DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Hundreds of Moro and Lumad delegations coming from Mindanao will mount a national caravan leading to National Capital Region to air their issues, specifically on their right to self-determination and the call for just peace.
Dubbed as the Lakbayan ng Pambansang Minorya para sa Sariling Pagpapasya at Makatarungang Kapayapaan (Journey of the National Minorities for Self-Determination and Just Peace), delegates from Mindanao will be joined by different Indigenous Peoples from Luzon.
In an interview Thursday, Kerlan Fanagel, chairperson of the Pasaka Lumad Confederation in Mindanao, said their group will engage with different agencies in NCR to forward their issues and concerns affecting minority groups in Mindanao.
Pasaka, he said, will raise the issue of continued “militarization” of Lumad communities and the filing of what he called “trumped-up charges to the leaders and support groups” to the Department of Justice and the Department of National Defense.
The said caravan, according to Fanagel, will also be in support to the ongoing peace talks in Oslo, Norway which will be held on October 6 to October 10.
Fanagel said the caravan will officially commence on Saturday, October 8. The group will converge with other Lumad groups from Northern Luzon while in a march protest to heading to Mendiola in Manila.
University of the Philippines Diliman Campus will host the delegates until October 28. Fanagel said various activities will be conducted on a daily basis highlighting the issues of “national-wide alliance-organization of the national minorities.”
Other issues that will be discussed are the following: foreign independence, support to the ongoing peace talks, agrarian reform, national industrialization, among others.
“The national caravan demonstrates the unity of the national minorities to assert their right to self-determination – the right to fully control their land and resources, implement their own form of self-governance, and practice their culture, traditions and religion,” said Katribu Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas (KAMP), in a statement.
Calling it a “history,” KAMP is expecting the caravan will draw in more than 3,000 IPs and Moro people from across the country.
This year’s Lakbayan will be the third human rights caravan since 2014 but it will be the first time for other national minorities to join the activity. (davaotoday.com)
