Commentary: Nationwide cooperation needed to stop extra-judicial killings
By Miriam P. Aquino
San Fernando City, La Union (19 October) -- Series of killings in the metropolis and in different provinces ignite anger and fright especially to those people who are members of radical/activist groups, media, political entities and supporters, religious leaders, and ordinary persons as well.
These extra-judicial killings tagged by international groups and even the oppositionists as something which involves the military, but with very limited evidences to lean on.
Previous reports show that proofs were gathered that these have been done by the New Peoples Army (NPA) to "cleanse" its ranks of alleged deep penetration agents which greatly involves innocent civilians being their latest casualties due to suspicions that they are agents working for the government.
These suspicions especially if it involves having any connection or relative in the military results to unjustly eliminations without due process leading to bloody purges, ambushes, and brutal assassinations initiated by the CPP-NPAs, which turns-out to be an awakening to some rebel returnees who were made to believed and fought for a twisted ideology.
Blame-tossing has been the game of some oppositionists and radicals merely having fun extracting evidences from so-called "pseudo-witnesses" to put the blame on the military.
Authorities are now making solid strides in the solution of the extra-judicial killings in line with the directive of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, while the Melo Commission is quietly and methodically getting to the roots of these crimes.
More work is needed to address this challenge and the government needs the cooperation of all sectors concerned and urge witnesses to come forth and in support to the ongoing probes.
Let us not give these perpetrators the chance to gain on any human rights violations they commit, instead let us join hands to conquer them in the soonest possible time. (PIA La Union) [top]
