Carreta residents want probe by CHR against military men

Urban poor members yesterday asked the Commission on Human Rights to investigate the alleged harassment of residents in barangay Carreta by the military who are part of the security forces for the 12th ASEAN Summit.

Members of the Lower Carreta Neighborhood Association led by Jun Mabuti went to the office of the CHR-7 yesterday for their complaint.

Mabuti, who is also an active member of urban poor group Kadamay, said that since November 1, military elements under the leadership of a certain Lt. Cariaso are frequenting his residence urging him to surrender. These soldiers are allegedly under part of the AFP's Task Unit Kilo.

The military has tagged Mabuti as a member of the communist movement, which he vehemently denied and called baseless.

Authorities also allegedly spread propaganda against Mabuti, by telling his neighbors that he is a member of the New People's Army and encouraging them not to join his group.

In response, the CHR promised to look into the allegations of Mabuti and his companions. Mabuti's group will file the formal complaint against the military once the CHR recommends the filing of the case after its investigation.

Dennis Abarrientos, secretary general of human rights group Karapatan, said that the soldiers who are roving in the urban poor communities are under Lt. Col. Oscar Lasangue of the AFP-3rd Civil Relations Group.

Earlier, he said that Lasangue justified the combat operations of their Special Operations Team in urban poor communities "by raising yet again the tired communist bogey as an excuse."

Abarrientos alleged that Lasangue tagged 15 communities, which he refused to name, near ASEAN Summit sites, which he did not identify, as alleged targets of infiltration by 'communists fronts', that he failed to unmask; supposedly out to disrupt the summit, which he has no proof of.

"Clearly, Lasangue does not know what he is talking about. He could have claimed Osama Bin Laden is hiding somewhere in Opon, (Lapu-Lapu City) and it would sound the same," Abarrientos said.

"He is playing a silly monster to scare us under our bed sheets. In so doing he is sending the real monsters in our homes," he added.

"These monsters belonging to the AFP Task Unit Kilo barge into homes of activists in areas that have nothing to do with proximity to the summit sites. They would harass every critic of government abuse by labeling them as terrorists," Abarrientos said. - Wenna A. Berondo/MEEV