COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 10, 2009) – Government troops arrested seven people they accused of having links with a wanted Muslim rebel leader in the southern Philippines, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) reported on Tuesday.
The Hong Kong-based AHRC said the arrest was illegal and that the workers were neither working for Moro Islamic Liberation Front commander Ameril Kato nor involve in any rebel group.
The soldiers accused the men of constructing a house for Kato in North Cotabato’s Midsayap town. But this was denied by the AHRC, which quoted a report submitted by the Task Force Detainees of the Philippines, and said those arrested are heads of families from nearby municipalities who had to work in the construction industry to earn money to support their respective families.
The men were arrested on March 1 after troops, backed by helicopters, swooped down in the area. The AHRC identified those arrested as Johnny Tugan, 51 years old; Salik Ameril, 27; Malik Guinaludin and four others, known only by their aliases, Espaik, Said, Dats and Patutin, at their worksite in the village of Lomopog.
The group, all of whom are Muslims, were working for a local engineer for the expansion of an elementary school, it said.
“While the group was working, five helicopters, carrying soldiers attached to the 40th Infantry Battalion of Philippine Army and Scout Rangers, landed near their worksite. But as they hovered over the area, a soldier from inside the helicopter opened fired at them using an M60 machine gun. The gun fire lasted for a minute and prompted the frightened workers to flee in different directions for safety; soon after the soldiers landed in the area,” the AHRC said.
It added: “After being fired upon, the soldiers, numbering about 35, rounded up the workers and took them inside a classroom where they were held. When the group tried to explain raising their hands and telling the soldiers that they were merely construction workers, they were ignored. They were instead ordered to lie down facing the ground with their hands on their backs. While in that position, the soldiers had their hands handcuffed with plastic wire and blindfolded them with adhesive tape. The soldiers then repeatedly kicked and punched them.”
One of the victims, Tugan, recalled having been kicked and hit to his left chest and back. The soldiers, too, had them questioned to force them into admitting that they were members of the MILF under Kato.
The soldiers claimed that they were constructing the house of the rebel leader, but the workers denied they neither were members of any rebel force nor knew anything about it. However, the victims repeatedly told the soldiers that they were not constructing a house for Kato’s or members of his rebel group.
The AHRC said that for five hours, the workers were not allowed to leave from the bench where they ordered to sit for four hours. After which, they were taken to a solar drier where they were told to lie facing to the ground.
“As they were lying it rained heavily. But the soldiers, instead of taking them out from the field to prevent them from being drench, made them remain where they were for two hours,” it said.
It was only on March 2 that the soldiers had their handcuffs removed. The soldiers told them to eat their leftovers. For about 18 hours they were not given water to drink.
Sariya Ali, the village head, came to the rescue of the men and freed them. She also accompanied the victims to a local police station to file a complaint about the abuse.
But the police investigator on duty refused to register their complaints, telling them that they had no jurisdiction over the case since the incident took place in the area occupied by the military. The unidentified policeman, nevertheless, took their names without explaining to them the reason for doing so.
The AHRC said it is also writing letters to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture calling for his intervention, saying, the soldiers responsible for torturing, illegally arresting and detaining the victims should be held to account. And the police officer, who refused to register the victims’ complaint, should also be investigated by way of having him identified as well as the police station where he is attached.
There was no immediate statement from the military about the allegations, but militant groups and human rights activists have previously accused soldiers of violating civil rights of citizens in Mindanao, where security forces are battling Muslim and communist insurgents. (Mindanao Examiner)
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