Human Rights

Read more about the article AFP strikes in Zambo threaten civilians – Human Rights Watch
A government soldier takes ready aim at a Zamboanga civilian while his comrade holds the latter down. The person came out of Lustre Street where government troops were pursuing off MNLF rebels. (davaotoday.com photo by John Rizle L. Saligumba)

AFP strikes in Zambo threaten civilians – Human Rights Watch

Brad Adams, Asia director of HRW reacted over this report. “Government forces should not be making blanket assumptions about whether individuals are rebels based on whether they have proper documents or not. Officials can check those leaving the conflict zone, but they need to ensure that civilians have safe passage and are not put at unnecessary risk.”

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Stranded in Davao, 33 Zambo debaters anxious to go home

“It’s frustrating how the government has handled the security, why the coasts weren’t secured and could not prevent the MNLF from entering, and how they are handling the situation right now. We don’t know what areas are safe, which roads are secured and which establishments are open,” a debater from the Ateneo de Zamboanga team said.

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Read more about the article Zamboanga siege displaces 62,000 civilians
With 44,000 people crowded at Joaquin Enriquez Sports Complex, some tents have reached the edge of the ground. (davaotoday.com photo by John Rizle L. Saligumba)

Zamboanga siege displaces 62,000 civilians

by JOHN RIZLE. L. SALIGUMBA Social Welfare Secretary Corazon “Dinky” Soliman said 62,000 people have fled from barangays affected with the standoff between government troops and the Moro National Liberation…

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Read more about the article Leader of Agusanon Manobos killed, hacked in front of children

Leader of Agusanon Manobos killed, hacked in front of children

Benjie Planos, a Bisaya settler living among the Manobos, and other leaders of KASAKA had been receiving death threats from the Philippine Army’s 26th Infantry Battalion and the paramilitary group Bagani. the militarization, KASAKA leaders said, is linked with the entry of New Britain Palm Oil Ltd, which is eyeing KASAKA’s ancestral domain.

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Read more about the article “It can happen to any of us” says “convicted” editor
SunStar Davao editor-in-chief Stella Estremera

“It can happen to any of us” says “convicted” editor

“It can happen to any of us. Even because of a mere police story. As long as someone wants to silence you.” So says multi-awarded journalist and editor-in-chief Stella Estremera after a trial court found her and former publisher Antonio Ajero guilty of libel for publishing an alleged one-sided news article 10 years ago.

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