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PRESS RELEASE – 01 October 2007
Rights group says GMA lying to UN on human rights situation,
likens regime to military rule in Burma
In a press conference today in Quezon City, the Philippine NGO delegation
that attended the United Nations Human Rights Council session in Geneva
denounced the lies being propagated by Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo at the
UN General Assembly in New York.
Karapatan Secretary General Marie Hilao-Enriquez said "Telling the UN that
the Arroyo regime respects human rights is a barefaced lie. The spate of
extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and other human rights
violations is proof that Arroyo and her cohorts are human rights
violators."
Enriquez attended the 6th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva
with Mrs. Edith Burgos, mother of missing activist Jonas Burgos, lawyer
Edre Olalia and Bayan Central Luzon's Susan Cruz. The UNHRC session ran
from Sept 10 to 28.
"We went there because the killings and disappearances are not resolved
and are not stopping," says Enriquez whose group has documented 60 cases
of extrajudicial executions (January to July 2007) and 17 cases of
disappearances, 12 cases of torture, 113 cases of illegal arrests and
thousands of victims of forced evacuation (January to June 2007).
Mrs. Burgos came with the Philippine NGO delegation to file the case of
Jonas at the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance (WGEID)
and to beseech the Council to prevail upon the Philippine government to
make good its commitments in the pledges it made to the General Assembly
when it sought reelection to this Council in May of this year.
The group also criticized Arroyo for 'pabalat-bunga' or keeping
appearances when she invited the UN Secretary General to go to the
Philippines but still would not set a date for the entry of UN Special
Rapporteurs or no reply at all to some of them.
Lawyer Edre Olalia said that they were informed by the representative of
Mr. Leandro Despouy (Argentina) who is the Special Rapporteur on the
independence of judges and lawyers that no date has been set on the visit
of Despouy to the Philippines despite the fact that the request was
supposedly granted by November last year. The office of Mr. Despouy gave a
commitment to follow-up the request with the Philippine government.
Mrs. Arroyo is a hypocrite in criticizing the military dictatorship of
Burma as she herself is trying to set up another dictatorship in the
Philippines. Up to now, she hasn't recognized and indemnified the victims
of Marcos' martial law regime; worse, she has created thousands of victims
of human rights violations under her own administration. Like the Burmese
leadership, she too must go.###
Address 2/F Erythrina Bldg., No. 1 Maaralin cor. Matatag Streets, Brgy.
Central, Diliman, Quezon City PHILIPPINES 1100 Phone (+632) 4354146 Email
karapatan@tri-isys.com,
karapatan.pid@gmail.com
Reference:
Marie Hilao-Enriquez, Secretary General
(Mobile No. 09178176274)
Ruth Cervantes, Public Information Officer
(Mobile No. 09189790580)
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Karapatan Southern Mindanao
http://www.karapatan.blogspot.com
Press Release
October 2, 2007
For Reference:
Pipo Sambalud Kelly Delgado
Media Officer Secretary General
09217927124 09203500069
karapatan.smr@gmail.com karapatan_smr@yahoo.com
Karapatan rebukes GMA 'hypocritical' speech at UN General
Assembly
DAVAO CITY – Human rights group Karapatan- Southern Mindanao sharply
rebuked President Gloria-Macapagal Arroyo's speech delivered at the 62nd
Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York last
Friday. The president, in her address said that Philippines is the most
democratic country in Asia-Pacific Region and did not even tolerate human
rights violations in the country.
"How dare she would say without batting an eyelash that Philippines
remained to be the most democratic country in the region and further
boasting that her government is respecting and upholding human rights? The
truth is, since Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo became the president since 2001.
There are 886 extrajudicial executions and 179 abductions, mostly
political activists which numbers of killings and disappearances are
convincingly attributed to her administration Karapatan Secretary general
Kelly Delgado said.
"In fact, her government is putting the country to an undeclared Martial
Law. The tandem of Human Security Act (HSA), an anti-terror bill passed
into law against terrorism and Oplan Bantay Laya (OBL), government's
counterinsurgency program against communists' rebels are some of the tools
of a dictator leader to quell those critical to her administration and
this is far from the real essence of democracy," Delgado said.
"The fact that UN must know is the continuous victimization of her
administration under Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's command and the crackdown
on political dissent constitute to the alarming escalation of human rights
violations in the country even though in the wake of efforts of the
Supreme Court to end the extrajudicial executions and involuntary
disappearances once and for all. Still, her administration and its armed
machinery are still on the verge of executing human rights violations,"
Delgado said.
"Is she a president that has a political will to resolve the escalating
human rights violations? Does her government upholds, respect and did not
tolerate human rights violations? Definitely not! Her speech just like
herself is 'hypocrite'. Adding to that majority victim of human rights
violations under her present administration have not yet been given
justice until now," Delgado said.###vious | Next | Back to
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