An international solidarity mission on the effects of climate change in local communities suffered harassment on its first day its organizers say proves militarism is rampant in most vulnerable communities.
Delegates of the “Grounding Solidarity: A Learning and Solidarity Mission to Communities Affected by Climate Injustice and Militarism” reported that elements linked to the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) were present at their campsite in Mindoro while their teams in Leyte and Manila were also shadowed by covert agents.
The agents reportedly took photos of the participants without their consent.
In Mindoro, barangay officials arrived at the campsite demanding a mayor’s permit and a complete list of all delegates, insisting that the previously submitted courtesy letter was “not official.”
The officials threatened to declare participants persona non grata if they failed to comply. After negotiations, the mission was allowed to proceed as it was being held within a private property.
The authorities however demanded that the mission seek the mayor’s permission on Monday when government offices are open.
The organizers, the Peoples Rising for Climate Justice Global, denounced the intimidation campaign they said amplifies the need for solidarity for affected the communities who suffer the “twin evils of climate injustice and militarism.”
The mission, consisting of international and local delegates, kicked off last Saturday in parts of Southern Tagalog, Eastern and Western Visayas.
It aims to build solidarity with communities affected by climate threats exacerbated by environmental plunder, corruption in government, and militarization.
“The Grounding Solidarity mission seeks to build collective resistance against climate threats amplified by environmental plunder and the misallocation of public resources intended for disaster mitigation and basic necessities,” the organizers explained. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
