Revisit policy on terror, gov’t urged.

by Amir S. Mawallil, RAPPLER.com
March 7, 2012

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – Human rights groups are asking the government to re-evaluate its policy to crack down on the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), citing various human rights violations allegedly committed by security forces.

“We have recorded a number of mistaken-identity cases, especially in the province of Basilan,” Nixon M. Alonzo of the Mindanao Anti-Torture Alliance (MATA) said in a phone interview Monday, March 5.

“Because his first name is Abdul and he is from Al-Barka (town), there is a high possibility that authorities will tag him as an Abu Sayyaf member,” Alonzo said in Filipino.

Rosemarie R. Trajano, acting secretary-general of the Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA), also underscored the need to review government’s war on terror.

“Of course we condemn those who really commit criminal acts whether they are members of Abu Sayyaf or not, but we hope that government will spare innocent civilians from the scene,” she said in a separate phone interview.

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