DAVAO CITY – The human rights group Karapatan urged the government to dismantle private armies and paramilitary groups saying they have been inflicting human rights violations against the indigenous communities.
Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay said that as early as 2002 they have already documented cases of human rights violations involving Alamara, a paramilitary group in Davao del Norte.
On the recent police “rescue” of evacuees housed in the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) Haran here last July 23, Palabay said “Alamara was used to complement the local police and military to force the evacuees to return to their homes.”
Palabay said “Alamara is forcibly recruiting indigenous people into their group,” causing more IPs to evacuate from their lands.(davaotoday.com)
