Human Rights Abuses will be Addressed in Sulu Faster Now.

The prayers of various Civil Society Organizations from within and without Sulu have finally been answered. Today, May 27, 2014, the First Human Rights Monitoring Center has made its launching in Sulu.

The Center is at the Polar Building, 3rd floor, Buyon Street, Jolo, Sulu.

One of the important elements of robust community is the presence of the protectors or defenders of the human rights. I think, this part must be given the greatest attention by the National government, especially for Sulu.

But then again, "baka ma-Cocoy ka!" is the catch phrase. Cocoy Tulawie, a great defender of Human Rights in Sulu, is now in jail (possibly because of precisely being a defender of Human Rights). Mr Tulawie is waiting for the court's Judgment regarding his case.

And then again, the spirit of Cocoy Tulawie has actually live on among the hearts of the Tausug. Mr Nelson Mukarram, RN is now leading the advocacy of Bawgbug in Sulu. Sir Nelson is also a member of BassaKao Inc.

Majority has accepted that, and we are known worldwide for it, Sulu is where the unsolved kidnapping cases abound. Sulu is painted so very badly by the world media because of that, but of course, that is not the whole story.

The 700,000 Tausug should not be going down the drain just becuase the few hundreds are involved in the shady business of kidnapping.

Mexico City actually fares worse than our province in terms of unprecedented cases of lawlessness and frequent disruption of the rule of law. And yet . . . .

And so, If Sulu were truly that bad and unpredictable, then, there must be a greater need for Human Rights advocates to balance the equilibrium. The HR workers protect all that are affected with human rights abuses.

After long years of waiting, finally, they are here. The CHR has launched at the center of the town of Jolo today. Their Monitoring center is officially opened today, with its office at the Polar Building, 3rd floor, Buyon Street, Jolo, Sulu.

The important event is witnessed by all stakeholders of peace in Sulu.

But the Deputy Officer of the Sulu Provincial Police, PSUPT Oscar Nantez believes otherwise, especially on the part of PNP.

The PNP is already amenable to the HR laws and trying their best to implement the same, he said.

He said that the PNP as an organization is already well-trained to help redress HR violations done against any person.

He added, however, that the CHR in Sulu is also good because the victims now have an alternative means of redress, in case they would be thinking twice to coordinate or not with the PNP in Sulu.

The Commissioner Jose Manuel Mamauag of the CHR Philippines expressed joy that the HR services would now be accessible even to the grassroots as far as Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

He specially believes that Sulu more than any province needs the participation of the HR workers and the communities to effect peace and prosperity in Sulu.

He said that the HR Monitoring Center in Sulu would not only accept human rights cases, but also take charge on the increase campaigns of HR awareness educating the people of their Human Rights.

People must also learn to participate in the development process of the community, he said, because consultation and participation are two important elements of progress and development.

The Head of BaSulta subregional office of the RHRC, Atty Edy Lynn Santiago said that this is a dream come true for the CSOs who took pains in requesting for HR services to come down to the grassroots. This is an answered prayer, she said.

She also recognized, she said, that ZC is a far place and not easily accessible, so when the victims should need immediate action, the CHR must be closer to the place of action.

She believes that the establishment of the HR Center in Sulu is very timely.

For his part, Dr Raden Ikbala, the head of the United Sultanate Movement, said that he is happy and thankful about the Monitoring Center.

Dr Ikbala also contended that Sulu had been neglected for a long time by the government. But now, the coming of the CHR to Sulu is a welcome development.

He wished to be of help to the Martial Law human rights violations.

The Mayor of Jolo, Hon Hussin Amin is very supportive of the launching of the CHR in Sulu.

He insisted, however, that there is no human rights violation in the Jolo proper, but he could not talk for the other municipalities. But in any case, this Monitoring Center could now serve as the "Watchdog" for human right abuses in the entire Sulu, he added.

Pag-ukab sin Human Rights Commision Monitoring Center ha Jolo

Hambuuk Commissioner sin Commission on Human Rights in nagdihil hilalaungan kaina ha pag-ukab sin kauna-unahan upis sin Human Rights ha Lupa' Sug.

Siya hi Hon Jose Manuel Mamamuag (amun ha patta).

Laung niya in participation, documentation iban reporting sin basic standards of human rights subay siya dahun pa kababaan bat maluhay in tau karungugan. Pagmisuwara kunu iban panglamuri in duwa mahalga element sin kasambuhan.

In Human Rights Office ha Sug kunu', laung pa niya, bukun adja ini magtabuk manga human rights cases. Pakusugun da isab nila in pagpamahalayak iban paghimati ha mga mahadjana sin Lupa' Sug bang unu in kapatut nila bilang manusiya.

In jimajatu kunu' sambat pa niya ha Sug biyaun, mataud kalingugan iban kulang in kasambuhan, ha biyadtu, timuman tuud in pagbutang sin Center ini.

Subay kunu' tuud awn panghati sin tau iban lagi subay sila lamud ha pagbissara ha halan kasambuhan.

Piyudji ra isab niya in RHRC ha pasalan pagda nila pa Lupa' Sug sin Center ha supaya kaluhayan na in manga tau iban kasuukan na magbayta sin manga kasusahn nila.

The Moment I Wake Up!

Don't Bomb Civilian Communities -- CSO

I am a resident of Jolo, Sulu. All my life, I had never been interested in politics. Being a Muslim, I am slightly fatalistic by nature. “What the hell,” I say, “as long as I can satisfy my hungry stomach three times a day and have a simple normal life, then to hell with all the sufferings around the world!”

But my recent involvement in a Civil Society Organization makes me furious about what the military is doing to my native place. The CSO assigned me to visit some areas of conflict in Sulu like (a) Ipil, Maimbung; (b) Marang, Indanan; and (c) Sitio Tandu Pukut, Indanan.


In these places, I realized that there are atrocities committed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) against my beloved Sulu and its people.

All in the name of their pursuit of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), they are actually destroying the lives of the civilians, incapacitating them to have an honest and productive living. Let me explain.

First, in Ipil, Maimbung, the AFP assaulted sleeping civilians killing eight people, including a woman and children on February 04, 2008. They said that the operation was legitimate, a result of five months of surveillance activities to rescue the kidnapped victim, Rosalinda Lao. But the AFP did not find the ASG.

Second, in Marang, Indanan last April 30, the AFP’s bombardment of a place a kilometer away from the Moro National Liberation Front’s (MNLF) Camp Marang displaced thousands of civilians. They even pointed to a civilian’s house as being a “bomb-making factory” of the ASG. The strike that they conducted did not kill any ASG member. It was only successful in instilling fear among the civilians. It could also be just a mere provocation for MNLF soldiers to fight so that Chairman Nur Misuari would be thrown back to jail.

Lastly, in Sitio Tandu Pukut, Indanan on June 15, 2008, the AFP sent four rocket launcher grenade and 23 howitzer cannons to a civilian community. Their purported aim was to decimate the ASG in nearby Subah Timahu. Sulu Governor Abdulsakur Tan had actually given permission to the AFP to conduct the bombardment. When we went to the area, I realized that it was not the ASG that they intimidated, but the woman and children and other civilians in the area.

I have documentation to prove these atrocities.

As I interviewed the civilian victims, I almost cried with dismay. Their small farms were destroyed; their coconut and banana trees uprooted; their fishing boats reduced to smithereens. The fear and shock in women’s and children’s eyes were evident.

So, what is the AFP’s business here in Sulu? Do they really want the Tausug to have peace? They are the Peacekeepers, they say. Moreover, are the Tausug politicians concerned about the welfare of their constituents? What have they done to alleviate the poor people’s sufferings and miseries?

If the Tausug people do not unite to have a one strong voice against the connivance of these people in power, I don’t know what would become of our race.

Posted by Bulatlat

Sentiments of the Civilians

Mrs. Hanina Abdusali, a six-month evacuee to the area, is still shocked and traumatized with the incident that gives her sleepless night. She said that she would immediately run for cover whenever she heard a strange sound. Ms. Abdusali was a native place of Batu, Itum, Barangay Alu, Parang, Sulu. She went to Tandu Pukut, Siyunugan because she believed in the relative safety of the place.

“We fled from danger to a more dangerous place,” she said in Tausug.


One of the wounded, Mrs. Biya Bahari, when asked why she brought her appliances to the Hja. Mariam’s warehouse said that she was only taking precaution against looting as it was their experience that whenever a military offensive was done to their place, the military had a penchant of looting their belongings.

Children’s right to education is also jeopardized. A Bato-bato Elementary School annex, which served grade 1 and 2 pupils in the community, had been closed since the incident happened. The pupils are now scattered to nearby elementary schools which are miles away from the place. Some children have to walk four (4) miles to Bato-bato just to attend to their classes. Other children choose to stop from going to school because of the incident.

Fishermen who rely on their fishing boats for sustenance of their families are also angry and call for redress of their grievances and indemnification. Some thirty (30) boats were damaged.

The owner of a bombarded small cassava farm asked, “What will happen to me, to my family after the incident? I rely solely on this farm for my family sustenance. Is there still hope that this land which I till for years produced good harvest after it has been destroyed by this chemicals from cannons?”

Mr. Kasim Hasim and other civilians asked for the help of the Sulu Governor Sakur Tan and the Vice Governor Lady Ann Sahidulla.

Bulatlat Honors my First Post

AFP Attacks Civilian Community in Sulu

A Call to Stop Bombing Civilian Communities in 2008.

BY NTA
DEMOCRATIC SPACE
Posted by Bulatlat
Vol. VIII, No. 20, June 22-28, 2008

I am NTA, a resident of Jolo, Sulu. All my life, I had never been
interested in politics. Being a Muslim, I am slightly fatalistic by
nature. “What the hell,” I say, “as long as I can satisfy my hungry
stomach three times a day and have a simple normal life, then to hell with all
the sufferings around the world!”


But my recent involvement in a Civil Society Organization makes me furious
about what the military is doing to my native place. The CSO assigned me to
visit some areas of conflict in Sulu like (a) Ipil, Maimbung; (b) Marang,
Indanan; and (c) Sitio Tandu Pukut, Indanan.

In these places, I realized that there are atrocities committed by the Armed
Forces of the Philippines (AFP) against my beloved Sulu and its people.

All in the name of their pursuit of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), they are
actually destroying the lives of the civilians, incapacitating them to have an
honest and productive living. Let me explain.

First, in Ipil, Maimbung, the AFP assaulted sleeping civilians killing eight
people, including a woman and children on February 04, 2008. They said that
the operation was legitimate, a result of five months of surveillance
activities
to rescue the kidnapped victim, Rosalinda Lao. But the AFP did not find the
ASG.

Second, in Marang, Indanan last April 30, the AFP’s bombardment of a place a
kilometer away from the Moro National Liberation Front’s (MNLF) Camp Marang
displaced thousands of civilians. They even pointed to a civilian’s house as
being a “bomb-making factory” of the ASG. The strike that they conducted
did not kill any ASG member. It was only successful in instilling fear among
the civilians. It could also be just a mere provocation for MNLF soldiers to
fight so that Chairman Nur Misuari would be thrown back to jail.

Lastly, in Sitio Tandu Pukut, Indanan on June 15, 2008, the AFP sent four
rocket launcher grenade and 23 howitzer cannons to a civilian community.
Their
purported aim was to decimate the ASG in nearby Subah Timahu. Sulu Governor
Abdulsakur Tan had actually given permission to the AFP to conduct the
bombardment. When we went to the area, I realized that it was not the ASG
that
they intimidated, but the woman and children and other civilians in the area.

I have documentation to prove these atrocities.

As I interviewed the civilian victims, I almost cried with dismay. Their small
farms were destroyed; their coconut and banana trees uprooted; their fishing
boats reduced to smithereens. The fear and shock in women’s and children’s
eyes were evident.

So, what is the AFP’s business here in Sulu? Do they really want the Tausug
to have peace? They are the Peacekeepers, they say. Moreover, are the Tausug
politicians concerned about the welfare of their constituents? What have they
done to alleviate the poor people’s sufferings and miseries?

If the Tausug people do not unite to have a one strong voice against the
connivance of these people in power, I don’t know what would become of our
race. Posted by Bulatlat

AFP Shells Sleeping Civilians

CSO calls for ceasation of Hostilities in 2008.

I am a resident of Jolo, Sulu. All my life, I had never been interested in politics. Being a Muslim, I am slightly fatalistic by nature. “What the hell,” I say, “as long as I can satisfy my hungry stomach three times a day and have a simple normal life, then to hell with all the sufferings around the world!”

But my recent involvement in a Civil Society Organization makes me furious about what the military is doing to my native place. The CSO assigned me to visit some areas of conflict in Sulu like (a) Ipil, Maimbung; (b) Marang, Indanan; and (c) Sitio Tandu Pukut, Indanan.

At these unlikely places, I realized that there are atrocities committed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) against my beloved Sulu and its people.

All in the name of their pursuit of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), they are actually destroying the lives of the civilians, incapacitating them to have an honest and productive living. Let me explain.

First, in Ipil, Maimbung, the AFP assaulted sleeping civilians that killed eight people, including woman and children on February 04, 2008. They said that the operation was legitimate as a result of five months of surveillance activities to rescue the kidnapped victim, Rosalinda Lao. But the AFP did not find the ASG, but the armed wary group believed to have a feud with people in nearby areas. The operations therefore had become the fulfillment of the vendetta of a military intelligent or agent.

Second, In Marang, Indanan last April 30, 2008, the AFP’s bombardment of a place a kilometer away from the MNLF’s Camp Marang displaced thousands of civilians. They even accused a civilian’s house as a “bomb-making factory” of the ASG. The surgical strike that they conducted did not kill any ASG members. It was only successful in instilling fear into the civilian’s heart. It could also be just a mere provocation for MNLF soldiers to fight so that Chairman Misuari would be thrown back to jail after being been bailed out of jail just recently.

Lastly, in Sitio Tandu Pukut, Indanan on June 15, 2008, the AFP sent four rocket launcher grenade and 23 howitzer cannons to a civilian community. Their rationale was that to decimate the ASG in nearby Subah Timahu. Sulu Governor Sakur Tan had actually given permission to the AFP to conduct the bombardment. Sad to note, when we went to the area, I realized that it was not the ASG that they intimidated, but the woman and children and other honest-living folks in the area.

I have documentation to prove the reality of these atrocities.

As I interviewed the civilian victims, I almost cried of dismay. Their small farms were destroyed; their coconut and banana trees uprooted; their fishing boats reduced to smithereens. The fear and shock in women and children eyes were evident.

So, what is AFP’s business here in Sulu? Do they really want the Tausug to have peace? They are the Peace Keepers, they say. Moreover, are the Tausug politicians concerned about the welfare of their constituents? What have they done to alleviate the poor people sufferings and miseries?

If the Tausug people do not unite to have a one strong voice against the connivance of these people in power, I don’t know what would become of our race.

Fellow CSO! Remember that in truth, there is power. Unity is power.