Human rights group Karapatan-Southern Mindanao expresses deep concern over the fate of the two children who were hurt during the firefight between the government troops and the New People’s Army (NPA) in barangay (village) San Isidro, Monkayo in Compostela Valley Province, on April 26, Saturday.
The case of siblings Jinky Estancia, 9, and Rebecca Estancia, 6, manifests the ugly reality that affects civilians in the government’s illusion to end the armed rebellion via the all-out war solution.
When the State gives premium on deploying thousands of government troops and shamelessly using our hard earned tax money to militarize the countryside to solve rebellion, State-sponsored terrorism is systematically implemented.
History illustrates how the government’s war campaigns have taken its toll on the lives, rights and limbs of civilians like Jinky and Rebecca. Clearly, the government’s inutility to address the root causes of the Filipino people’s dire conditions — landlessness, massive poverty and foreign domination — has spawned the decades-old armed rebellion. The US-Arroyo regime’s continued sponsorship of terrorism and government neglect only fuel the civil war that is raging throughout the country.
Karapatan calls on the NPA to investigate the April 26 incident that injured two civilians during the armed encounter. Karapatan stresses on both parties of the armed conflict to ensure the safety of the civilians on the ongoing civil war in the country.
For Reference:
KELLY M. DELGADO
Secretary General
Karapatan-Southern Mindanao
Mobile Number: 09203500069
