Amnesty PH urges gov’t: Probe death of ‘Negros 19’
Amnesty International Philippines on Wednesday called for an independent investigation into a series of armed encounters, including the April 19 clashes in Toboso, Negros Occidental that left 19 people dead, as it noted that decades of government counter-insurgency operations have failed to protect noncombatants.
“It is shocking that after almost 60 years of the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ counter-insurgency measures against the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA), it is still failing to protect civilians caught in the crossfire or prevent communities from being displaced,” Ritz Lee Santos, III, Amnesty PH section director, said in a statement.
The group urged the administration to provide protection for at-risk individuals and to immediately launch prompt, independent and impartial investigations into all killings.
Amnesty PH also called for the endorsement of the Human Rights Defenders Protection Bill, an end to “Red-tagging” practices and stronger action to stop what it described as the continued killing of youth engaged in advocacy for social justice and human rights.
“The AFP must take accountability for the civilian deaths in Toboso and elsewhere. The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac) must be abolished for fostering a climate of fear among civilians, human rights defenders, and journalists alike,” it added.
The AFP has tagged as members of the NPA the “Negros 19”—the 19 individuals killed in a series of clashes with government troops in Toboso, Negros Occidental, on April 19.
Failure to differentiate
Among the fatalities were University of the Philippines students Alyssa Alano and Maureen Santuyo, community journalist RJ Ledesma, Filipino-American activists Lyle Prijoles and Kai Sorem, and two minors.
“The government’s counter-insurgency policy has failed to differentiate between NPA fighters and activists and human rights defenders belonging to legal organizations,” Amnesty PH said.
It also expressed alarm over similar incidents reported in Samar and Zamboanga, saying human rights defenders and community leaders may also be at risk due to the government’s failure to clearly distinguish between armed rebels and members of legitimate civil society organizations.
According to the Philippine Army, two suspected NPA rebels were killed in an encounter with government troops in Samar on April 24.
The 8th Infantry Division said the clash was part of ongoing operations in Eastern Visayas intended to weaken insurgent groups associated with the CPP-NPA.
A rights group earlier also demanded an independent probe into a joint police and military operation in Zamboanga City that left three individuals dead, including a 12-year-old boy, amid claims of human rights violations.
The Mindanao-based interfaith group Moro-Christian Peoples Alliance denounced the April 23 pre-dawn raid in Sitio Alas-as, Barangay Sinunuc, calling it a “massacre” instead of a legitimate encounter.
