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Army linked to murder of mining foe's family

Sydney Morning Herald - October 26, 2012

Lindsay Murdoch – Church leaders and activists in the Philippines are calling for nationwide protests after the murder of the family of a tribal leader who has led opposition to an Australian-managed gold and copper mine on Mindanao island in the country's south.

The Philippines' Senate committee on justice and human rights has announced it will investigate the killings of Daguil Capion's pregnant wife Juvy, 27, and sons Pop, 13, and John, 8, promising the results will be made public.

They were gunned down on the morning of October 18 in the village of Bong Mal in Tampakan, near the site of the $5.7 billion Sagittarius mine, about 65 kilometres north of General Santos City. The mine is owned by Brisbane-based Xstrata Copper and Melbourne-based Indophil Resources.

The alleged perpetrators of what has become known as the "Tampakan massacre" are soldiers of the Philippine army's 27th Infantry Battalion. A neighbour of the Capions claims to have heard a soldier calling out "finish them off" to his colleagues.

Xstrata and Indophil have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in what would be south-east Asia's biggest gold and copper mine, due to open in 2016. But the killings are likely to fuel opposition to the project.

Army spokesmen have claimed the soldiers became involved an "encounter" as they approached the Capions' house.

But Mr Capion, who was wanted by the military for attacks on mine contractors, was working in fields nearby and his wife and four of his children were alone inside the house.

The soldiers involved in the shooting have been recalled to the Eastern Mindanao Command for investigation for "possible lapses", said military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Lyndon Paniza.

Mr Capion's sister Erita said that after the killings soldiers pulled two surviving children – Becky, 5, and Riza, 10 – from the house. Becky was wounded and in a critical condition but Riza was unharmed.

Ms Capion said the soldiers then dragged the bodies out of the house and for eight hours refused to allow relatives to go to them while demanding to know the whereabouts of Mr Capion, who they have branded a bandit and extortionist.

The national co-ordinator of the Stop Mining Alliance, Jesus Garganera, said Mr Capion is a senior leader of one of five communities whose ancestral lands are within the site of the mine project.

The Mindanao Alliance of Indigenous Peoples said in a statement the killings were an "act of barbarity" by soldiers against people "who are only defending their land from being turned into ugly mine sites".

A spokesman for Sagittarius Mines, Manolo Labor, said the killings were a matter for police and military so it was not appropriate for the company to comment on the details. "However we are deeply saddened by any loss of life in our host communities," Mr Labor said.

"We do not condone violence in any form and continue to support the peaceful resolution of conflict within our region with commitment to the rule of law."

The Task Force-Justice for Environment Defenders group claims the Tampakan killings brought to 47 the number of anti-mining victims of extra-judicial killings in the Philippines since 2001.

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