Filipino UN peacekeepers in Haiti mourn SAF men

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — Filipino peacekeepers for the United Nations deployed in Haiti observed of the National Day of Mourning for the 44 fallen elite policemen back home.

of the police Special Action Force (SAF) who were killed in Mamasapano town, Maguindanao last Sunday.

The members of the Filipino police and military peacekeeping contingent wore black arm bands to show their grief and sympathy to slain members of the police Special Action Force killed in Mamasapano, Maguindanao Sunday following an anti-terror mission.

Police Superintendent Antonio Tejada Duruin Jr., one of the 15 Filipino policemen under the UN Police force said he and other Filipinos monitored developments after the death of the "fallen heroes."

"A lot of us here in Haiti mourned. It was really painful to us what happened to our comrades, especially to our underclass in the PNPA (Philippine National Police Academy)," said Duruin, who is a graduate of SAF commando class 24-2003.

Filipinos had to explain the black arm bands to other UN peacekeeping force members from other countries.

"They were shock and were sorry to what happened to our comrades," Duruin said.

There are about 7,213 peacekeepers serving in the UN Stabilization Mission, or Minusta. Among these are 4,957 troops, 2256 policemen, 344 international civilians, 129 volunteers, and 1,169 local civilians.

Shaved heads

Officers of the PNPA, meanwhile, had their heads to express grief over police commandos killed by members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.

Superintendent Glen Dulawan, Pagadian City Police chief and president of the PNPA alumni Zamboanga del Sur, said aside from the new haircuts, they wear black arm bands and black ribbons over their badges.

The alumni group of the country’s premier military learning institution, meanwhile, condemned the brutal killing of commandos, saying the act should not be allowed to pass for political appeasement.

The Philippine Military Academy Alumni Association Inc. (PMAAAI) said the murder and mutilation of the SAF members last Sunday was “a heinous crime” and “a dastardly act.”

“Their (perpetrators) must not be allowed to pass as a political concession or appeasement,” PMAAAI said in a statement signed by its chairman Jose Maria Solquillo.

“The incident impinging on the security of all people in Mindanao must also be seriously and carefully studied in the light of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law to prevent greater problems,” the group added.  - with Alexis Romero