ALLIANCE NEWS
March 04, 2015

ALLIANCE EXPRESSES CONCERN ON MILITARY OPERATIONS THAT DISPLACED MORE THAN 80,000 MORO PEOPLE IN CENTRAL MINDANAO

Los Angeles— The Alliance Philippines National Coordinator Arturo Garcia. expressed grave concern on the current Intensified military operations in Mindanao that displaced more than 80,000 Moro people in Central Mindanao.

Garcia quoted the report of the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) report ” that more than 80,000 people were displaced by the more than one month old- military operations against the BIFF in Maguindanao and Cotabato.”

Garcia said,’ this is a great humanitarian and human rights crisis such an epic proportions since the days of martial law and the 2008 crisis under PGMA.”

The AFP has been bombarding the BIFF areas with artillery and airstrikes by attack helicopters and OV-10 bombers. for more than one month now.”

Diseases and Hunger stalks the Evacuees

Garcia expressed deep concern about the reports of diseases ,hunger and depravations have affected the more than 80,000 evacuees and yet the government is too slow to act on these reports.

He said, ” We in the Alliance-Philippines and ANSWER LA fears that the fighting will spill in other Muslim provinces sooner or later.
The military launched the operations as a revenge on the deaths of SAF 44 in the Battle of Mamasapano,Maguindanao last January 25, 2015.

The AFP is spearheading the operations with the use of ground troops supported by tanks, artillery, helicopters gunships and bombers. On the other hand, the MILF acts as a blocking force in coordination with the AFP.”
The Mamasapano Incident Fall-Out

Garcia explained, ” This Mamasapano Incident or misencouncter that resulted to the death of 44 SAF commandos, 15 MILF fighters and 5 civilians has been the subject of many investigations and had resulted in an intensified division operations by the PH government.

It’s like 2008 all over again when the Supreme Court decided against the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) of PGMA Regime .

More than one million people were displaced during the fighting in 2008 also in Central Mindanao between the BIFF and the AFP when the Supreme Court stgruck down the GPH-MILF MOA-AD Agreement.”

For more information please contact the alliance at (213)241-0095 or visit us newfacla.org

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