PASAKA
Confederation of Lumad Organizations in Southern Mindanao
c/o Diakonia Center , IFI Compound, F. Torres St. , Davao City ; Contact telephone #s: 305-0824; CP #: 0929-2658967
PRESS RELEASE
November 13, 2007
Lumads support second impeachment complaint against the president
“Mrs. Arroyo deserves every impeachment case lobbed against her. And the two cases filed against her this year alone only stress the fact that she has lost every credibility and ascendancy that a president should have,” said PASAKA Chairperson Mel Elio, a lumad from Bagobo tribe.
For PASAKA, supporting the impeachment call is based on two major reasons; that of heightened development aggression which has caused many lumad communities to lose their ancestral lands and be pushed to dire poverty; and militarization from which their people suffer from the state –perpetrated terror.
The PASAKA Confederation of Lumad Organizations in Southern Mindanao is the umbrella organization of 25 local lumad peoples’ organization representing various lumad tribes: Bagobo, Manobo, Mandaya, Mansaka, Agusanon, Tagbanwa, Matigsalug, B’laan, and Mangguangan tribes.
Mel Elio said that in the time of Mrs. Arroyo, the encroachment of mining companies in lumad communities have become more “rabid,” saying that out of the 32 priority mining projects of the Arroyo administration, 18 are in indigenous territories, six (6) of which can be found in Southern Mindanao.
Elio said that such pseudo- development projects come combined with militarization in order to quell the peoples’ resistance.
Elio said that the Ata-Manobos of Talaingod Davao Del Norte, a tribe that remains resistant to the destructive policies of the government, particularly that of massive logging, has been the target of grave militarization policies.
On March this year, aerial bombardments reportedly caused 1008 civilians to evacuate from the five sitios in Talaingod. While from October 2005 to January 2006, the military has been accused of hamletting for encamping within the civilian community of Talaingod.
“Military operations are motivated by the interest to force the Ata – Manobos into allowing the hydro-power plant that is to be constructed in their community. Also to blame is the all-out-war policy of the Arroyo administration which mocks the rights to self-determination of lumads and in general the democratic rights of people,” Elio said.
Elio added, “These anti-lumad, anti-people, anti-development policies of the Arroyo administration are strong bases for supporting the genuine impeachment complaint against Mrs. Arroyo. The truth in the peoples’ experiences is more than enough testimony to prove that she has betrayed public trust and her office.” ###
For Reference:
Mel Elio
PASAKA Chairperson
Confederation of Lumad Organizations in Southern Mindanao
c/o Diakonia Center , IFI Compound, F. Torres St. , Davao City ; Contact telephone #s: 305-0824; CP #: 0929-2658967
PRESS RELEASE
November 13, 2007
Lumads support second impeachment complaint against the president
“Mrs. Arroyo deserves every impeachment case lobbed against her. And the two cases filed against her this year alone only stress the fact that she has lost every credibility and ascendancy that a president should have,” said PASAKA Chairperson Mel Elio, a lumad from Bagobo tribe.
For PASAKA, supporting the impeachment call is based on two major reasons; that of heightened development aggression which has caused many lumad communities to lose their ancestral lands and be pushed to dire poverty; and militarization from which their people suffer from the state –perpetrated terror.
The PASAKA Confederation of Lumad Organizations in Southern Mindanao is the umbrella organization of 25 local lumad peoples’ organization representing various lumad tribes: Bagobo, Manobo, Mandaya, Mansaka, Agusanon, Tagbanwa, Matigsalug, B’laan, and Mangguangan tribes.
Mel Elio said that in the time of Mrs. Arroyo, the encroachment of mining companies in lumad communities have become more “rabid,” saying that out of the 32 priority mining projects of the Arroyo administration, 18 are in indigenous territories, six (6) of which can be found in Southern Mindanao.
Elio said that such pseudo- development projects come combined with militarization in order to quell the peoples’ resistance.
Elio said that the Ata-Manobos of Talaingod Davao Del Norte, a tribe that remains resistant to the destructive policies of the government, particularly that of massive logging, has been the target of grave militarization policies.
On March this year, aerial bombardments reportedly caused 1008 civilians to evacuate from the five sitios in Talaingod. While from October 2005 to January 2006, the military has been accused of hamletting for encamping within the civilian community of Talaingod.
“Military operations are motivated by the interest to force the Ata – Manobos into allowing the hydro-power plant that is to be constructed in their community. Also to blame is the all-out-war policy of the Arroyo administration which mocks the rights to self-determination of lumads and in general the democratic rights of people,” Elio said.
Elio added, “These anti-lumad, anti-people, anti-development policies of the Arroyo administration are strong bases for supporting the genuine impeachment complaint against Mrs. Arroyo. The truth in the peoples’ experiences is more than enough testimony to prove that she has betrayed public trust and her office.” ###
For Reference:
Mel Elio
PASAKA Chairperson
posted by Solidarity Action Group for Indigenous Peoples at 5:15 AM
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