DAVAO CITY – A national group composed of different churches said they will launch an international campaign to assist in the plight of indigenous communities and schools in Mindanao.
The National Council of Churches in the Philippines said the teachers from Save Our Schools Network (SOSN) decried the deliberate efforts of the military to vilify their schools as “NPA schools” in a forum in Manila.
In a press release, the NCCP said forum speakers relayed that “the military threatened their teachers and harassed pupils and parents.”
“At the forum the SOSN representatives narrated their harrowing experiences of harassment, threats and intimidation in the hands of the military,” said the NCCP.
The teachers, said the NCCP, “also explained the connection between the plight of the schools with the other violations of human rights in indigenous people’s communities.”
“They said all these human rights violations are results of the indigenous people’s resistance to development aggression in their areas,” the NCCP said.
The NCCP said it approved a statement entitled “An Appeal for Solidarity” during the forum which the Stop the Killing of Indigenous People Network (SKIPNet) will circulate. (davaotoday.com)
