Viral Portal News: dispersed

Hungry protesting farmers asking for food aid violently dispersed by police, 3 farmers killed

Unknown 10:44 PM Asking , dispersed , farmers , food , Hungry , Killed , Police , protesting , violently

<ul><li style="text-align: justify;">Hungry farmers asking for food aid from the government were violently dispersed by police in Cotabato province</li> <li style="text-align: justify;">Witnesses claimed the police fired their M-16 rifles to the protesting farmers</li> <li style="text-align: justify;">Three farmers were killed and over 50 others were injured in the dispersal</li> </ul>Thousands of hungry farmers from different parts of North Cotabato who took to the streets of Kidapawan City to ask the government for food aid were violently dispersed by police around 10:30 a.m. on Friday, April 1. The dispersal left three farmers dead and more than 50 voters injured. Sixty other protesting farmers were also reported as missing. Eyewitnesses claimed the police fired their M-16 rifles to the protesters. A leader of a women’s group among the protesting farmers said what they need is food and not bullets from the police. “We are barricading the provincial government to demand the release of the calamity fund and rice in no time. It has been 7 months of El Nino in our land and we have nothing to plant and eat anymore. What we need now is food for our families and our community not bullets and harassment from state forces,” lamented Mercy Balad. Norma Capuyan, chair of Apo Sandawa Lumadnong Panaghiusa sa Cotabato, said the farmers sought refuge inside a church compound to flee the violent dispersal. “A loud bursts of gunfire erupted. There was heavy fire. We ran to a church compound and the police surrounded us,” Capuyan said. Zea Io Ming C. Capistrano of <a href="http://davaotoday.com/main/human-rights/farmer-dead-20-injured-in-kidapawan-violent-dispersal/">Davao Today</a> quoted Capuyan as saying that the police were trying to barge inside the compound of the United Methodist Church in Kidapawan to arrest them. An unnamed witness said one of the fatalities, identified as Rotello Daelto, was shot by an unidentified policeman even when the farmer fell on his knees and raised both his arms in surrender. Daelto was hit in the neck. In a video uploaded on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/anakpawis.cotabato/videos/210316472690660/">Facebook</a> by Anakpawis Cotabato, bursts of gunfire can be heard while the farmers were running to safety. The Philippine National Police is investigating the incident. <a href="http://kickerdaily.com/hungry-protesting-farmers-asking-for-food-aid-violently-dispersed-by-police-farmers-killed/" rel="nofollow">Kicker Daily News</a>

Hungry farmers asking for food aid from the government were violently dispersed by police in Cotabato province Witnesses claimed the police ...