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Hundreds of residents evacuate in Samar
Hundreds of residents of five barangays of San Jorge, Samar have been forced to evacuate their homes since elements of the 34th IB intensified their abuses in March. The evacuees are from the villages of Sinit-an, Guadalupe, Hernandez, Bay-ang and Bungliw with a total population of 776. According to the residents, military violence against the barriofolk worsened after Red fighters of the NPA Arnulfo Ortiz Command staged a successful ambush on 34th IB troops.
A farmer couple living near the ambush site was killed after the military burned down their home a few days after the encounter. They were accused of involvement in the ambush.
Meanwhile, on March 9, suspected military men killed Sinit-an barangay captain Benito "Bening" Mabini. He had just replaced the former village chair Rolando Mabini, who had also been killed earlier.
Since then, villagers have been streaming out of their barangays. A fact-finding mission launched on April 7 by the San Jorge municipal council and other town officials revealed that the military has already been occupying the houses of a number of families that evacuated from Barangay Sinit-an. In Barangay Bungliw, the 34th IB threatened the residents that their barrio would be burned down if they did not disclose the whereabouts of the NPA and that ten residents would be summarily executed for every soldier killed. In Barangays Guadalupe and Hernandez, barriofolk complained about the 34th IB's military abuses such as the soldiers' failure to pay for store purchases and return household items borrowed from the villagers. The troops also order women to climb coconut trees and forbid the barriofolk from spending the night in their distant farms. The barriofolk are also forced to attend meetings called by the military even when they are busy and are accused of being NPA members when they refuse.
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 21 April 2005
English Edition
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Ang Bayan is the official news organ of the Communist Party of the Philippines issued by the CPP Central Committee. It provides news about the work of the Party as well as its analysis of and standpoint on current issues.
AB comes out fortnightly. It is published originally in Pilipino and translated into Bisaya, Ilokano, Waray, Hiligaynon and English.
Acrobat PDF files of AB are available online for downloading and offline reading printing. If you wish to receive copies of AB via email, click here. |
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