Campuses next target for militarization; Students slam troop deployment in schools
Schools could be the next target for military deployment, the Kabataan Party warned following the redeployment of troops in several urban poor communities in Metro Manila.
But the plan is already drawing flak from human rights groups and the academe and is expected to meet strong opposition from students.
“We find little comfort from the fact that the military has been implicated in extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearances whose victims include student leaders and activists. Whether in full battle gear on in plain clothing, their mere presence sends a chilling effect among students, faculty and school personnel,” Kabataan Party President Raymond Palatino said.
“The labeling of progressive groups including student organizations as communist fronts and Mrs. Arroyo’s recent admission that the Anti-Terror Law will be used against Reds only prove that this plan is intended to target progressive student organizations and even student councils and publications that are critical of the Arroyo administration,” he pointed out.
Palatino expressed fears that the deployment of troops in major colleges and universities in Metro Manila and other key cities could lead to an escalation of human rights violations.
“Such plan makes any student vulnerable to surveillance, harassment and even abduction and liquidation.”
“Such fears are not without basis. Two Kabataan poll watchers were murdered in Camarines Norte last May following the brutal killings of known student leaders Cris Hugo, Farly Alcantara and Reimon Guran in other parts of Bicol. UP student activists Karen Empeno and Sherlyn Cadapan have gone missing to this day. All evidences and witnesses point to one common perpetrator – the military.”
Meanwhile, Palatino said student groups are prepared to oppose the troop deployment through legal and even “extra-legal” means.
He also challenged Senator Antonio Trillanes and newly-elected lawmakers to look into the matter and conduct an immediate investigation once the next Congress starts its formal session.
“Military troops have no place in academic institutions. Schools are not war zones. We will not allow this government to transform our schools into garrisons and make students their target practices.”