KIDAPAWAN CITY -- A Moro-led non-government organization in Cotabato City has condemned in strongest terms the kidnapping of a Sri Lankan national peace worker and urged his captors to release him unconditionally.
In a press statement, the Bangsamoro Center for Just Peace in the Philippines (BCJP) Inc. said Sri Lankan national Umar Jaleel "has fallen victim to the very violence he has been trying to deter."
Around nine gunmen forcibly took Jaleel, 36, a staff member of the Non-Violent Peace Force (NPF), from Mutur, Sri Lanka. Jaleel arrived in Lamitan City in Basilan province four months ago.
He was sent to Basilan to carry out the mission of Non-Violent Peace Force to conduct human rights seminars in the city.
"Jaleel has fallen victim to the very violence he has been trying to deter. We readily lend our moral support and prayers as we continue to move mountains and hound the heavens for his safety and early release," said BCJP executive director Bobby Benito.
The group has also appealed to the military and other law enforcement agencies to exhaust all peaceful means to release Jaleel from his captors.
"We also call on religious leaders from both Christian and Islam faiths to extend whatever possible support to Jaleel for his safe return to the community," the BCJP statement read.
Benito said Jaleel's group is among BCJP's partner organizations in Basilan.
Benito is a member of the Board of Advisory of the Non-Violent Peace Force in the Philippines.
"The BCJP is one of the many groups in the Philippines that requested the presence of Non-Violent Peace Force, especially in Mindanao," he said.
The Non-Violent Peace Force, according to Benito, has contributed to increased security for local peace advocates and their families and greater safety and empowerment of local civil society in dealing with conflict management. (MCM)
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