|
Numb er of victims of
extrajudicial killings
and enforced disappearances
under the Arroyo government,
Jan. 21, 2001 - Dec. 31, 2007 |
Download:
Karapatan Report for 2008, Full text |
|
Press Release – December 9,
2008
Reference: Marie Hilao-Enriquez, Secretary General (09178176274)
Ruth Cervantes, Public Information Officer (09189790580)
In the observance of 60th Year of the UDHR
Karapatan reports on state of Philippine human rights, emphasizes Arroyo
accountability
The biggest human rights network in the Philippines today released its
annual report on the human rights situation under the watch of the Arroyo
administration.
Karapatan presented to the public its 2008 Human Rights Report in a media
briefing at Max's Quezon Avenue in Quezon City on the commemoration of the
10th Year of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders and the eve of
the observance of the 60th Year of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights (UDHR).
The report principally features cases of violation of human rights, as
recorded by the Alliance, from January to October 2008. It also includes a
review of escalating attacks against human rights defenders since 2001 and
the current experience with the Supreme Court-issued remedy of the writ of
amparo.
"Amidst our celebration of the global triumphs of our advocacy for human
rights that is embodied in the 60 year-old UDHR, struggling peoples the
world over and in the Philippines have yet to achieve social justice,"
said Karapatan Secretary General Marie Hilao-Enriquez.
In its 32-page report, Karapatan said that "the Arroyo government has not
lived up to the promise of respecting the dignity and fulfilling the human
rights of Filipinos, as we have not been any better over the last eight
years despite repeated claims to eradicating poverty and improving
democracy," and that "the government has instead unleashed the brutality
of its armed forces against the very people whose lives it has sworn to
protect."
The first seven years of the Arroyo regime brought, not only increased
economic inequality and hunger, but death to many of the critics.
One month shy of her eighth year in office, Mrs. Arroyo is showing no sign
of rescinding Oplan Bantay Laya, the counter-insurgency program identified
by UN Special Rapporteur Prof. Philip Alston to be critically responsible
for the continuation of the killings.
The killing spree in Southern Mindanao Region, victimizing 7 in the past
10 months indicate that the Armed Forces of the Philippines is catching up
on its "quota" under the Target Research Concept of Oplan Bantay Laya.
This year, with the second phase of Oplan Bantay Laya still in effect,
extrajudicial killings and other forms of human rights violations continue
to be committed with utter impunity. From January to October 2008,
extra-judicial killings have already claimed the lives of 50 victims while
seven persons have been involuntarily disappeared. In seven years and 10
months, 977 victims of extrajudicial killings and 201 victims of enforced
disappearance have been documented.
"That the acts of violence persist indicate no significant shift in the
internal security policy of government and that the perpetrators, and
their masterminds are still at large," Karapatan said.
The report reveals that torture and illegal arrests are on the rise and
any indication on a drop in the number of killings is a "tactical ploy to
appease global public outrage and never the result of any measure taken by
government to arrest, prosecute, and convict those allegedly responsible
for the atrocities." In the past 10 months, 53 victims of torture and 128
victims of illegal arrest were documented, bringing the total number of
victims in eight years to 1,010 and 1,464 respectively.
Karapatan said, "The Arroyo government's continued persecution of
political activists clearly shows that it is more interested in coddling
and covering up for the criminals responsible for the killings rather than
in unmasking their identities."
The report decried the continuous move by the Inter-Agency Legal Action
Group (IALAG) to paralyze cause-oriented organizations by slapping
fabricated charges against their leaders; this is seen in charges and
warrants issued against 72 persons in the Southern Tagalog Region, 6 of
whom are now jailed on the basis of such trumped-up charges and warrants.
The report cited the people's determination to assert and fight for their
rights. It said that gains obtained by the movement to expose the killings
and other human rights violations in the country here and abroad as well
as the determination of survivor-witnesses like Raymond Manalo and the
recent UN Human Rights Committee ruling on the Marcellana-Gumanoy case
bring hope and "light during these dark times."
Karapatan members enjoined the
public to maintain vigilance to defend and assert their rights by
recalling that "through perseverance, determination and strong
organization can we be able to assert our rights effectively." In a photo
op session, they likened their move to a broom which when bound strongly
can effectively remove the dirt that is the Arroyo administration who
continuously dampens the lives of the Filipinos by its deplorable human
rights record. ####
|
 |
|
Inquirer news report:
CBCP: Day of Shame in RP,
World observes human rights day
.....In its yearend report issued Tuesday, the human rights group
Karapatan said it had documented at least seven new cases of forced
disappearances and 50 victims of extrajudicial killings from January to
October.....
Click here to read full news report
|
