Stand With The Mangyan Of Mindoro, Philippines! Condemn The Cabacao New Year Massacre!

The International Indigenous Peoples Movement for Self-Determination and Liberation is deeply disturbed and infuriated with the senseless violence currently being unleashed by the Marcos government through its Armed Forces of the Philippines against the Mangyan Indigenous Peoples and the whole population of Mindoro Island in the Philippines.

On New Year’s Day, the Mangyan Indigenous community of Baranggay Cabacao, Abra De Ilog, Mindoro Occidental, was awoken by the roaring sound of bombs and bullets raining over them. Claims by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) say that this was an intelligence-driven operation after supposed information on the presence of communist-led insurgents in the area. In the aftermath of the military operation, five were left dead, including three Indigenous children and civilians, and some others were hurt and injured, worsened by the AFP’s utter disrespect of the people’s right to peacefully observe cultural festivities and the first day of a new year.

In the aftermath of the military operations, Chantal Anicoche, a Filipino-American youth activist doing community work with Mangyan-Iraya communities, got separated from her group and is now under military custody after being missing for over a week. As of writing, Chantal remains in military custody and is still barred from making any statement on her well-being or making contact with her comrades and friends. Chantal’s choice to be with and learn from Indigenous People is also being used to maliciously link the overseas Filipino mass movement with the revolutionary left in the Philippines.

We find it preposterous and indefensible that this operation—whether carried out with the approval of a higher command or deemed legitimate in the eyes of the military—can be seen as a just action, as it makes no distinction between civilians and armed combatants, shows no regard for the rights of women and children, and destroys the economic foundations of Indigenous life. This operation is a clear violation of International Humanitarian Law.

In reality, this is yet again one of many instances wherein Philippine troops resort to barbarism and terror to sweepingly rid the countryside of any assertion of people’s rights.

For years now, the island of Mindoro and the Mangyan people have been on the receiving end of the Philippine government’s relentless military campaign, which has led to multiple cases of murder of civilians, including young Indigenous Peoples and peasants.

Consequently, destructive and predatory projects have been at an all-time high in the municipality of Abra de Ilog. Last year, the local government of Occidental Mindoro’s 25-year moratorium on mining has been ordered lifted by the national government giving rise to the threat of a resumption of mining operations such as those by Agusan Petroleum. Renewable energy and ecotourism projects are also being put underway with the Abra de Ilog Wind Energy Project looking to be fully operational by 2031, and privatization of Luyang Baga Cava a sacred site for the Mangyan Iraya.

It has become almost too often not only in the Philippines but also elsewhere that plunderous operations are preceded by military campaigns against Indigenous Peoples and dissenters. Such is the case for Operation Kagaar in Central India, the non-stop military operations in West Papua, and in multiple areas across Africa and Latin America.

We, IPMSDL, call upon the broadest possible network of Indigenous peoples, peace-loving individuals and organizations, ancestral land defenders, and human rights advocates to join us in rallying behind the Mangyan people against militarism and imperialist plunder, and call for an immediate investigation on the violations of International Humanitarian Law committed by the Philippine government and urgently address the need for justice for the victims of the Cabacao Massacre. Release video messages, statements, calls, and other forms of expressing solidarity with the Mangyan people and condemnation of these atrocities.

We also urge everyone to take part in the sign-on statement for Chantal’s release: https://tinyurl.com/ReleaseChantalAnicoche

© Scoop Media