KATRIBU SLAMS PNP VIOLENCE, DEMANDS RELEASE OF 12 KASIBU RESIDENTS

KATRIBU SLAMS PNP VIOLENCE, DEMANDS RELEASE OF 12 KASIBU RESIDENTS

KATRIBU strongly condemns the violent arrest of 12 residents barricading against the destructive exploration activities of North Luzon Mineral Resources Corporation (NLMRC) in Brgy. Pacquet, Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya, by the Philippine National Police (PNP) today, August 28.

The arrests are yet another attempt to suppress the people’s resistance against destructive  mining activities. Prior to the arrests, PNP personnel were already deployed at the barricade to facilitate and provide security for the entry of fuel intended for NLMRC’s exploration operations. On August 19, three members of the Kasibu Inter-tribal Response Towards Ecological Development (KIRED) were likewise arrested at the same barricade.

NLMRC’s mining incursion is being enforced through state violence. The deployment of police to facilitate its operations and arrest residents resisting its entry proves that the PNP serves the interests of the mining company instead of protecting the people.

The people of Kasibu have stood against NLMRC’s exploration activities and established a barricade to prevent the entry of its operations. Their resistance is a legitimate defense of their lands, livelihoods, and communities. NLMRC cannot force its mining interests upon the people, especially in the absence of genuine and proper consultation with affected communities.

KATRIBU demands the immediate and unconditional release of the 12 arrested residents. We further demand that they be granted immediate access to their legal counsel and families and be treated with dignity and respect.

Defending lands is an assertion of the peoples’ rights, not a crime. KATRIBU stands with the people of Kasibu in their continuing resistance against NLMRC’s mining incursion, and calls for an end to the criminalization of communities resisting destructive mining.

Reference:

Beverly Longid

National Convener,

KATRIBU Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas