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PRESS STATEMENT
SEPTEMBER 21, 2011

On the occasion of the 39th year of the declaration of martial law
Political repression remains under P-Noy, son of a political prisoner —Karapatan

Today’s commemoration of the 39th year of the declaration of martial law is again an occasion for the President to reminisce the experience of how he and his family suffered under martial law. His father, Ninoy Aquino, was jailed for expressing his views against the ills in Philippine society, for criticizing the human rights record of the former dictator and for espousing democracy.

But as he may recall the suffering of his family, he callously ignores the suffering of other families whose sons, daughters, wives, husbands, fathers and mothers are detained, not by the dictator but by his government; not 39 years ago, but today.

Today is the second martial law commemoration under this government that we, human rights organizations and families and friends of political prisoners, are calling on P-Noy to release the 360 political prisoners (as of 30 August 2011) detained all over the country. Ironically, this son of a former political prisoner has turned a deaf ear to the call for the release of political prisoners, especially the elderly, the sick, the women and the JASIG-protected detainees and those who were illegally arrested simply because they live in areas where revolutionary groups are operating or those who were illegally arrested because of the so-called war against terror.

The political prisoners today are no different from the President’s father. Most of them may even have campaigned for the release of Ninoy along with the other political prisoners of the dictator; a number of them have raised their fists, fought the dictator and called for justice when Ninoy Aquino was assassinated.

P-Noy likes to project himself as the opposite of the hated GMA regime. Yet, those detained during the past regimes are still in jail. GMA and his cohorts are still free. No matter how he puts blame on GMA, they are his responsibility now.

A general, unconditional and omnibus amnesty is the quickest way the President could release all the political prisoners. It has been done. He did it in the case of the Magdalo soldiers. Yet he remains indifferent to the political prisoners whose beliefs run counter with the government.

Worst, the P-Noy government continues the practice of arrest and detention of those who criticize the government’s inaction to solve the soaring prices of basic commodities, unabated oil price increases; and government policies and programs on land reform, urban poor housing, mining and the budget cuts on basic services such as health and education.

To date, there are already 77 political prisoners under the P-Noy government. Hiding behind Oplan Bayanihan’s slogans of “adherence to human rights and peace and development”, political repression remains.

On the 39th year of the imposition of martial law, we strongly urge P-Noy to release all political prisoners and learn the lessons of martial law – that political persecution and repression will never put an end to the conflict engendered by government apathy to the cries of the majority poor, deprived and oppressed! Never again to martial law! Stop political persecution! Free all political prisoners! ###
 

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IF PNOY IS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS, HE MUST STOP POLITICAL PERSECUTION AND FREE ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS! – Karapatan

Submitted on Wed, 09/14/2011 - 03:00 Karapatan National Press release
Today, September 13, former political prisoners, relatives and friends of political prisoners as well as members of human rights organizations hold a sympathy fast in front of Camp Crame, the headquarters of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the PNP Custodial Center where several of the political prisoners are detained, to reiterate their call to the national government to free all the political prisoners all over the country. Taking off from PNoy’s “marching orders” to the new PNP chief not to let bosses down, Karapatan expressed frustration over the government’s inaction to release political prisoners who are unjustly detained because of fabricated charges.

“We don’t understand what the government is waiting for when clearly all the political prisoners especially the sick, the elderly, the women and those covered by the JASIG should have been released earlier. The political prisoners are falsely accused of crimes they have not committed, contrary to PNoy’s continued mantra that his government is for human rights,” said Marie Hilao-Enriquez, Karapatan chairperson. Karapatan bewails the fact that political prisoners who are incarcerated because of their political beliefs are falsely charged with common crimes to hide the government’s political persecution of those it labels as “enemies of the state.” This is a very clear violation of the political prisoners’ rights and to correct this transgression, it would do well for the government to release them.

Among the Karapatan list of political prisoners are innocent civilians in Moro/Muslim areas, who were arrested, detained and tortured in the conduct of the government’s so-called anti-terrorism campaign. They are invariably presented to the public as members or supporters of what are labeled as terrorist organizations such as the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and Jemaiah Islamiah (JI). Many are intentional victims of mistaken identity, fake ransom claims and have been made as sacrificial lambs in exchange for more “anti-terrorist” U.S. aid.

Today, Karapatan joins members of SELDA and the families of political prisoners in holding a sympathy fast to call on the PNoy government to release the 360 political prisoners (as of 30 August 2011). The sympathy fast coincides with various jail protest activities from September 13 to 21, the commemoration of the declaration of Martial Law.

The fasting of political prisoners and their supporters from September 13-21 is the second for this year. The first was held in July in time for the President’s second SONA. “Political prisoners and people’s organizations nationwide have carried out a series of actions starting this year to call for a general, unconditional and omnibus amnesty but PNoy remains deaf,” said Hilao-Enriquez. “More than one year is too long a wait for those who were wronged and for those who seek justice. He should know this; he and his family were victims of political persecution during martial law.”

Karapatan stressed that the President is capable of releasing political prisoners as he did when he released the members of Magdalo who rebelled against Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. All he has to have is the political will to release those who are wrongly imprisoned.

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PR September 21, 2011
 

Marcos is alive in the person of P-Noy’s spokesperson

“There are no political prisoners.”
“We have no political prisoners.”

The first statement was issued by former dictator Ferdinand Marcos. The second statement was issued by P-Noy’s spokesperson Edwin Lacierda. Marcos’ statement echoes on the lips of P-Noy’s spokesperson 39 years after Marcos declared martial law. It really is alarming to think that Marcos is alive!

The day before the 39th year commemoration of the declaration of martial law, Crisanto Tomarse Fat, 48 year-old political prisoner jailed at the Negros Provincial jail died because of heart ailment. He is one of the 360 political prisoners languishing in jail because of trumped up charges. He is among the 28 political prisoners who are sick and should have been released for humanitarian reasons had this government heeded our call to release all political prisoners.

Crisanto Fat was jailed because he was a peasant leader in Moises Padilla town in Negros Occidental. He led the dialogue between the peasants and the landlords in an ejectment case against the tenants. Yet, he was charged with illegal possession of firearms and explosives and was in jail for two years before he died.

This is one clear example of filing trumped up charges against those who fight for their rights –their right to land and a decent life. This is one clear example of criminalizing political offenses.
The government has the gall to say that there are no political prisoners because it has criminalized political offenses conveniently hiding the fact that there are political prisoners under PNoy’s watch.

The inaction to release the political prisoners is the height of this government’s apathy and indifference. Malacanang’s denial that there are no political prisoners is evidence that under this government political repression remains.

Thus, on the 39th year of the imposition of martial law, we call on the Filipino people to be ever vigilant to guard and assert their democratic rights, notwithstanding PNoy’s supposed adherence to human rights because he is the son of democracy icons. ####
 

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CALL FOR SUPPORT FOR THE EXPEDITIOUS RELEASE OF ALL ELDERLY AND SICK POLITICAL PRISONERS

Political prisoners (PPs) are those who are arrested, detained and imprisoned for acts in furtherance of their political beliefs. As a consequence, they are arbitrarily denied their liberty and due process of law. They may be charged with political offenses such as rebellion, sedition and variations thereof.

But more often than not, they are charged with criminal offenses in an effort to deny the political nature of their alleged offenses and to stigmatize them as plain criminals guilty of the most heinous crimes. Political prisoners are slapped with murder, multiple murder, frustrated murder, arson, kidnapping, robbery-in-band, illegal possession of firearms and others. These are mostly non-bailable offenses meant to keep the PPs incarcerated while court hearings proceeded at snail’s pace.

There are a total of 360 political prisoners (PPs) reported to Karapatan as of August 31, 2011. The vast majority were arrested under the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo administration, they being among the most determined in opposing the corrupt, repressive and puppet Arroyo regime. There are 27 who were arrested before Arroyo’s time and 77 under Benigno Aquino III.

Among them, there are 11 elderly political prisoners and 28 sick ones who should be expeditiously released on humanitarian and just grounds.

Some of them are as follows:

Jesus Alegre (who will be 67 years old in December), Moreta Alegre, 65, and son Selman Alegre, 37, all from Sagay Negros Occidental, were simple folk and farmers, before they were illegally arrested and incarcerated. Moreta is illiterate while Jesus could write his name but barely could read and write.

They are a family who had been languishing in prison for 7 years. They spent four years at the Sagay Prison in Negros Occidental and three years now at the National Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa (Jesus and Selman) and at the Correctional Institution for Women (Moreta). They were arrested because they were accused in the murder of an associate of a certain Avelino Gaspar, a landlord in the area who started grabbing their land. They fought to stay on their land which caused the death of another son Romeo. Despite the death of Romeo and the threats and harassments they got from the landlord, they refused to leave their land. Unfortunately, one of the men of Avelino Gaspar was killed by unidentified persons and this was blamed on them. They were accused of murder and later convicted to suffer in jail for life.

Rolando Pañamogan, 47 years old from Ponpunan, Baybay, Leyte, was a leader of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas in the province. He was illegally arrested in January 2002 and had been in jail since. He faced fabricated charges of murder and frustrated murder and was later convicted to suffer life imprisonment. Detained at the New Bilibid prisons, he had been suffering from diabetes, toxic goiter and congestive heart disease. He has been confined at the NBP hospital, where facilities and attending medical personnel are scarce. On several occasions, he had been rushed to the clinic for shortness of breath and convulsive seizure.

Sandino Esguerra, a farmer from Mulanay Quezon, was arrested by the military in June 2000 for kidnapping and murder and has been denied his right to swift resolution of his cases. Eleven years after his arrest and incarceration, his case is still pending for promulgation at the Regional Trial Court in Manila, while he is detained at the Manila Sector-Metro Manila District Jail facility at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City. He was the breadwinner of their family.

Muhamadiya Hamja, a fisherman from Isabela City, Basilan, was first illegally arrested in 2001 after Pres. Arroyo declared the State of Lawless Violence in Basilan in July 2001 on trumped up charges of kidnapping and serious illegal detention. Because none of the witnesses positively identified or pinpointed him on the crimes, he was acquitted and released in June 2005. He was abducted, illegally rearrested, tortured and detained in November 2009, on the same charges on the same cases where he was acquitted. He is currently detained at the Basilan Provincial Jail.

We are deeply concerned on the situation of the elderly and sickly political prisoners. Many of them have serious health problems aggravated, if not directly caused by poor, unhealthy and merciless prison conditions and lack of medical attention. This situation has come to public attention, after President Aquino granted pardon and freedom to Mariano Umbrero, an elderly political prisoner with stage 4 lung cancer, but who, ironically, had died in prison four days earlier.
We are likewise concerned with the situation of political prisoners who are unjustly kept in jail for a long time, while court proceedings are being conducted at exceedingly slow paces.

We call for the immediate release on humanitarian grounds of the elderly and sick political prisoners. Aside from the immediate release of the elderly and sick PPs, we urge Pres. Noynoy Aquino to grant general, unconditional and omnibus amnesty to all other political prisoners in the country. We hope that these can be realized on or before September 21, 2011 to show the government’s political will in eliminating the vestiges of the dictator Marcos’s fascist rule.
Karapatan and SELDA list of other elderly and sick political prisoners:

1. Rogelio Natividad will turn 61 years old this December 2011 and is a political prisoner at the New Bilibid Prison. He is married with three children. Before he was arrested, he worked as a simple fisherman from Malabon City. Arrested in Feb. 2, 1991 and charged and convicted of murder at the Malabon Trial Court, he has been in jail for the last 20 years. Compounding his long years of imprisonment are the inhumane conditions in jail where there is meager food ration and poor hygiene which has caused him kidney infection , ulcer and hypertension. He has been found to have kidney stones, which is currently causing him pain.

2. Bernardo Andrade, 61 years old and married, was a resident of Purok Santan, Old Sagay, Sagay City, Negros Occidental and has nine children. Before his arrest, he worked as fisherman and member of KAIMASA, an organization of fishermen in Sagay, Negros Occidental. He was arrested in Dec 1, 2001, charged and later convicted of murder. He has been in jail for the past 10 years. Since his arrest and incarceration in 2001, his family had never visited him for lack of financial and material support. He is suffering from diabetes, asthma and hypertension. The cramped and poor ventilation in jail contributes a lot to the worsening of
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PUBLIC INFORMATION DESK
publicinfo@karapatan.org
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Alliance for the Advancement of People's Rights
2nd Flr. Erythrina Bldg., #1 Maaralin corner Matatag Sts., Central District
Diliman, Quezon City, PHILIPPINES 1101
Telefax: (+63 2) 4354146
Web: http://www.karapatan.org

KARAPATAN is an alliance of human rights organizations and programs, human rights desks and committees of people’s organizations, and individual advocates committed to the defense and promotion of people’s rights and civil liberties. It monitors and documents cases of human rights violations, assists and defends victims and conducts education, training and campaign.

Amen
ni Pia Montalban

Never-again-nang-never-again
Sirang plakang panalangin natin

At patuloy mga nobena
Kay San Antonio de Padua
Sa mga desaparicidong dinukot sa ating gitna
Ng mga buhay na nawala na lamang nang parang-bula

At patuloy mga Aba Ginoong Maria
Umaamot ng tulong kay Santa Rita de Cascia
Patron ng mga hangaring imposible
Tugunan na ng gobyerno mga protesta sa kalye

At patuloy mga Ama Namin
Kay Hudas Tadeus na Santo, sa iyo kami'y dumadalangin
Ilawit ang pag-asa sa aming hingalay na dila
Uhaw na uhaw sa hindi umaambong hustisya

Ay Aba Ginoong Noynoy
Ama Naming Abnoy
Sa Hacienda Luisita, mga militar ay iyo nang tanggalin
Kundi'y pupuspusin ka namin ng protesta ng pangilin

At sa araw nang pagdatal ng Espiritu
Ay santo-santito kang huhubdan namin sa tunay mong anyo
Banal na kabayo, nagpapanggap na Kristo
Sunugin ka sa nagbabagang apoy ng Impyerno
 

Never-again-nang-never-again
Awit na itong kay tamis sa pandinig
Sa panahong ganap na ang tagumpay
Ganap na ang Kaharian ng Diyos na buhay

Ngayon, magpakailanman,
Dito sa lupa
(na) Amin.
 

Streetwise
By Carol Pagaduan-Araullo

“Kano ang boss ko!”

It is supreme irony that while Filipinos were commemorating the declaration of martial law 39 years ago by the US backed-dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos and calling for the release of hundreds of political prisoners, the son of the most prominent victim of martial law, Philippine President Benigno “Noynoy”Aquino, was being given a pat on the back by US President Barack Obama, the current chief representative of the imperialist superpower that benefitted the most from the fascist dictatorship.

Another irony, the presidential spokesperson had the effrontery to declare that there are no political prisoners under the Aquino regime, a grim reminder of how Marcos had denied the existence of tens of thousands of dissidents, opposition leaders and ordinary people who suffered unjust detention under his thirteen years of iron-fisted rule.

“Never again to martial law!” In order for this defiant pledge to be fully grasped and wielded as a battle cry by today’s younger generations the most important lessons of martial rule must be tirelessly recalled and taught over and over again.

One major aspect sorely lacking in write-ups on martial law, by even those who lived under its shadow or were directly victimized by it, are references to how foreign big business and big power interests, chiefly those of the US, colluded and collaborated with Marcos and his coterie of generals, cronies, technocrats and apologists, to impose martial rule and reap its benefits.

The billions of pesos Marcos and his ilk plundered by dipping into the public treasury as if it were his piggy bank; cornering overpriced development projects funded by foreign loans; grabbing lands from peasant and small land-owning communities and turning these into touted “development” projects; or by simply taking over the businesses of his political opponents have been amply written about.

What is sidelined is the fact that foreign multinational corporations which were business partners and financiers of the Marcos clique profited immensely from the behest loans, big-ticket government projects and other mind-boggling scams engineered by the dictatorship not to mention the economic policies favoring foreign monopoly capital that it implemented.

The over-the-top costs of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (including fat commissions to Marcos and Disini, super profits for Westinghouse, and juicy interest fees for the banks that syndicated the loan) easily comes to mind. The same goes true for billions worth of onerous foreign debts incurred by the dictatorship that generations of Filipinos have had to pay for.

Marcos curried favor with western, chiefly US, imperialist powers by protecting their economic and politico-military interests in the country.

For one, the Laurel-Langley and Parity Agreements granting parity rights to US citizens. (i.e. equal economic rights with Filipinos) were to expire in 1974. Two Supreme Court rulings, the Quasha and Lusteveco decisions that went sharply against US business interests were set aside by martial rule.

The treaty to normalize trade relations with Japan was stalled in the legislature by nationalists; an investigation into the operations of foreign oil companies was being spearheaded by the eminent nationalist Senator Jose Diokno; and the 1971 constitutional convention counted among its ranks outspoken nationalists as well. Martial law swept aside all these threats to foreign big business interests.
 

There was no word of caution much less criticism from the US or other so-called Western democracies when martial law was declared. Foreign chambers of commerce immediately lauded and gave their unqualified support for it accepting Marcos’ justifications, i.e. quelling security threats from the communists, Moro secessionists and “rightists” and “reforming society”.

US military bases in the country operated unhampered during martial rule. Philippine foreign policy hewed closely to that of the US such as support for the US wars in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia and aggression in other countries such as in Chile with the US-engineered overthrow of the democratically-elected Allende government and its replacement with the Pinochet military dictatorship.

The US justified backing for Marcos authoritarian rule as a means to ensure stability in the face of a growing communist-led “insurgency” and heightened nationalism. Military bases and a US-friendly government were definitely more important than the preservation of “imperfect” democratic institutions such as a free press, Congress and a social order that upholds human rights and civil liberties.

It was only when the Marcos fascist dictatorship became extremely isolated after the assassination of Marcos’ arch-enemy Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino - to the point that a broad anti-dictatorship front that included people’s organizations, the bourgeois opposition, the Catholic hierarchy, the revolutionary forces under the umbrella of the CPP-NPA-NDFP and rebellious young officers and soldiers of the armed forces was ranged against it - did the US drop their long-nurtured puppet like a hot potato.

The US quickly repositioned itself to support the anti-Marcos, pro-US opposition rallying behind Ninoy’s widow Cory Aquino and began whitewashing its totally self-serving, unprincipled and bloodied backing for the fallen Marcos. Thus the US basked in the glow of the people power uprising of 1986 and was back in business supporting a new but no less subservient client regime.

All this is consistent with the US record of backing up dictators, tyrants, despots while they serve its geopolitical and economic interests, and deposing, overthrowing and even assassinating sovereign heads of state not to its liking.

More so now under the guise of the so-called war on terror, the US, mainly through the CIA and Special Operations Forces as spearhead of its mighty high-tech war machine, has been committing flagrant violations of international law and human rights all over the world with absolute impunity.

In this light, the Obama-Aquino meeting on the day of the anniversary of the imposition of a US-directed dictatorship in the Philippines is nothing more than a reaffirmation of the continuing collaboration of the local ruling classes and US imperialism in further exploiting and oppressing the Filipino people, disguised as a lasting partnership for peace, security and development in the country.

If anything, what has endured is the odious legacy of poverty and backwardness, oppression and state forces committing crimes and human rights violations with impunity. The incessant hikes in oil prices, deepening poverty and the continuing detention of hundreds of political prisoners are daily reminders of this enduring collaboration.

Whatever their differences, and there are quite a few, Macoy and Pnoy have one, and the most important thing, in common -- "Kano ang boss ko!” #

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UN INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE IS FARCICAL AND HYPOCRITICAL
By the International Coordinating Committee
International League of Peoples’ Struggle
21 September 2011

The International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS) denounces as a complete sham and grand deception the UN call for the celebration of September 21 as an “International Day of Peace”. The UN Secretary General describes this as “a day on which armed conflicts is meant to be stilled… a day on which we appeal to combatants to observe a ceasefire… a day on which we reaffirm commitment to non-violence and the peaceful resolution of disputes.”

Nothing can be more hypocritical on a global scale than for the UN to appeal for non-violence and peace. The United Nations Organization was established in 1945 after the Second World War supposedly in response to the global aspiration to preserve peace and prevent war. But through its sixty-six years as an international agency purportedly with a mission to keep and ensure global peace, the UN has had its hands dripping with the blood and tears of millions of victims of imperialist aggression, to which it had either turned a blind eye if not supported and even vested with a cloak of legitimacy.

In November 1947, only two years after its establishment, the UN General Assembly passed Resolution 181 (II), creating the state of Israel by “partitioning” Palestine into a Jewish state and an Arab state. Pushed by the US, the partition resolution gave the larger and choice portion to the minority Jews, and the smaller one to the majority Palestinians. Instead of putting an end to the armed conflict, the resolution immediately caused its escalation and intensification, eventually resulting in the ruthless, violent expulsion of the Palestinians from their homeland.

It also set off a series of Arab-Israeli wars ostensibly over the existence of the state of Israel vis-à-vis the rights of the Palestinians to their homeland. But behind all the conflict was the aim of the US imperialists to secure a foothold in the Middle East and ensure control of oil and other resources in the region. Since then, Israel has zealously served the US as junior partner and hatchetman in the Middle East. The UN has condoned and supported Zionist Israel’s violent oppression and persecution of the Palestinians, and its military transgressions on neighboring Arab states such as Lebanon and Syria.

The UN also served US imperialist interests when the US attacked North Korea in 1950 and began the war of aggression against Korea. The UN endorsed the US aggression and further sent troops under the guise of “peace keeping” to fight alongside the US and South Korean armies against the North Koreans and the Chinese volunteers. It ultimately enforced the permanent division of the Korean nation through the establishment of the so-called Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) at the 38th parallel.

In 1960-61, a UN peace-enforcement contingent was sent to the Congo where its first Prime Minister, Patrice Lumumba, faced a US- and Belgian-backed rebellion in the Congolese province of Katanga. Lumumba appealed for UN and even US intervention, but the UN refused while the US continued to support the rebellion. US official documents declassified years later reveal that then US President Eisenhower ordered the CIA to “eliminate” Lumumba, after several attempts to poison him failed. The Katanga rebels eventually captured Lumumba with the help of CIA and Belgian police officers. Lumumba again appealed to the UN to intervene, but all the UN Secretary General Dag Hammarksjold did was to lamely appeal to the Katangans to treat Lumumba according to the due process of law.

The UN did not act when US-NATO took advantage of ethnic conflict and intervened in the Kosovo war, subjecting Serbia to intense bombing in Serbia in March 1999. Instead, UN Security Council Resolution 1244 dated June 10, 1999 provided the pretext for US-NATO occupation of Kosovo under the guise of a UN mission to enforce a peace agreement. The resolution in effect legitimized the US-NATO bombings of Serbia and paved the way for the separation of Kosovo from Serbia.

Kosovo is now a US-NATO colony, with the biggest US Army base in the Balkans, Camp Bondsteel, also serving as the headquarters of the NATO Kosovo Force Multinational Brigade East. It was the first time the UN invoked “humanitarian” reasons to legitimize aggression and occupation by imperialist forces. Camp Bondsteel is reportedly being used as a secret detention center, with one European Council observer describing it as “a small version of Guantanamo”.

Like Kosovo, Sudan is another country coveted by US imperialism, being rich in still untapped oil, copper and other natural resources, where the entry of a UN peacekeeping mission served US imperialist interest rather than that of the Sudanese. The US had instigated and taken advantage of ethnic differences as one way of destabilizing the Sudanese government and preventing Sudan’s extraction of its natural resources with the help of China. The US brokered the Darfur Peace Agreement between the Sudanese government and the rebels it has backed, with provisions for the presence of US troops under a UN peacekeeping force.

The UN again sat idly by while the US and its “coalition of the willing” allies invaded and occupied Afghanistan and then Iraq on false claims of countering terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. When the US found itself saddled with rising costs of occupation and many of its allies withdrew from the coalition, the UN was called upon to set up a “Peacebuilding Commission” to provide a politically acceptable mechanism for overseeing the occupation and sharing the financial burden.

The Peacebuilding Commission, which includes all the permanent members of the Security Council at its core, primarily brings together international donors, and financial institutions, national governments, troop contributing countries; marshals resources and advises on and proposes integrated strategies for post-conflict peacebuilding and recovery. A Peacebuilding Fund was also provided for in the UN resolutions establishing the Peace Commission.

The most recent and most blatant example so far of how the UN is being used to legitimize and deodorize naked imperialist aggression under the guise of “humanitarian intervention” is the March 2011 UN Security Council Resolution 1973 (2011) ordering a “No-Fly-Zone over Libya” and air strikes against Muammar Gaddafi “to ensure the protection of civilians”. Thinking that a few bombings for a few days would bring about the downfall of Gaddafi, the US and its NATO allies were at first careful to point out that the intervention precludes hitting non-military targets, deploying ground forces or arming the so-called Libyan rebels.

But as the months wore on and there were no direct hits to finish off Gaddafi and topple his regime, the targets became more visibly non-military, and the presence of foreign ground troops and the arming of the rebels became an open secret. The bombings have been extremely barbaric and resulted in a full blown invasion, tens of thousands of civilian casualties (at least 50,000 according to the NATO rebels themselves) and untold destruction of social infrastructure and civilian structures. No end is in sight for the violence unleashed and further generated by the UN and NATO.

By acts of commission and omission, the UN has been wantonly violating the provisions in its own Charter upholding the norms of international law especially on respecting national sovereignty and defining the parameters for the use of armed force. In September 2008, UN Secretary General Ban Ki -Moon and NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer signed a declaration of cooperation which reportedly included cooperation in “maintaining international security on the basis of the UN Charter and certain international directives”. But the text of the declaration has been kept secret even to Security Council members, eliciting suspicion as to its contents.

It is not surprising that the UN hardly enforces resolutions, such as those passed by the General Assembly, that are not attuned to imperialist interests, while those that serve imperialist interests are the ones that are enforced. It is in the General Assembly where issues are discussed openly and voted upon democratically, each member country being represented and having equally one vote. But it has no implementing power and thus its resolutions have only the power of moral suasion, no matter that these are democratically arrived at.

The real power to decide and implement lies in the Security Council, which has only fifteen members, ten of whom are temporary and on rotation basis. The remaining five permanent members, all victors in the Second World War, each has a veto power over the fourteen others. Additionally, the US is undisputedly “the first among equals”, being the biggest donor contributing up to 22 percent of the UNO’s finances aside from having the mightiest military machine.

The pretense at maintaining global peace and security is as deceitful as the related myth of promoting development and progress. The UN pays lip service to the need for global and economic justice especially for the third world countries, if there is to be an enduring peace. But its programs and policies, such as the Millennium Development Goals, are designed to serve the corporate agenda of imperialist globalization instead of instituting structural and policy reforms such as national industrialization, the cancellation of onerous debts and the reversal of WTO trade regimes and neoliberal reforms imposed by the IMF-WB. The perpetuation of these policies daily inflict the slow but severe violence through poverty and social injustice that afflicts the majority of peoples all over the world.

It is thus totally pathetic and disgusting for the UN to continue the pretense at being the champions of world peace. Its calls for an international day of peace, ceasefire and non-violence ring hollow amid the cacophony of injustice, murder and genocide that it has been a willing party to. The UN, especially its Security Council and the office of the Secretary General, has been a tool of the US and its imperialist allies and reactionary puppets for waging wars of aggression against sovereign states as well as for armed counterrevolution against the people and their revolutionary forces.

The ILPS calls on all its member organizations and allies to totally expose and oppose the UN for being a front and tool of imperialist plunder and war, not an international agency for promoting peace and development. Only the solidarity of the people and all those who resist and struggle against imperialism can pave the way to a world with genuine peace and development.###

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Information Bureau
Communist Party of the Philippines

Press Release
September 22, 2011

AFP 1-day ceasefire is one big sham--CPP

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) today dismissed the one-day ceasefire declared by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) as "a hypocritical publicity stunt that aims to cover up the violence and abuses being perpetrated daily by AFP forces against the people, especially in the countryside."

The CPP lambasted Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda who chided the revolutionary forces for not declaring their own ceasefire to coincide with the United Nation's International Day of Peace yesterday. "Mr. Lacierda is a pretentious peace advocate. He speaks of peace simply to cover up the large-scale war being carried out by the AFP against the people and their resistance movement."

"Under the deceptive signboard of 'Peace and Development', the AFP and PNP have been militarizing civilian communities, violating democratic rights, causing widespread economic dislocation and traumatizing children and entire populations."

The CPP cited the following violations committed by the AFP and the Philippine National Police in just the past few days:

September 10, 2011. At around 3 p.m., operating troops of the 30th IBPA shot at Bebit Kalinaw Enriquez, a Mamanwa woman who was on her way to fetch water from a river in the mountainous area of Panaytayon in Brgy. Mahaba, Cabadbaran City, Agusan del Norte. Soldiers then prevented Bebit's family from bringing her to the hospital and instead brought her to the army hospital where she was misrepresented as an NPA member wounded in an encounter. The military later changed its story and falsely claimed that the victim was hit by an NPA land mine.

September 13, 2011. Three farmers of Baranggay Matanglad, Pio Duran, Albay were accosted by soldiers belonging to the Special Intelligence Team under the 2nd IB. Edwin Palmones, 40; Severino Convocar Jr.; and Federico Olaguer 60, all of Sitio Sukip, Matanglad were accused as "NPA supporters" and tortured.

September 14, 2011. While doing their rounds at around 3 a.m., six village watchmen of Brgy San Jose, Antipolo City, just outside Manila, were illegally detained by members of the Philippine National Police's Special Action Force. They were forced down to the ground as the police fired their weapons indiscriminately, causing widespread fear among the residents.
 

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NEWS RELEASE
September 21, 2011

Reference: Angie Ipong, Secretary General, SELDA (0949-9587373)

SELDA TO PNOY: LEARN FROM LESSONS OF MARTIAL LAW, RELEASE ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS ESP SICK AND ELDERLY

In a rally on the commemoration of the imposition of Martial Law held today, the Samahan ng Ex-detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto (SELDA) called on Pres. Noynoy Aquino to learn from the lessons of Martial Law and release all political prisoners especially the elderly and sickly among them.

“The Marcos military government imprisoned hundreds of political prisoners to muffle the people’s resistance against the dictatorial rule of Marcos. The President’s mother, Corazon Aquino, sought to rectify this injustice by releasing all political prisoners immediately after People Power I. Pnoy should thus learn from this significant period in our history and immediately release all political prisoners, especially the elderly and sickly political prisoners, as well as those who were denied of expeditious resolutions of their cases, for just and humanitarian grounds. Their continued detention violates and breaches basic human rights, similar to the rights violations under Martial Law,” said Angie Ipong, Secretary General of SELDA.

Ipong added that among the notorious legacies of the Marcos dictatorship were the illegal arrest and detention of political prisoners who fought against the corrupt and repressive regime and such reality exists to this day, with 360 political prisoners (according to Karapatan, as of August 30, 2011) languishing in jails for fabricated and trumped-up charges against because of the exercise of their political beliefs that run counter to those of the powers running our government. She also added that there are already 77 political prisoners illegally arrested and are currently detained under the Aquino administration

“Political prisoner Crisanto Fat, 48 years old, died yesterday of heart ailment, being imprisoned since April 2009 at the Negros Provincial Jail. It is appalling that Aquino remains disinterested and unperturbed by the situation of political prisoners, especially of those who are sick and elderly,” she said.

She cited Jesus Alegre (who will be 67 years old in December), Moreta Alegre, 65 and son Selman Alegre, 37, all from Sagay Negros Occidental, were simple fishermen and farmers, before they were illegally arrested and incarcerated. They are a family who had been languishing in prison for seven years and are now at the New Bilibid Prisons and at the Correctional Institution for Women (Moreta). They were imprisoned because they were accused in the murder of an associate of a certain Avelino Gaspar, a landlord in the area who started grabbing their land. They fought to stand for the land which caused the death of his son, Romeo Alegre. Despite the death of Romeo and the threats and harassments they got from the landlord, they refused to leave their land.

Unfortunately, one of the men of Avelino Gaspar was killed by unidentified persons and this was attributed to them. They were accused of murder and later convicted to suffer in jail for life. Their long years of imprisonment, the stress and inhumane conditions in jail, have made them sickly with arthritis and hypertension. Moreta has a weak heart and she has to move slowly. Not one of their relatives has visited them for lack of funds.

Moreta has this to say: “Please help us so we can still see our children and our grandchildren, we do not want to die without seeing them; while Jesus says, “We are made to suffer for sins we did not commit. It’s because we do not have money and power and we just want to live simply tilling our small land so we can live.” Selman also says: “Please tell president P-Noy to release us. We don’t want to spend our whole life so unproductive. My father and mother are so very old. Please free them”.

Ipong also cited Rolando Pañamogan, 47 years old from Ponpunan, Baybay, Leyte, a leader of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas in the province, who was illegally arrested in January 2002 and had been in jail since. He faced fabricated charges of murder and frustrated murder and was later convicted to suffer life imprisonment. Detained at the New Bilibid Prisons, he had been suffering diabetes, deep toxic goiter and congestive heart failure, and has recently been confined at the NBP hospital due to lowered blood pressure, a complication of his diabetes, where facilities and attending medical personnel are scarce. On several occasions, he had been rushed to the clinic for shortness of breath and convulsive seizures.

“We are deeply concerned especially on the situation of the elderly and sickly political prisoners, many of them have serious health problems which have been aggravated if not directly caused by poor, unhealthy and merciless prison conditions and environment and lack of medical attention while in prison. This situation has come to the fore in public, after President Aquino granted pardon and freedom to an elderly political prisoner with stage 4 lung cancer, but who, ironically, had died in prison four days earlier. He has to release them immediately,” Ipong concluded.

Karapatan and SELDA list of other elderly and sick political prisoners:
 

1. Rogelio Natividad will turn 61 years old this December 2011 and is a political prisoner at the New Bilibid Prison. He is married with three children. Before he was arrested, he worked as a simple fisherman from Malabon City. Arrested in Feb. 2, 1991 and charged and convicted of murder at the Malabon Trial Court, he has been in jail for the last 20 years. Compounding his long years of imprisonment are the inhumane conditions in jail where there is meager food ration and poor hygiene which has caused him kidney infection , ulcer and hypertension. He has been found to have kidney stones, which is currently causing him pain.
 

2. Bernardo Andrade, 61 years old and married, was a resident of Purok Santan, Old Sagay, Sagay City, Negros Occidental and has nine children. Before his arrest, he worked as fisherman and member of KAIMASA, an organization of fishermen in Sagay, Negros Occidental. He was arrested in Dec 1, 2001, charged and later convicted of murder. He has been in jail for the past 10 years. Since his arrest and incarceration in 2001, his family had never visited him for lack of financial and material support. He is suffering from diabetes, asthma and hypertension. The cramped and poor ventilation in jail contributes a lot to the worsening of his asthma.
 

3. Cresenciano Inocerta, 64 years old and married with five children, is from Maloonay, Valencia, Negros Oriental. He used to be a peasant organizer of Kaugmaon sa mga Maguuma, an organization of peasants in their area. He was arrested in August 11, 1999 charged of a murder of a CAFGU. While in jail, he has contracted tuberculosis and underwent treatment for six months. He has been considered healed of TB but he continues to suffer asthma, arthritis and constant cough. Because of the distance of his family’s residence to NBP, he has not been visited by any member of his family and kin.
 

4. Manolito Matricio, 60 years old, is from Mamburao, Mindoro Occidental and is married with six children. Before his arrest, he was the provincial chairman of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pililipinas and a National Council Member of said organization. He has been suffering from arthritis, diabetes and hypertension.
 

5. Ernesto Dumlao, detained at the Quezon City Jail, has asthma and has been sleeping on the floor of the Quezon City Jail because he cannot pay for a “tarima” (cot) that costs P3,000.
 

6. Antonino Roda, detained at the Misamis Occidental Provincial Reformatory Jail, has severe kidney infection, urinating with blood several times already.
 

7. JASIG-protected Emeterio Antalan, detained at Camp Bagong Diwa, who has kidney problems and fluctuating blood pressure and has previously collapsed while he was in jail in Nueva Ecija, and did not receive proper medical attention nor was he rushed to the hospital as what emergency cases should have been treated inside prison.

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The Samahan ng Ex-Detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto (SELDA) is an organization of former political prisoners in the Philippines. Founded on December 4, 1984, SELDA was initiated by newly-released political prisoners of the martial law period. SELDA’s primary task is to work for the release of all political prisoners and to see to it that humane treatment of those who are still in detention are complied with by the Philippine authorities. SELDA advocates justice for current and former political prisoners. It calls for the mobilisation of resources in support of political prisoners, former detainees and their families. It carries out legislative advocacy for the indemnification and rehabilitation of political prisoners. SELDA goes into partnership and builds solidarity with concerned individuals and groups for the freedom and welfare of political prisoners and all victims of tyranny.

SELDA National Office: 2/F, Erythrina Bldg., #1 Maaralin corner Matatag Streets,
Brgy. Central District, Diliman, Quezon City 1101, Philippines
Tel: 632-4342837 Fax: 632-4354146
Email: selda.phils@gmail.com, selda_phil@yahoo.com.ph
Web: www.seldapilipinas.wordpress.com

DOWNLOAD:

POSITION PAPER: of the Samahan ng Ex-detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto (SELDA) on the Substitute Bill in the Senate known as the “Human Rights Victims Compensation Act of 2011”

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SAMAHAN NG EX-DETAINEES LABAN SA DETENSYON AT ARESTO
National Office: #1 Maaralin cor. Matatag Streets, brgy. Central District, Diliman Quezon City 1101 Philippines
E-mail: selda_phil@yahoo.com.ph Telefax: 632-4342837

NEWS RELEASE
September 20, 2011

Reference: Angie Ipong, Secretary General, SELDA (0949-9587373)

FORMER POLITICAL PRISONERS UNDER MARTIAL LAW CALL FOR JUSTICE AND INDEMNIFICATION OF MARTIAL VICTIMS

In commemoration of the imposition of Martial Law, former political prisoners and victims under the dark years under former Pres. Ferdinand Marcos today trooped to the Senate to call for justice and indemnification of Martial Law victims.

Angie Ipong, Secretary General of the Samahan ng Ex-Detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto (SELDA), an organization of former political prisoners established in 1984, appealed to the senators, particularly to Sen. Sergio Osmena, author of the senate bill on Marcos Victims’ Compensation, and Sen. Francis Escudero, Chairperson of the Committee on Justice and Human Rights, to review the Senate Substitute Bill considering the questions and objections raised by SELDA and, together with the House of Representatives, enact a law that will immediately render long-sought justice and indemnification for the victims.

Immediately after People Power I, in its desire to show the world the systematic and gross human rights violations unleashed by the dictator on the Filipino people and their courageous struggle to fight it, SELDA filed a class action suit against the Marcoses at the US Federal Court System.

“Justice delayed is justice denied. It has been more than two decades already since SELDA filed the case against Marcos in the US Federal District Court System on April 7, 1986. In 1991, the U.S. Federal Court system ruled that Marcos was guilty of “crimes against humanity” which included torture, summary executions and forced disappearances. Until now, no enabling law has been passed for the indemnification of Martial Law victims. It is quite ironic that the current president, whose father and family became victims of political persecution under Martial Law, has not taken keen interest in seeking justice for Martial Law victims,” Ipong stated.

SELDA is supporting the House Substitute Bill initiated by progressive partylist representatives led by Bayan Muna in the Lower House. Ipong said that with the presence of the Marcoses in both houses of Congress, the Aquino administration should show resolve in addressing this long overdue demand of Martial Law victims.

Among the questions and objections raised by SELDA are as follows (please also see attached position paper of SELDA):
 

1) The Senate Substitute Bill must recognize and duly take into consideration the final judgment of the US Federal Court System in the Human Rights Litigation against the Estate of Ferdinand E. Marcos (Multi District Litigation 840) and the Swiss Federal Supreme Court Decision of December 10, 1997. The Senate version merely provides for a prima facie or disputable presumption, which presumption is susceptible of being contradicted by evidence to the contrary. It is in danger of disregarding the historical landmark judgement on the class action suit filed by the victims in Hawaii, where the victims have gone through a rigorous process of screening, first by the human rights organizations themselves who made sure that the complainants are legitimate victims, and the Marcos lawyers who would make sure that a fake claimant, if any, is exposed. Even the Hawaii court conducted its own processing of the victims. The US court made awards to certain categories of victims through three phases of the trial (on liability, exemplary damage and compensatory damage), with jurors and experts evaluating the claims in accordance with certain norms and measurements under the well-developed tort system in the US. Thus, it is but just that Senate primarily recognizes this judgment and acknowledges the established right of those already proven as victims in the US court and make immediately available compensation for them.

2) The Senate Substitute Bill should acknowledge and recognize the significant role of the main organizations that worked for the victims immediately after martial law—particularly in documenting their cases and filing of complaints for their compensation. SELDA is the main organizations that conducted the documentation of the 9,539 human rights victims immediately after martial law. Together with the Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP) and the Friends and Families of Victims of Disappearances (FIND), these were the non-government organizations that were very active in monitoring and documenting human rights violations during the Martial Law Period. These three should be the main organization included in the commission that will be tasked to identify the victims and implement the enacted law.

3) The most questionable provision in Section 3 of the Senate Substitute Bill is the qualification that for a human rights violation to be compensable, the killing, torture or infliction of physical injuries must be committed against a ‘Filipino citizen peacefully exercising civil or political rights’. This provision could be used to exclude anyone who was an MNLF, NPA, Light a Fire movement, EDSA or other supposed non peaceful rebellions, arrested and summarily executed, on the ground that he was not ‘peacefully exercising ‘ her rights when she was ‘salvaged’. Remember that it was at this period when the anti-dictatorship forces have reached such breadth, from armed to non-armed resistance, because of the ferocity of the military violence. The Senate Substitute Bill impliedly declares that once you resorted to armed resistance, you have forfeited your human rights.
 

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PRESS RELEASE
September 21, 2011

Reference: Cristina Palabay, Tanggol Bayi Spokesperson (09175003879)

When the bullets killed Sunshine
 

Women’s rights group condemns the killing of 7-year old child in Compostela Valley, demands for the immediate pull-out of military troops from communities

Women’s rights group Tanggol Bayi today condemned the recent killing of 7-year old Sunshine Jabinez in Brgy. Napnapan, Pantukan by drunken elements of the 71st Infantry Battalion under the 10th Infantry Division of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) last September 2, 2011.

According to the documentation by Karapatan-Southern Mindanao, Jabinez was shot by Private First Class (Pfc) Baltazar M. Ramos, a member of the 71st IB encamping in the said community, who fired his armalite indiscriminately in the direction of the house of Jabinez’s family after figuring in a heated altercation with a fellow soldier.

Cristina Palabay, spokesperson of Tanggol Bayi, said the deployment, encampment and operations of the AFP in civilian communities put the lives of the residents at great risk and further heighten the vulnerability of women and children to military violence.

“Under Pres. Aquino’s Oplan Bayanihan, such operations are repackaged as Peace and Development Outreach Programs of the AFP which is nothing but a second rate copycat of its Re-Engineered Special Operations Teams meant to conduct extensive militarization in civilian communities. Such militarist schemes have only resulted to massive human rights violations, including this recent killing of Sunshine, and the perpetuation of impunity as the military continues to subjugate the civilians under their control and power,” she asserted.

Palabay called on the House of Representatives and the Senate to investigate the said incident and come out with a resolution for the immediate pull-out of military troops in the region as the continued deployment and operations in these areas are a threat to the lives and security of people, especially women and children.

“We also demand that the proposed budget of the Department of National Defense and the AFP be rechanelled to the budget for education, health and other social services, lest Congress allows these funds to be used for increased militarization and rights violations especially in the rural areas,” she added.

The woman leader likewise called for the immediate prosecution of Ramos and his colleagues in the 71st IBPA and, in a parallel vein, “we point out the accountability of Lt. Camilo Legayo of the said infantry battalion and Maj. Gen. Jorge Segovia of the 10th IDPA in the massive deployment of military troops in the Southern Mindanao region.”

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PRESS RELEASE
September 17, 2011

Reference: Cristina Palabay, Tanggol Bayi Spokesperson (09175003879)

RIGHTS VIOLATIONS, DETENTION OF WOMEN RIGHTS DEFENDERS CONTINUE UNDER PNOY – TANGGOL BAYI

TanggolBayi, an organization of women human rights defenders, today called for the immediate release of all political prisoners, especially women political prisoners, the elderly and sickly ones, as they joined the families and friends of political prisoners in a henna tattoo and facepainting activity at the Quezon Memorial Circle.

Cristina Palabay, convenor of TanggolBayi, said there are currently thirty women political prisoners among the 360 political prisoners who are currently detained in various jail facilities.

“Many of them were charged with fabricated charges of rebellion and criminal offenses in the course of their work and advocacies as women human rights defenders, when they question and became vocal and active critics of government policies and programs. It is lamentable that the political persecution, repression, state violence and militarism against women human rights defenders continue, from the Martial Law period up to the present administration,” said Palabay.

Among these women political prisoners are MoretaAlegre (Correctional Institution for Women), a 65 year old farmer, who was imprisoned together with her husband Jesus and son Selman, because of trumped up charges of murder, as they were vocal critics and campaigners against landgrabbing in their area; 21-year old MariconMontajes (Batangas Provincial Jail), the youngest among political detainees, who was a student filmmaker from the University of the Philippines Film Institute, a member of film organization UP Sining at Lipunan and of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines, arrested in June 2010 during an immersion program with peasants in Batangas; 57-year old Gloria Floresca(Ilocos Sur Provincial Jail), a former organizer of Gabriela in La Union, who was illegally arrested recently on rebellion charges; 42-year old businesswoman Marilyn Badayos-Condes(Dumaguete City Jail), arrested June 2011 for charges of rebellion and was denied immediate medical attention when her injured arm bled during her arrest; Lumad Manobo activist JovelynTawa-ay and former student activist Lucy Canda (Correctional Institution for Women), arrested in 2006 during a military operation, held incommunicado for three days, and charged with rebellion; and 29-year old Charity Diño (Batangas Provincial Jail), a former school teacher, who was illegally arrested, tortured and detained in 2009 while she and her colleagues were inviting community residents for the activities for urban poor week.

TanggolBayi called on Pres. Noynoy Aquino “to take heart and show compassion for these women, many of them are mothers and grandmothers whose families have been left at a disadvantage because of their absence and the continuing violation of their rights, by acting on their immediate and unconditional release.”
“Every day they are kept in jail, their rights as women human rights defenders are being violated, constrained and silenced, Palabay concluded.

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Tanggol Bayi is an association of women human rights defenders in the Philippines to advance women’s rights as human rights. Tanggol Bai is formed to further develop the capability of women human rights defenders to protect and advance women’s, human and peoples’ rights while giving special attention to the rights of WHRDs; to provide a venue by which WHRDs can give mutual assistance to one another especially to those who are facing immediate threats; provide information and facilitate HR education to WHRDs to even better sensitize them to violations of political, civil, economic, social and cultural rights; through common effort, enable WHRDs to effectively forward policies and legislations, fight for their rights and generate resources for the needs of their human rights advocacy; and network with other human rights organizations in the country and abroad.

Contact us at:
2/F Erythrina Bldg., #1 Maaralin corner Matatag Streets
Barangay Central District, Diliman, Quezon City
Telephone: (632) 434 2837
Fax: (632) 435 4146
E-mail: tanggolbayi@gmail.com