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Statement of Filipino migrant workers in Hong
Kong on the Maguindanao Massacre
(Statement issued during the Prayer Service
for Justice, 29 November 2009, at the St. John’s Cathedral grounds. The
event was attended by more than 200 OFWs from various organizations,
alliances, federations, church fellowships and OFWs from Mindanao.)
Bagong Alyansang Makabayan – Hong Kong (BAYAN-HK), GABRIELA – Hong Kong,
United Filipinos in Hong Kong (UNIFIL-MIGRANTE-HK)
29 November 2009
A crime most foul and reflects the worst of how the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
regime has perpetuated and protected vicious power grab, the culture of
impunity, murder of political dissenters and killing of journalists – this
is the Maguindanao Massacre.
To date, 64 bodies have been recovered from and around the site of the
most barbaric and condemnable massacre of civilians, lawyers and media
workers that has ever been recorded in the history of election-related
violence in the country. Families of the victims demand justice and such
should be given swiftly and without political patronage.
While the investigation is still ongoing, the most likely suspect remains
to be the scion of the powerful Ampatuan family that has been in control
of the Maguindanao province for years and a known ally of the GMA
government. In the past two elections, Maguindanao delivered the votes
that put GMA and her allies in place – votes that are tainted with fraud
as the ‘Hello Garci’ scandal has shown.
Just a few months before the May 2010 elections, the Filipino people are
now seeing the intense political crisis in the country where the ruling
elites desperately vie for various posts in the land even to the detriment
and death of hapless civilians.
As the crisis of the neocolonial and semi-feudal Philippine society
intensifies, members of the ruling class become even more desperate to
secure the biggest slice of the constricting resources while the rest of
the masses – the workers, peasants, women, migrant workers, indigenous
people – continue to wallow in poverty and insecurity in their lives and
livelihood.
The most desperate to maintain hold of their economic and political power
are those in the ruling camp. GMA herself has the most to lose as her
tenacious hold on her position becomes even more brittle.
Fascism and human rights violations are the hallmark of the GMA
administration. Sponsored and supported by the United States, GMA has been
faithfully toeing the anti-communist and “anti-terrorist” hysteria of the
imperialist US that it uses to justify the terrorism it sows upon
progressive and revolutionary movements in the country including those
struggling for Moro self-determination. US itself has enormous economic
and security interest in Mindanao and it is to its own benefit to maintain
local tyrants in the island.
Oplan Bantay Laya is the blueprint of the US-Arroyo’s war against the
Filipino people. It is this military strategy that has resulted to wanton
murders of civilians and unarmed activists and the displacement of many
people. It has also given license to local warlords cum politicians to arm
themselves, build private armies and promote vigilantism to suppress any
type of resistance.
The national democratic movement and leaders and members of progressive
partylists Bayan Muna, Gabriela Women’s Party, Anakpawis and Kabataan have
been bearing the brunt of the GMA government’s fascist policy against
those who dare challenge the existing socio-political system.
Extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearance, torture, illegal arrest
and detention are crimes of GMA and her brutal military machine that are
still in need of justice for the victims.
Even now, repression against progressives and activists are still in
effect. The de-listing of Migrante Partylist and the non-accreditation of
the ACT Partylist of progressives teachers and educators and of Courage
Partylist of activist government employees are but the latest repressive
acts against groups working for basic and comprehensive societal changes.
GMA has set the stage for disrespect to people’s rights, reactionary
violence and making a joke out of the supposedly democratic exercise of
elections. While the US directs, she plays the lead role and her cohorts
are obviously following her acts with impunity.
In the powerplay of the elites driven by imperialist dictates, the people
are the ones that are victimized in the end. The Maguindanao tragedy has
proven this once again.
Even overseas, our sympathy to the victims and their families is as strong
and our call for justice is also as loud. As overseas Filipinos, we demand
the following:
1. Conduct swift and impartial investigation of the Maguindanao Massacre.
2. Punish the perpetrators and all those who took part in the killing
spree.
3. Compensate the families of the victims of the massacre.
4. End extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture, arbitrary
arrest based on fabricated charges and all forms of human rights
violations. Justice to all victims of human rights abuses.
5. Junk the Oplan Bantay Laya and end the US-inspired anti-terror
hysteria.
In the end, our demand for justice is a demand for social justice, genuine
peace and true democracy. Our demand for justice is a demand for change
that the Filipino people deserve and will vigorously work for.#
For reference: Norman Uy Carnay, Information Officer, BAYAN – HK,
(852)96472567
Cynthia Abdon-Tellez, Chairperson, Gabriela-HK, (852) 97409406
Dolores Balladares, Chairperson, UNIFIL-MIGRANTE-HK, (852) 97472986 |
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 3, 2009
Maguindanao massacre underscores Filipinos in the US call for Obama
administration to pull military aid from the Philippines
AnakBayan Los Angeles demands immediate justice for the 64 massacred
women, children, journalists, lawyers, and others in Maguindanao,
Philippines on November 23rd. The convoy was on its way to file
registration papers for politician Esmael Mangudadatu for the May 2010
elections. This horrific act of brazen violence carried out by around 100
people from the warlord Ampatuan clan along with the Philippine National
Police, the Philippine Army, and the Ampatuan private army; committed in
broad daylight against the relatives of Mangudadatu, his supporters and 30
journalists.http://anakbayanla.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/2009-11-Maguindanao-massacre.jpg
The involvement of these armed groups, which include members of the
Civilian Armed Force Geographical Units (CAFGU) and Civilian Volunteers
Organization (CVO) that are subsidized by public funds, is a terribly
disturbing example of how our US tax dollars are funding Philippine death
squads under the guise of Oplan Bantay Laya (OBL), a national security
plan formed in line with the US “War on Terror.” OBL is responsible for
arming and training these groups to become merciless killing machines. The
audacity of these brutal murderers to commit such crimes comes from the
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA) regime’s failure to punish perpetrators of
human rights violations and its protection of scandalous figures like the
Ampatuan clan, who helped secure fraudulent votes for her in the 2004 and
2007 elections.
While youth and students here are rightfully up in arms over our tuition
for higher education rising at ridiculous rates of 32% to supposedly
account for the economic crisis, President Obama is trying to dole out
more of our tax dollars for military aid to the Philippines! This directly
undermines the people's modest victory last year when the US Congress
decided to withhold $2 million of its military assistance to the
Philippines contingent upon the Philippines’ government cleaning up its
atrocious human rights record. The US has already helped fund the killings
of at least 1,093 people under GMA’s administration.
Obama turned a blind eye to Arroyo's massive smear campaign against US
citizen and FilAm, Melissa Roxas, saying her abduction and torture by
suspected military forces this summer was a staged act by opposition
groups. Even when the courts concluded Roxas was indeed taken and
tortured, Obama never lifted a finger to publicly denounce the Arroyo
administration's despicable actions. To this day, no one has been brought
to justice for committing these acts of violence and the thousands of
other human rights abuses, even while reports from the United Nations hold
the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) responsible for
continuing to allow the perpetrators to run free. AnakBayan Los Angeles
demands that Obama be held accountable and that he take a stand to condemn
these atrocities!
Not only was Obama asking US Congress to remove the human rights
conditions on US military aid, but the recent Nobel Peace Prize winner
also recommended US $15 million in military assistance for 2010. The US
Congress outdid his bid by doubling it to $30 million. During US Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton's recent visit to the Philippines, she continued
to tow the Bush line supporting “counter-terrorism” and praising the
Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). The VFA is in fact a violation of the
Philippines’ constitutional ban of foreign troops on Philippine soil, and
this disregard for Philippine sovereignty has already resulted in cases
like that of Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith who was convicted in December 2006 of
raping a 22-year-old Filipina and didn’t even spend one day in Philippine
prison. The Obama administration has proven to be essentially no different
from the Bush administration in its foreign policies.
Though the accused Andal Ampatuan Jr. has turned himself in and four more
members of the Ampatuan clan have been implicated in the Maguindanao
massacre, government prosecutors and judges are being threatened and
coaxed to go easy on them. Join us next Thursday, December 10, 2009 as we
demand an end to human rights violations in recognition of International
Human Rights Day. AnakBayan Los Angeles says no to Oplan Bantay Laya! Stop
US funding of Philippine death squads! Money for education and jobs, not
for torturers and murderers! Junk VFA! Sign the petition "Strike against
Impunity, Strike for Peace and Democracy."
"Upholding Human Rights, Life, and Dignity"
** Art exhibit ** Performances ** Open mic **
Thursday December 10, 2009
7:00pm - 9:00pm
F Square Printing (aka Fernando's Hideaway)
519 S. Spring St (between 5th and 6th)
Los Angeles, CA 90013
###
AnakBayan Los Angeles is a member organization of BAYAN USA, National
Alliance for Filipino Concerns (NAFCON) and the International League of
Peoples' Struggle (ILPS).
For more info, please visit anakbayanla.org. To unsubscribe from this
email list, please send an email to list-request@anakbayanla.org with the
word "unsubscribe" in the subject field.
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