(Photo by Carlo Malansan)
DAVAO CITY, Philippines – The Salinlahi Alliance for Children’s Concerns on Sunday condemned the death of a Grade 6 pupil inside a Mosque in Marawi.
“(There is) no safe place in Marawi and Mindanao for children under Martial Law, even in a sacred place like a Mosque,” said Eule Rico Bonganay, secretary-general of Salinlahi in a statement.
The victim, 14-year old Abdillah Masid , was praying inside a Mosque in Marawi last Friday, June 9, when hit by a stray bullet from what was believed by authorities as sniper from the Maute group.
“We are saddened that even children are not spared by terror and human rights violations,” Bonganay added.
Salinlahi also echoed the calls of Marawi residents to President Rodrigo Duterte to stop the airstrikes that displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians.
Thousands are still trapped inside the devastated city, the group added.
Data provided by the Humanitarian Emergency Action and Response Team of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM-HEART) said that as of June 8, a total of 47,957 families or 239,887 individuals are already affected by the continuing ground operations and airstrikes in Marawi.
In the same period, the data said around 22,222 students from elementary up to college and 2,327 teachers are also affected by the continuing war.
“We reiterate our strong condemnation of the terror attacks made by the Maute group and we reaffirm our stand that Martial Law is not a solution to stop the decades-long armed resistance particularly in Moro areas in Mindanao,” Bonganay pointed out.
He said the civilians, particularly children are the most vulnerable and affected by the continuing firefight and airstrikes.
“Justice must be served to all children and their families who have been victimized by state-perpetrated human rights violations,” he added.
Bonganay also took note that more than 200,000 individuals from Marawi were already displaced as the government forces fail to arrest the most wanted terrorist in the country, Isnilon Hapilon.
Hapilon’s presence in Marawi during the start and the height of crisis was confirmed by authorities.
Bonganay added that Hapilon is believed to be the ISIS leader in Southeast Asia, a terrorist group allegedly trained and funded by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of US.
“We condemn both the US-instigated terror attacks and the continuing military airstrikes in Marawi City as well as in other parts of Mindanao,” he stressed.
Salinlahi will join the upcoming National Interfaith Humanitarian Mission on June 13-16, 2017 in some parts of Marawi City, Davao del Sur and North Cotabato.
The humanitarian mission will be led by the group Kalinaw Mindanao.
Bonganay said Salinlahi, during the humanitarian mission, will work with its member institution, the Children’s Rehabilitation Center (CRC), to document human rights violations perpetrated against children and provide psycho-social first aid for them. (davaotoday.com)
