Quezon City, Philippines, 09 July 2009 - In reaction to the recent bombings in various parts of Mindanao, child rights advocates are calling for an in-depth investigation and eventually the prosecution of people behind the incidents within a reasonable period of time.  “This act is condemnable as victims of these atrocities are mostly civilians, including children. The culprits behind this act of violence should be held accountable.  Even the motivation behind the bombings is vague. No amount of reason will justify these evil deeds,” said Ms. Sophia Garduce, spokesperson of SALINLAHI Alliance for Children’s Concerns.

“What surprises us is that hundreds of troops from the Armed Forces of the Philippines are currently deployed in Mindanao, while millions of pesos are spent in intelligence fund to get information on small groups like the Jemaah Islamiyah and Abu Sayyaf, and yet the military is still caught flat-footed in situations like these.  The bombings happened despite the government’s knowledge through intelligence reports ,” added Garduce.

Meanwhile, the Children’s Rehabilitation Center (CRC), a non-government organization providing psycho-social help for children-victims of State violence and a member organization of SALINLAHI, raised an alarm over the sweeping accusations of the military against internally displaced people (IDP) who are mostly Moro civilians. “With the recent bombings in Mindanao, and with the pronouncement of the military that the IDP’s are their reserved enemy, we fear that this will set the stage for the illegal arrests of Muslim evacuees, as what the military has been  doing for a long time,” quipped  Ma. Esmeralda Macaspac, Executive Director of CRC.

She added that the military only serves to fan animosities against the Muslim people with such statements. “The military should be more careful in tagging suspects in these incidents and instead should be doing confidence-building measures to forward the peace agenda in Mindanao.”

Furthermore, Macaspac said that the recent pull-out of the UN World Food Programme in Mindanao will gravely affect the miserable condition of the IDP's .  “They have already been denied of their basic rights to live decently and now they will again be denied of their basic survival rights.  We are calling on the national government to address the needs of the evacuees, especially since majority of them are children and minors”. Macaspac said.

Finally, SALINLAHI raised suspicions on the real motive behind the bombings. “We heard of failed bombing attempts in Metro Manila, then a series of bombs explode in Mindanao. Are these scenarios being laid down for an emergency rule?” Garduce asked. She also said that these incidents ironically occur, when a  number of groups are preparing for huge and concerted mobilizations, such as the one for the upcoming State of the Nation Address or SONA of Pres. Arroyo.

“We are calling for a speedy and in-depth investigation of these incidents and prosecution of its perpetrators. Putting a stop to these incidents will allow the children of Mindanao to receive the gift of lasting peace that is based on justice, a gift they have never ever seen so far in their very young lives.” ended Garduce ###