DAVAO CITY – Human rights group Karapatan here said a group of armed men attempted to forcibly enter their office at around 7:00 pm Monday.
Hanimay Suazo, secretary general of Karapatan, reported in a text message to Davao Today around 8pm last night (April 27) that armed men wanted to enter their office.
“Anytime pwede nilang i-ransack ang office ug dunay buhaton nga mga dautan sa mga staff ug sa mga biktima sa HR (human rights) violations nga naka-sanctuaryo sa maong opisina. Patabang mi sa media ug sa mga higala nga makaresponde sa kini nga kahimtang (Anytime they could ransack the office and do harm to our staff and the victims of human rights violations who are seeking sanctuary with us. We are asking for help from media and friends to respond to the situation),” Suazo said in the text message.
The victims who were in the office that time were said to be victims of human rights violations from Paquibato District.
Some of the group’s staff have just arrived from a protest action held an hour before the incident happened, Suazo said.
“The armed men want to get inside our office and were it not for our office mates who stopped them from entering our premises, they (armed men) could have done something worse,” said Suazo.
One of the staff immediately reported the incident to the police for security assistance.
Suazo said the incident is a form of harassment and called it a criminal act.
The group also alleged that the military is behind the incident.
“The military wants to inflict fear to silence us. Our staff can identify those armed men. We just have to confirm the information as of the moment,” Suazo said. (davaotoday.com)
