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ZAMBOANGA CITY—The Department of Justice has sent a team
of prosecutors to investigate the killing of seven
civilians and a soldier on-leave in a recent military
operation in the island province of Sulu, south of this
city.
Sulu
Gov. Sakur Tan said the seven-man team headed by
Regional State Prosecutor Jaime Umpa arrived last week
in Jolo, the capital town of Sulu.
Tan said
Umpa assured him in a meeting that the team will
thoroughly investigate the case and file charges against
those responsible for the February 4 incident in
barangay Ipil, Maimbung town.
The
seven civilians allegedly killed by soldiers during the
raid include two children, two teenagers, a pregnant
woman, a seaweed farmer and a barangay official.
The
military’s Western Mindanao Command insisted that the
February 4 raid was a legitimate operation against Abu
Sayyaf bandits who were then holding captive a female
rice trader.
The Abu
Sayyaf bandits released Jolo rice trader Maria Rosalie
Lao, 58, on April 11 in barangay Kaunayan, Patikul town.
Lao was
seized on January 28 in barangay Kakuyagan, Jolo, by the
bandit group led by Al-bader Parad, one of the bandit
leaders involved in the Sipadan kidnapping in 2000.
The
survivors of the February 4 incident claimed in an
earlier investigation that soldiers opened fire on
villagers as they pleaded for their lives.
Four of
those killed were allegedly shot while fleeing on board
a boat.
Jose
Manuel Mamauag, Commission on Human Rights director for
Western Mindanao, said there was no Abu Sayyaf in the
village and that seven of those killed in the attack
were civilians.
Tan said
that Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez has expressed
concern about the incident and allegations of a
whitewash.
The
governor said that he was informed by Umpa that
Gonzalez’s marching orders were for the team to conduct
an impartial investigation, identify the perpetrators
and file charges in court. |
