EU to AFP: Stop ‘order of battle’ vs militants

April 4, 2008

The European Union (EU) talked tough yesterday as it called on the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to stop its “order of battle” approach against communist insurgents and to exclude from the military’s so-called hit list individuals or civil society groups identified with leftist movements.

In a 60-page Philippines Needs Assessment Mission (NAM) report released by the Delegation of the European Commission to the Philippines to reporters in Manila yesterday, the EU said it believes that the military’s counter-insurgency strategy is linked to the extra-judicial killings and forced disappearances of leftist leaders and other militants suspected by the military of being “enemies of the state.”

“The overall counter-insurgency strategy, including military involvement in civil affairs, blurs the differentiation between combatants and non-combatants. On more than one occasion, AFP personnel confirmed that civilians who supported the counter-insurgency through political affiliation, financial support, or legal representation were legitimate military targets,” the report said.

“In this context, the order of battle, an operational command instrument covering both national and regional levels and which includes a list of ‘left-leaning’ organizations and individuals, has attracted wide attention,” it added.

According to the EU, the military’s order of battle list in Region 3 alone lists 300 individuals and as reported to the members of the EU, that such needed an assessment mission last year as the alleged killing list is amended and updated regularly.

But when questioned by the EU experts team at the meeting in Manila, they said the AFP’s reaction was to question the authenticity of the document and denied that it has an extra-judicial execution policy.

This was the same reaction the military gave United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur Philip Alston during his visit to the Philippines to assess the political murders and forced disappearances in the country which had risen to alarming proportions.

Alston, in his initial report that he gave during a press conference in Manila just before his departure, said that the military and the Arroyo government were on a denial mode.

The EU also noted that the military does not recognize the six cases where its personnel were involved in a killing.

“The AFP should stop using ‘Orders of Battle’ nationwide and locally, and exclude listing any individuals or civil society organizations in it,” the report said.

It added that the current degree of involvement of the AFP in civil affairs is counter-productive to the normal democratic development of Philippine society.

“By maintaining its presence in workplaces, at universities, and in schools, by giving political instruction in the form of civil education, and by intervening in industrial and farmers’ disputes, the AFP risks becoming implicit in a conflict, which is civil in nature. This is counterproductive to their main task: defeating the armed insurgency and securing the normalization of civilian life in the Philippines,” the report said.

The government’s Melo Commission Report, the UN Special Rapporteur and human rights organization all point to the involvement of the military in extrajudicial killings.

Reports said close to 850 extrajudicial killings and 250 forced disappearances occurred since President Arroyo assumed the presidency through a military-backed revolt in 2001.

Meanwhile, the EU said the AFP should allow human rights monitoring of its activities.

It also said that the borderline between the AFP and the Philippine National Police (PNP) investigatory powers should be clarified and overlaps should be addressed.

The EU also wants Executive Order 546, which directs the PNP to support the AFP in combat operations involving the suppression of insurgency revoked.

It said that the involvement of PNP in counter-insurgency operations was confirmed to the EU mission during a field trip to the Bicol Region where it was explained that the police are given special targets in counter-insurgency operations.

Meantime, the EU said it would support the raising of human rights and international humanitarian law awareness within the AFP through a number of possible capacity-building measures in order to improve the credibility and teaching ability of military instructors in the AFP.

To resolve the killings, the Philippines and the EU have forged a technical cooperation package focused on the protection and promotion of human rights.

EC Ambassador to Manila Alistair MacDonald said the EU had indicated its readiness to help address the issue of extra-judicial killings and atmosphere of impunity that has been prevalent in the past.

Following the visit of the EU-NAM experts, the Philippines and the EU have agreed on how the Union’s assistance could best help strengthen the investigation and prosecution of extra-judicial killings.

“The EU wants to help the people of the Philippines—government and civil society—to work together to bring an end to these extra-judicial killings, and to identify and bring to justice the perpetrators,” MacDonald told a press conference.

However, he lamented that while the government claims that the incidence of killings has declined, it is “regrettable” that there have been no convictions.

The envoy said the EU would provide assistance through a single EU program called the EU Justice Assistance Mission that will be implemented for 18 months starting September or October this year.

MacDonald said the program will provide support, advice, technical assistance and training in areas such as the criminal justice system, for the Commission on Human Rights and for civil society, and including human rights awareness training for both police and military.

He said the EU has also proposed to support the establishment pf a credible and effective national monitoring mechanism, which will bring together all Philippine stakeholders to help track progress in addressing this issue.

“The Philippine government, in accepting the EU offer of assistance for civil society as well as for state agencies, and the establishment of a national monitoring mechanism, has confirmed its commitment to stamp out the scourge of extra-judicial killings and bring the perpetrators to justice,” MacDonald said.

“The EU will be happy to work together with all stakeholders in the Philippines in carrying this forward, in a spirit of partnership and commitment to human rights, and looks forward to seeing the concrete of this partnership,” he added.

Earlier, Editha Burgos, mother of missing activist Jonas Burgos, yesterday said she has asked the help of the UN to put pressure on the Arroyo administration to surface his son who was abducted last year.

She noted that the government has been ignoring calls to help find Jonas, whom she claimed that from all indications was abducted by elements of the Philippine Army’s 56th Infantry Brigade on April 28, 2007.

Burgos stressed that her family has tried but failed to find all democratic processes in the Arroyo government in the case of his missing son.

The widow of press freedom icon Jose Burgos Jr. said the UN is the “last resort” of the families of human rights victims in seeking justice for their loved ones who were reportedly abducted by members of the country’s security forces since it is difficult to find justice in the Arroyo government.

“We hope that eventually the UN will be able to help us pressure the government into not only returning our loved ones but to find those who are responsible for their abduction, torture and for their captivity – to pay for what they have done, to right the wrong that they had done,” Burgos said.

She underscored the claim of the government that incidents of “disappearances and killings” have gone down.

According to Burgos, the figures have gone down because of the efforts of the non-government organizations, the Supreme Court and “prayers,” not because of the Arroyo government.

Other human rights advocates called on the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to hold the Arroyo administration accountable for the hundreds of extra-judicial killings and human rights violations in the country, as the Arroyo government presents its human rights record during the UN’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in Geneva, Switzerland, on April 11.

The Philippine UPR Watch, an organization of human rights advocates, victims and families of victims, will be sending a six-man delegation to Geneva to keep tabs on the Arroyo government’s report before the UN body.

From page 1

Alston, in his initial report that he gave during a press conference in Manila just before his departure, said the military and the Arroyo government were in a denial mode.

The EU also noted that the military does not recognize the six cases where its personnel were involved in a killing.

“The AFP should stop using ‘Orders of Battle’ nationwide and locally, and exclude listing any individuals or civil society organizations in it,” the report said.

It added that the current degree of involvement of the AFP in civil affairs is counter-productive to the normal democratic development of Philippine society.

The government’s Melo Commission Report, the UN Special Rapporteur and human rights organization all point to the involvement of the military in extrajudicial killings.

Reports said close to 850 extrajudicial killings and 250 forced disappearances occurred since President Arroyo assumed the presidency through a military-backed revolt in 2001.

The EU also said the AFP should allow human rights monitoring of its activities.

It stressed that the borderline between the AFP and the Philippine National Police (PNP) investigatory powers should be clarified and overlaps should be addressed.

The EU also wants Executive Order 546, which directs the PNP to support the AFP in combat operations involving the suppression of insurgency, revoked.

To resolve the killings, the Philippines and the EU have forged a technical cooperation package focused on the protection and promotion of human rights.

EC Ambassador to Manila Alistair MacDonald said the EU had indicated its readiness to help address the issue of extra-judicial killings and atmosphere of impunity that has been prevalent in the past.

However, he lamented that while the government claims the incidence of killings has declined, it is “regrettable” that there have been no convictions.

The envoy said the EU will provide assistance through a single EU program called the EU Justice Assistance Mission that will be implemented for 18 months starting September or October this year.

MacDonald said the program will provide support, advice, technical assistance and training in areas such as the criminal justice system, for the Commission on Human Rights and for civil society, as well as human rights awareness training for both police and military.

Burgos stressed that her family has tried but failed to find all democratic processes in the Arroyo government in the case of his missing son.

She underscored the claim of the government that incidents of “disappearances and killings” have gone down.

According to Burgos, the figures have gone down because of the efforts of the non-government organizations, the Supreme Court and “prayers,” not because of the Arroyo government.

By Michaela P. del Callar

source: http://www.tribune.net.ph/headlines/20080405hed1.html

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