Human Rights

Frustrated massacre of 4 NAMASUFA ? Anakpawis leaders in ComVal; Karapatan to conduct fact finding

Press Release
December 15, 2006

Frustrated massacre of 4 NAMASUFA ? Anakpawis leaders in ComVal; Karapatan to conduct fact finding

Karapatan condemns the frustrated massacre of four Nagkahiusang Mamumuo sa Suyapa Farms (NAMASUFA) leaders and active Anakpawis members in Compostela Valley Province today, December 15 at around 5:30 am.

Vicente Barrios, Aldrin Cortez, Donie Glen Sondon and Jerson Lastimoso, Chairman and members of NAMASUFA in ComVal Province, respectively, where shot by unidentified men while the 4 victims were on their way for work at the Fresh Banana Agricultural Corporation Packing Plant 90. The said victims were then rushed to the Davao Regional Hospital in Tagum City at 7:30 am, two are in critical condition.

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Last Son Alive

Fernando Alia Fernando Alia at the Davao Medical Center, the last of the Alia boys. (davaotoday.com photo by Cheryll D. Fiel)

Last week, Fernando Alia was near his home when somebody plunged an ice pick twice in his back. Although he survived, he doesn?t feel a bit lucky. Three other brothers had been stabbed to death in and around the Bankerohan public market, where butchers not only kill livestock. Their mother, Clarita Alia, is at her wit?s end dealing with these tragedies. Worse, they blame her for their misfortunes. Davao Today?s Cheryll D. Fiel reports.

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A Mother’s Plea, a City’s Madness

By Carlos H. Conde

Clarita AliaClarita Alia lost three of her children to the Davao Death Squad. Her youngest is fighting for his life.

The voice on the other end was trembling. ?Sir, I really need your help.? The voice ? soft, slightly stuttering, but harrowingly sad ? was one of the most heart-rending I?ve ever heard. ?My son has been stabbed,? the woman said, weeping now. ?We?re now at the DMC (Davao Medical Center) and we have no money for medicine, for food. Please have mercy on us.?

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‘2006 Worst Year for Human Rights in Davao Regions’

The Southern Mindanao office of the human-rights group Karapatan released today “The 2006 Human Rights Situation of Southern Mindanao.” The report detailed abuses, mainly by state security forces in the region, against civilians, activists, peasants and workers. This year, it said, “is the worst for human rights since the toppling of the Marcos fascist dictatorship in 1986.”

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