Published January 2, 2021, 1:38 PM
A human rights watchdog and farmer’s group condemned the arrests and killings of indigenous people from the Tumandok community on Panay Island.
“These killings and arrests are meant to instill fear upon indigenous communities in order to silence their opposition to so-called development projects that encroach upon their ancestral domains and right to self-determination,” Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay said, referring to the construction of the Jalaur Mega Dam project, which the Tumandok IPs have opposed.
Karapatan called on the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to investigate on the killings of the nine IPs and arrests of 17 others in simultaneous police-military operations last Dec. 30.