukay military surplus from US Foreign Military Sales and Financing,” he pointed out.
The US move, including a US Senate resolution condemning China, Casiño said, “only provokes more tension in the disputed area. The US is indeed engaging and containing China in the region but PNoy should not let our own sovereign country be dragged into their jingoist and hegemonic position.”
“The Declaration of the Conduct of Parties on the South China Sea should be advanced for more cooperation even without the ASEAN or other regional grouping like the APEC where the US has conveniently pushed for its own exploitative interests detrimental to the region. Cooperation in the region, not rivalry and competition, without US interference should be asserted by peoples and nations directly involved in the contested area,” Casiño pointed out.
“The statement of US senators Jim Webb and James Inhofe condemning China on the issue creates more tension. So are the “aggravating words” with China being issued from Malacanang. We should stop this pro-US warmongering,but above all China should stop its domineering and aggressive stance on the Spratly issue” the Makabayan solon said. ###
Friday, June 17, 2011
Tribong Subanen sa Zamboanga del Norte nagreklamo sa United Nations
Subanen to raise mining complaint to UN
16-Jun-11, Rio Rose Uro
Source: InterAksyon.com
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines – Notwithstanding the apology of a Canadian mining firm for operating within their ancestral domain, leaders of the Subanen tribe in Zamboanga del Norte said they would continue their efforts to hold government accountable before the United Nations for allowing the desecration of what they consider sacred ground.
The tribe held a “cleansing ritual” in Siocon town last month after TVI Resources Development apologized to them.
But Timuay Noval Lambo of the Seven Rivers Council, a traditional governance setup encompassing several tribal territories, said the atonement of TVIRD does not matter because their complaint before the UN “is for violations of the Philippine government against our rights, customs and traditions.”
In July 2007, two Subanen leaders filed a complaint against the Philippine government before the UN’s Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (UNCERD) for taking their community’s rights for granted by allowing the TVIRD mining project on Mt. Canatuan.
Cathal Doyle of the Irish Human Rights Center, which is assisting the Subanen leaders, said the category of discrimination in this case pertains to government policies that are discriminatory to indigenous peoples.
“We are not imposing (any) penalty nor requiring government to conduct a cleansing ritual. We are (only) asking (for) an admission of their fault and commitment to protect the rights of indigenous peoples, first and foremost,” explained Timuay Jose Anoy, one of the complainants.
TVIRD has a 508-hectare gold-silver and, later, copper-zinc mining operation in Canatuan covered by a Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) granted by the national government in 1997.
This mining tenement sits within the 8,100-hectare ancestral domain of the descendants of Apo Manglang headed by Anoy.
Called the Apo Manglang Glupa Pusaka (AMGP), this tribal territory is covered by a certificate of ancestral domain title (CADT) issued by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP).
But TVIRD commenced operation in Canatuan without the AMGP’s consent, which is required under the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA).
Worse, the NCIP allegedly constituted a bogus Siocon Council of Elders (SCoE) to represent the tribe in negotiations with TVIRD, sowing division among the Subanen people.
“The government, through the NCIP, is primarily responsible for the chaotic situation in the Subanon community of Canatuan,” Anoy said.
He claimed the NCIP recognized the bogus SCoE “despite their knowledge that I existed as Timuay of Canatuan.”
“TVIRD recognized and secured the consent to mine sacred Mt. Canatuan from the SCoE on the grounds that NCIP told them to do so,” Anoy added.
The Subanens’ UNCERD complaint is among the 40 documented cases of violation of indigenous peoples’ rights throughout the country, the bulk of which are related to the entry of large-scale mining projects that mostly impinged on the tribes’ ancestral domains, Doyle said.
Indigenous peoples advocate Carl Cesar Rebuta said government is obliged to answer the Subanens’ UNCERD complaint by August this year.
16-Jun-11, Rio Rose Uro
Source: InterAksyon.com
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines – Notwithstanding the apology of a Canadian mining firm for operating within their ancestral domain, leaders of the Subanen tribe in Zamboanga del Norte said they would continue their efforts to hold government accountable before the United Nations for allowing the desecration of what they consider sacred ground.
The tribe held a “cleansing ritual” in Siocon town last month after TVI Resources Development apologized to them.
But Timuay Noval Lambo of the Seven Rivers Council, a traditional governance setup encompassing several tribal territories, said the atonement of TVIRD does not matter because their complaint before the UN “is for violations of the Philippine government against our rights, customs and traditions.”
In July 2007, two Subanen leaders filed a complaint against the Philippine government before the UN’s Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (UNCERD) for taking their community’s rights for granted by allowing the TVIRD mining project on Mt. Canatuan.
Cathal Doyle of the Irish Human Rights Center, which is assisting the Subanen leaders, said the category of discrimination in this case pertains to government policies that are discriminatory to indigenous peoples.
“We are not imposing (any) penalty nor requiring government to conduct a cleansing ritual. We are (only) asking (for) an admission of their fault and commitment to protect the rights of indigenous peoples, first and foremost,” explained Timuay Jose Anoy, one of the complainants.
TVIRD has a 508-hectare gold-silver and, later, copper-zinc mining operation in Canatuan covered by a Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) granted by the national government in 1997.
This mining tenement sits within the 8,100-hectare ancestral domain of the descendants of Apo Manglang headed by Anoy.
Called the Apo Manglang Glupa Pusaka (AMGP), this tribal territory is covered by a certificate of ancestral domain title (CADT) issued by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP).
But TVIRD commenced operation in Canatuan without the AMGP’s consent, which is required under the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA).
Worse, the NCIP allegedly constituted a bogus Siocon Council of Elders (SCoE) to represent the tribe in negotiations with TVIRD, sowing division among the Subanen people.
“The government, through the NCIP, is primarily responsible for the chaotic situation in the Subanon community of Canatuan,” Anoy said.
He claimed the NCIP recognized the bogus SCoE “despite their knowledge that I existed as Timuay of Canatuan.”
“TVIRD recognized and secured the consent to mine sacred Mt. Canatuan from the SCoE on the grounds that NCIP told them to do so,” Anoy added.
The Subanens’ UNCERD complaint is among the 40 documented cases of violation of indigenous peoples’ rights throughout the country, the bulk of which are related to the entry of large-scale mining projects that mostly impinged on the tribes’ ancestral domains, Doyle said.
Indigenous peoples advocate Carl Cesar Rebuta said government is obliged to answer the Subanens’ UNCERD complaint by August this year.
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