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COMPOSTELA VALLEY: Hundreds of villagers have fled
their homes after government soldiers pursuing communist insurgents
occupied a state-run school and a chapel in the southern
Philippines, a human rights group said.
The group called “Karapatan”
said more than 200 soldiers have been using the school and the
chapel as their camp in the village of Ngan in New Bataan town in
Compostela Valley province since the operation against the New
People’s Army began early this month.
It said more than 300 people fled
their homes because of the presence of soldiers. The group did not
say if there were civilians arrested by the military, but the
Karapatan had previously accused soldiers in the area of harassment
of civilians and human rights violations.
Major Raymundo Aguada, a regional
army spokesman, denied Karapatan’s allegations and said the NPA is
using so-called human rights groups to malign the military.
“There is no truth to that
report. The rebels are using these so-called human rights groups to
malign our good soldiers and to destroy the military and the
democratic government so they can continue with their abuses and
terrorism,” he told The Manila Times.
Last week, the military announced
the capture of six NPA camps in New Bataan where troops had
recovered explosives and munitions left behind by rebels. The rebel
camps were so far the largest that troops have captured this year.
The United States and the
European Union blacklisted the CPP and NPA, including its political
wing, the NDF, on Manila’s prodding and froze their assets abroad.
 --Al
Jacinto
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