Massacre of indigenous - the AFP did it again in Abra!

Posted by 
Belarmino Dabalos Saguing
Rome, Italy 13/03/2014

Freddie Ligiw, Abra indigenous murdered in Abra province

Freddie Ligiw, Eddie Ligiw and their father Licuben Ligiw went missing since March 2 and found dead in a shallow grave near their farm hut on March 8. They were in fetal position and piled one after the other. All of them were tied -up and Freddie was gagged. Media reports quoted military officials saying that the three victims were killed by the NPA and Freddie was a former member of the group who surrendered last March 2011.

The claims of the military was belied by the numerous tell-tale boot-prints on the soil, though slightly obscured by prints of bare foots but not completely cancelled.

US Army combat boot prints

The rights group Cordillera Human Rights Alliance (CHRA) also denied that the three were victims of the NPA. “We do not subscribe to the AFP’s claim that the massacre was perpetrated by the NPA,” said Audrey Beltran, deputy secretary general of CHRA.

Beltran observed that the NPA has been gaining broader support from the Cordillera peoples. “ It is a well known fact: The NPA will not massacre civilians as this would result to losing their so-called mass base, apart from being known of their strict adherence to International Humanitarian Law,” said Beltran.

The group accused the 41st Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army as behind the killings. On February 19, the 41st IB conducted a military operation in the area and took Freddie  with them to serve as a guide in the military operation against the NPA. The CHRA claimed that Freddie was due to file a human rights violation report about his ordeal on March 4.

 Rebel executions is a worn-out lie of the AFP, meant to overshadow the fact that the AFP is victimizing unarmed civilians under its counter-insurgency program Oplan Bayanihan,” added Piya Macliing Malayao, spokesperson of Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas (KAMP).

An indigenous leader herself, Malayao stressed that the three victims were civilians who were active in community struggles. The Ligiw’s belongs to the Tingguian and Binodngan tribe and members of Anakbayan and the local peasant group Kastan.

 Vencer Crisostomo, Anakbayan chairperson, condemned the killing. “Given the recent attacks in the mainstream media by members of the military against Anakbayan, there is clearly only one group in the entire country with an interest in assassinating our members,”

For his part, Anakbayan USA National Chairperson Yves Nibungco said, “The murder of Freddie and his family is part of a disturbing trend of state-sponsored violence against activists since Aquino came into power in 2009.”

JUSTICE FOR FERMIN, EDDIE AND LICUBEN LIGIW

MAKE 41SY IB OF THE FASCIST AFP PAY FOR THEIR CRIMES IN ABRA!

DRIVE THE MILITARY OUT OF THE VILLAGES!

OUST THE KILLER BS AQUINO REGIME!