Senator Enrile blasts UN rights probe


Agence France-Presse, INQUIRER.net
Last updated 07:45pm (Mla time) 02/15/2007

MANILA -- Senator Juan Ponce Enrile has told a UN human rights investigator, who is probing the wave of political killings in the Philippines, to keep out of country’s internal affairs.

Enrile had harsh words for UN special rapporteur Philip Alston, who has been meeting with Philippine officials and others from across the spectrum during a 10-day mission to look into the murders that have taken place since President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo took office in 2001.

"I told them, Look, have you ever handled an insurgency problem in your country?' They said No.' And I said: Well, don't lecture to us about how to handle an insurgency problem,'" Enrile told reporters.

Enrile was the defense minister of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos, who was toppled from power by a popular uprising in 1986. Enrile turned against Marcos in the final days before the strongman fled to exile in the United States.

Marcos long benefited from US support during the Cold War, in part because of his hard line against the Communist insurgents who launched an uprising against the Manila government nearly four decades ago.

"They do not understand our problem because there is no insurgency in their countries," Enrile said of the UN team. "If this country sinks, they're safe in their countries. The Filipinos will be the ones to suffer."

According to local rights monitors, around 830 people have been murdered since President Arroyo came to power six years ago. She has been under mounting international pressure to stop the bloodshed.

During his visit, Alston has interviewed the relatives of victims, police and military officials. The UN information office here said he would meet the press to report on his work next week before leaving the country.

Most of the victims have been leftists, and some were accused by the military of having links to the Communist guerrillas.

Enrile, who now heads the Senate's human rights committee, said Alston wanted to know why the Filipino legislature was not investigating the allegations of summary killings and other alleged human rights abuses.

He said he told the UN team that the Senate did not want to duplicate the work of several task forces on the issue which have been established by Arroyo.

"If there's a need for us to enact corrective legislation, we'll do it," Enrile said.


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