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HKCAHRPP

HK Campaign for the Advancement of Human Rights and Peace in the Philippines

c/o APMM, No. 2 Jordan Road, Kowloon, HKSAR; Tel. No.: 27237536; Email: hkcahrpp@gmail.com

Press Statement

08 December 2011

For reference:                        Jackie Hung

                                    Convener, HKCAHRPP

                                    Tel. No.: 92681803

Bring justice to the victims of human rights violations

End state brutality and the culture of impunity in the Philippines

There is no end in sight on the state brutality and culture of impunity in the Philippines.

Despite the promises of change of Pres. Benigno Aquino III, the state of human rights in the Philippines remains a grave concern for human rights activists and migrant workers in Hong Kong.

While the electoral fraud case against former Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is a welcome development, she and the butchers in her previous administration such as Gen. Jovito Palparan must also face justice for the extrajudicial killings, forced disappearance, torture and other human rights abuses committed in the nine years of the Arroyo government.

It is disappointing that after one year of being in office, none of the thousands of victims – some of which already have strong evidences of the involvement of military elements – have been given justice due them and their families.

However, more condemnable are the perpetuation of state brutality against critics and the culture of impunity that is prevailing in the country.

To date, according to reports of the human rights group KARAPATAN, 64 people – mostly activists from organizations that were targeted by the previous Arroyo government – have been extrajudicially killed. Most recent of the killings was of Fr. Fausto Tentorio, an Italian priest who has been active in environmental and indigenous people’s issues in Mindanao.

Nine (9) people have been reported as disappeared by military and paramilitary forces while 41 activists have undergone torture. Additionally, 78 activists have been arrested and detained bringing the total number of political prisoners to 356.

Just yesterday, the brutality of the Aquino government was shown in the violent dispersal of the Campout against Budget Cut, Poverty and Hunger. Police water cannoned and clubbed protesters coming from organizations of youth and students. An estimated 46 protesters were injured and arrested.

The human rights crisis in the Philippines is expected to rise further with the implementation of the Oplan Bayanihan that follows a similar framework, strategy and tactics as the Oplan Bantay-Laya of the Arroyo which was the blueprint for all the human rights violations during that time. Oplan Bayanihan intensifies terror in rural and urban communities in the guise of civic-military activities.

How can the Aquino government stop human rights violations and end the culture of impunity if it holds on to the same actions that have long been exposed and have been widely criticized even by the international community?

It is no wonder then that the Aquino government has not made any significant steps towards advancing the peace negotiations with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines. Instead, it has stepped up attacks to NDFP personnel involved in the peace talks by unilaterally cancelling the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantee (JASIG) and arresting and detaining NDFP peace talks consultants.

In commemoration of the International Human Rights day on December 10, the HKCAHRPP stands in solidarity with the Filipino people and other supporters of human rights and peace in the Philippines in the call to END IMPUNITY IN THE PHILIPPINES. We shall remain vigilant in the defence of human rights in the country, in the call for justice for all victims and in the hope for a just peace.#