Moro professionals urge action on evacuees' squalid state

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — A bloc of young Moro professionals on Saturday assailed the deplorable situation of more than 90,000 villagers displaced by the continuing face-off between bandits and government forces in seven towns in southwest of Maguindanao province.

In a statement, the Young Moro Professionals Network-Western Mindanao (YMPN-WP) said it is the children and elderly folks now suffering most from the conflict which started last week.

"This is a very harrowing tragedy they do not deserve to experience," said the group's emailed statement, referring to the plight of the evacuees in squalid conditions in relief sites in several Maguindanao towns, where they endures the sounds of gunfire and cannon blasts.

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More than 90,000 ethnic Maguindanaon villagers were forced to relocate to evacuation centers inside school campuses in Sharif Saydona, Mamasapano, Datu Unsay, Sharif Aguak, Datu Salibo, Datu Saudi, Rajah Buayan, Talayan, Guindulungan, Talitay, Datu  Anggal and Midtimbang due to internecine BIFF-military encounters since March 1.

Ameen Camlian, communications officer of YMPN-WM, said what was so saddening for them was the suspension of classes since March 1 in many schools in Maguindanao due to the hostilities.

"We could only feel sorry for their pain and agony. We are saddened by their difficult life now in the evacuation centers," Camlian on Saturday told reporters via text message.

The group also urged the military and the local government units in the affected towns to focus on the protection of civilians in areas where bandits and soldiers have been fighting each other for two weeks now.

"We  are reminding  the military and the BIFF to respect human dignity and the basic rights of non-combatants as stated in international warfare norms, such as the Geneva Convention," the group pointed out.