Kins of
massacre victims lead kickoff
of
NorthMin rights caravan to ManilaCAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, 21 October 2015—Kins of Bugna and the Pangantucan Massacres fatalities led the kickoff program of the Manilakbayan ng Mindanao 2015 in
Hermenio Samia Jr—son of Pangantucan massacre victim
Hermenio Samia Sr—is journeying with three other relatives from Barangay Mendis
to Manila to press for justice for their five family members who were killed on
August 18. “We promised to our family that we would seek justice no matter what
hardships we might encounter,” Samia said. “The Manilakbayan will be just one
among many journeys we are willing to take to achieve this.” “We have for so
long demanded that the Special Forces Batallion, the ‘massacre batallion’ under
Col. Nasser Lidasan be held accountable,” said Kalumbay Chairperson Jomorito
Goaynon. “The Pangantucan 5 had not been their first massacre. The relatives of
the victims of the Bugna massacre which happened earlier this year are also
here with us.
There had been a barrage of accusations coming from the
military and some government institutions that the victims of the massacres,
and many of the rights violations committed against indigenous communities,
were members or supporters of the New People’s Army (NPA).
“Here are the peoples they have accused to be rebels,”
said Goaynon. “It is very easy for the government to put our demands aside
because we are far. So, here we are, once more marching towards them. And we
are marching as we are in our communities, without guns but with our
determination to assert our rights.” Other members of the Northern
Mindanao contingent include members of the Manobo community under
the Tribal Indigenous Oppressed Group Association (Tindoga) in Bukidnon, and
the Higaonon organization Pangalasag. Both organizations are fighting against
monocrop plantations in their ancestral domains.
Representatives from the communities that had been forced
to evacuate because of harassments and threats they are subjected to during
military operations have also joined the caravan. Individuals and organizations
that advocate human rights make up the rest of the delegates.
The Manilakbayan ng Mindanao 2015 The Lumad communities
are continuing their legitimate assertion for their right to their ancestral
lands, right to self-determination, and right to practice their traditions and
culture. For four years now, representatives from the Lumad communities join
other sectors in a yearly caravan to the country’s capital to bring to the seat
of political and economic power their issues. Dubbed ‘Manilakbayan,’ the
peoples’ caravan is a series of activities that not only seek the government’s
attention but also aim at raising the awareness of the rest of the country
about the Lumad’s struggles.
This year’s focal call is to “Stop the Attacks on our
Schools, Communities, and People! Support the people’s resistance to
militarization and plunder in MindaNow!” The 120 human rights victims and
advocates from the region will be joining more than five hundred other
delegates from all over Mindanao . Bigger than
the previous years’ caravans, this delegation will be joined by support groups
and individuals from the regions it will be passing through. The total number
of participants of the caravan is expected to reach as much as 1,200
individuals by the time it reaches the National Capital Region.
The Manilakbayan 2015 will be setting up two major
Kampuhan (People’s Camp
Out Philippines
Manilakbayan 2015 organizing groups from the region
includes Kalumbay and the Northern Mindanao chapters of Karapatan, Panalipdan
Mindanao Youth and the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines