In the Ilocos-Cordillera region:
NPA assails AFP lies

Basahin ang artikulong ito sa Pilipino

The NPA in Ilocos-Cordillera refuted the AFP's lies and psywar in the region. In two separate statements, the NPA said that the military has been resorting to prevarications, what with no victories to show, and to cover up the human rights violations it has committed.

According to the Jennifer "Maria" Cari�o Command (JMCC) of the NPA in Benguet, the AFP has accused the NPA of stealing P20 million worth of gold bars and killing five miners, including an engineer, in Lepanto, Mankayan on September 20. The JMCC refuted such claims, saying that the NPA does not resort to criminal acts just to raise funds. It neither steals or engages in corruption, unlike the AFP, and it cerainly does not cultivate marijuana just to finance the revolution, said JMCC spokesperson Ka Sey-ang Rayos. The JMCC also strongly condemned the murder of an innocent civilian in Tabbac, Bulalacao, Mankayan, and the 54th IB and PNP's violation of the human rights of Mankayan residents after the robbery.

Meanwhile, the Leonardo Pacsi Command (LPC) of the NPA in Mountain Province refuted the AFP's claims of having killed 11 Red fighters, capturing two large camps and confiscating valuable documents in an AFP operation in the province from July 19 to September 2. According to LPC spokesperson Ka Magno Udyaw, only one comrade was killed in the fighting. The camps mentioned had long been abandoned and no documents were found by the soldiers.

The LPC condemned the murder by the AFP of Etfew Chadyaas, a peasant from Belwang, Sedanga who the soldiers had merely chanced upon, walking along a path, and who was later exhibited as an NPA member. The military operation which lasted more than a month, wrought extreme hardships on the people. The LPC said that the operation distressed farm animals, destroyed sources of water and prevented peasants from harvesting their crops for a prolonged period, resulting in the spoilage of their farm products. The AFP also violated the ritual of tengaw that the masses of Bontoc were performing at the time. Soldiers even stole rice from the peasants' storage barns in Mainit and slaughtered a carabao for meat.

The LPC called on the soldiers and CAFGU anew not to allow themselves to be used as instruments of violence against their fellow oppressed during military operations. The LPC said that it would be better for them to emulate the example of their fellow soldiers from the 502nd Bde who went AWOL in August in the middle of one such operation.

07 October 2003
English Edition

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