Military

French flagship FNS Var on courtesy visit to Philippines

MANILA — French flagship FNS Var, headed by Commander Paul Massart is paying a goodwill visit to the Philippines from June 11th to 15th, 2007. The ship carries the commander of the French forces in Indian Ocean Maritime Zone Rear Admiral Jacques Launay. Rear Admiral Launay is set to pay courtesy calls on the Philippine authorities such as the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of National Defense, the Philippine Navy, the City of Manila and Manila Police Superintendent.
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Bayan Muna leader in Koronadal abducted

Jing Cardino

Gilbert Rey "Jing" Cardino was abducted at around 11 a.m. today at Crossing, Barrio 2, Koronadal City. At 27, he is the youngest member of Bayan Muna's national council. House Deputy Minority Leader and Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo quickly denounced the abduction and demanded that the military, whom he suspected of being behind the kidnapping, surface Cardino. Joel Virador, also a Bayan Muna congressman, urged Arroyo to order the military and the police to stop these enforced disappearances. "Without such an explicit, publicly stated order, more activists will either be killed or abducted," Virador said.

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Joker slams AFP for derailing human-rights bill

According to Senator Joker Arroyo, the military has lobbied for the junking in the House of Representatives of a bill that seeks to compensate victims of human rights violations during the Marcos dictatorship. The military, Arroyo said, fears that the money would just go to insurgents and rebel groups. In a privilege speech Monday, Arroyo said the military's lobbying "demeans and mocks the legislative process" because it shows that the "military can throw a monkey wrench even at the tail-end of congressional work." Read the rest of this story.

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Securing regional waters: How much progress?

At last week's 6th IISS Asian Security Summit in Singapore, top officials from Asian and Southeast Asian nations discussed maritime security. Defense secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. represented the Philippines. The summit was crucial for Mindanao because of its proximity to maritime areas that have been facing threats from terrorists and pirates. Read Ebdane's paper here, Sri Lanka's paper here, and Indonesia's paper here. You can also read a Q&A on the subject.

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Child advocates decry CHR decision on Grecil

They're urging for independent autopsy of Grecil's remains, particularly since there were traces of powder burns on the child's head -- an indication that she may have been shot at close range, the groups said.

The CHR, according to Kabiba, is ?passing the burden of proof to the victim and is trying to vindicate human-rights violators.? It added that the CHR?s conclusion -- that Grecil died in a crossfire during a legitimate encounter -- "is actually inconclusive because the CHR did not actually employ scientific and defensible probing methods like the conduct of autopsy.?


Lack of Merit? Grecil's parents, shown here during a press conference in Manila in April, have also filed charges against the soldiers before the courts and the ombudsman. (Photo by arkibongbayan.org)

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