ASSISTED by human rights activists, Mindanao tribal folk filed a formal complaint before the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Internally Displaced Persons over the burning of a refugee camp for displaced indigenous people, or lumad, in a church compound in Davao City.
Michelle Campos, daughter of slain lumad leader Dionel Campos, submitted the complaint to UN Special Rapporteur Dr. Cheloka Beyani assisted by rights group Karapatan secretary-general Cristina Palabay and its coordinator Dr. Naty Castro.
Palabay said the continuing harassment of lumad evacuees seeking refuge at the UCCP Haran Compound, and the insistence of state actors to force them back to their communities, show a lack of understanding of their plight and a lack of concern for their safety and welfare.
In July 2015, Dr. Beyani was in the Philippines for an official visit to investigate the human rights situation of people displaced by Typhoon “Yolanda”, communities affected by mining activities and those who were forcibly evacuated from their communities because of military operations.
In his exit statement, Beyani expressed alarm at the incident and said tribal leaders “reported that their communities were consistently being manipulated and divided and that they had been harassed and received threats when they expressed their opposition.”
“Indeed, some leaders and members of the indigenous communities have been killed over the past years, reportedly due to their anti-mining activities,” he said.
According to Karapatan’s complaint, at around 2:30 a.m. of Feb. 24, 2016, evacuees woke up to the smell of gasoline poured on the canvas roofs of the evacuees’ tents at the evacuation center.
Immediately after, the tents were set aflame when a lighted torch was thrown in. Five makeshift houses were already consumed by fire when it was put out. The dormitories of the UCCP Compound, which was roughly 100 meters from the evacuation camp, were also burned.
Five people were hurt during the incident, with three needing hospitalization, including two children.
But instead of deploying units to secure the lumad, the military claimed fire was set by the lumad themselves so they could gain more “sympathy” and “donations” and discredit the military, claims which the tribal refugees denied.
More than 700 evacuees started to arrive at the UCCP Haran in batches starting February 2015, mostly from Talaingod and Kapalong towns in Davao del Norte while a number came from Kitaotao in Bukidnon province.