AFP briefs Asian envoys on extrajudicial killings, insurgency problem in the country

By Ronron
March 1, 2007

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Thursday briefed envoys of 14 Asian countries about the extrajudicial killings and insurgency problems in the country.

Ambassadors or their representatives of Cambodia, Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand, Pakistan, Laos, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, Singapore, Vietnam, Myanmar, South Korea and Sri Lanka were briefed by the AFP leadership starting 4:45 pm at the General Headquarters building in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

“We briefed them about our anti-insurgency campaign, and the unexplained killings situation in the country. We presented to them the 1,227 liquidations perpetrated allegedly by the NPA (New People’s Army), and gave our defense to the alleged 783 cases raised by Karapatan,” AFP Public Information Officer Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro said after the briefing ended at 6:10 pm.

Bacarro said it was the same briefing given by Maj. Gen. Joji Fojas, the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations (J3), the past few weeks to envoys of European countries and to United Nations Special Rapporteur for Extrajudicial Killings Professor Philip Alston.

Asked if the AFP categorically denied before the Asian envoys the allegations it was behind the series of killings, Bacarro said: “We did recognize that there were a few soldiers who got involved. But we clarified these cases were investigated.”

He was referring to the six cases where soldiers were implicated as among the suspects, one of whom got dismissed from the service.

The AFP had said that these cases were not sanctioned by the hierarchy, but had personal motivations.

Present during yesterday’s briefing were AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr., Defense Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane, Jr., Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Rafael Seguis, and Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita.

The diplomatic mission, on the other hand, include: Ambassadors In May of Cambodia; Ahmad Rasidi Hazizi of Malaysia (with the 2nd Secretary); Emaleen Abd Rahma Teo of Brunei; Asha Dvitiyananda of Thailand (with her Political Officer); Muhammad Naeem Khan of Pakistan; Phiane Philakone of Laos; Irzan Tandjung of Indonesia (with Counselor for Politics Heri Indra Jaya); Muhammad Abul Quashem of Bangladesh; Rajeet Mitter of India; Lim Kheng Hua of Singapre, represented by Counselor Wendy Ang, with Col. Tay Tim Chiew, the Defense Attache; Vu Xuan Troung of Vietnam; U Thaung Tun of Myanmar; Hong Jong-ki of South Korea, represented by Seong-Mee; and, Wijekoon Mudiyanselage of Sri Lanka, represented by Dharma Pala, the 2nd Secretary.

The Asian envoys, said Ermita, asked for the briefing for their better appreciation of the problem that is highly publicized in the country in the last few weeks following the completion of Alston’s investigation and that of the Melo Commission.

“They’re asking because they want to understand it. We have to let them understand that there is an emergency problem for the past 39 years. We have the secessionist problem for the past 38 years. So everybody should understand that the reason for these numerous killings is because there is a conflict going on,” Ermita said in a chance interview.

He was quick, however, to clear the AFP from any liability, saying that the issue is in fact being used as a propaganda fodder against the military by Left-leaning organizations.

After the briefing, Bacarro said the ambassadors expressed appreciation to the AFP.

“One of the ambassadors said the briefing gave them a better understanding of what is happening in the country, which they only read from the papers,” Bacarro said./DMS