Follow us for updates
© 2020 reportr.world
Read the Story →

UN Appalled by 'Bloody Sunday' Raids in Philippines

As calls for an investigation mount in Manila.
by Agence France Presse
5 hours ago
Photo/s: shutterstock
Shares

GENEVA -- The United Nations said Tuesday it was "appalled" by the apparent arbitrary killing of nine activists in the Philippines by security forces targeting alleged communist insurgents.

Eight men and one woman were killed as the authorities executed search warrants before dawn on Sunday, the UN rights office said. Filipino activists called the roundup "Bloody Sunday."

"We are appalled by the apparently arbitrary killing of nine activists," Ravina Shamdasani, a spokeswoman for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, told reporters in Geneva.

MORE ON THE SOUTHERN TAGALOG RAIDS:

'Bloody Sunday' in Southern Tagalog Alarms Rights Groups

'It Was a Massacre': VP Leni Says on Southern Luzon Raids 

The killings happened in simultaneous police and military operations in the Batangas, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal provinces surrounding Manila.

The spokeswoman said that among those killed were labor rights, fishing community, housing and indigenous rights activists, while six people were reportedly arrested.

Continue reading below ↓

The Philippines government told the UN rights office that the operation was part of its counter-insurgency campaign against the New People's Army (NPA), the armed wing of the Communist party. 

"We are deeply worried that these latest killings indicate an escalation in violence, intimidation, harassment and 'red-tagging' of human rights defenders," said Shamdasani.

"Red-tagging" means being accused of being a front for the NPA.

MORE ON RED-TAGGING:

Military Apologizes for Erroneous Facebook Post on UP Alumni 

Why Red Lipstick is Darna's Superpower vs Red-Tagging 

UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet's June 2020 report on the Philippines said there was a serious lack of due process in police operations, and near-total impunity for the use of lethal force by the police and the military.

Sunday's deaths came two days after President Rodrigo Duterte -- whose controversial drug war has cost thousands of lives -- repeated an order for security forces to "ignore human rights" and kill Communist rebels.

Continue reading below ↓

Hundreds of activists, journalists and lawyers have been killed since Duterte took power in 2016, rights groups say.

Many died after being accused of supporting the decades-old Maoist insurgency that the populist president has vowed to crush before the end of his six-year term in 2022.

Latest Headlines
Read Next
Recent News
The news. So what? Subscribe to the newsletter that explains what the news means for you.
The email address you entered is invalid.
Thank you for signing up to On Three, reportr's weekly newsletter delivered to your mailbox three times a week. Only the latest, most useful and most insightful reads.
By signing up to reportr.world newsletter, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.