CHR to release Sabah 'abuse' reports

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines  - - A documented report detailing the alleged abuses of the Malaysian authorities to Filipino evacuees at the height of  the Sabah crisis would be out soon, according to the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) of the Autonomous Regional in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

The lawyer Laisa Masuhud Alamia, ARMM-CHR chairperson, said they have  documentated and gathered testimonies from the evacuees who said they  suffered human rights violations from the Malaysian authorities.

Alamia said they would soon release  the report and would soon be   submitting  the same to the ARMM regional governor, Office of the President,  and the Commission on Human Rights international level.

Citing combined data with the crisis management committee of the ARMM,  they have listed more than 17, 000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) affected since the Sabah crisis broke out last March.

“We got the sampling of the whole population (of IDPs) that experienced the suffering. We will come out with the report later on. We will not divulge it yet, but in my assessment, even the number will speak of (abuses),”Alamia said.

According to Alamia,  many of the evacuees who returned to various islands in the south  have yet to recount their experiences in  Sabah.

She said on the political side there is a need for both  Manila and Kuala Lumpur  to look for solutions as Filipinos who are still in Sabah and those who evacuated to the Philippines have been facing problems.

Alamia added that the number of IDPs from Sabah continued to increase due to the ongoing clashes between Royal Forces of the Sulu Sultanate and the Malaysian forces in Sabah.

"The moment may clash, two days later tataas ang number of evacuees na dadating,” Alamia said.