Click HERE to add your name to the list of signers of the following Open Letter
An Open Letter to President Benigno Simeon Aquino III
and President Barack Obama
initiated by the
International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines – USA
We, the undersigned, as international advocates for peace, justice, democracy, and human rights, condemn the tragic murder of Filipina transwoman Jennifer Laude in Olongapo City on October 11, 2014. US Marine Private Joseph Scott Pemberton, the prime suspect in the case and the last to be seen with Jennifer, remains in the custody of the US military.
We recognize Jennifer’s murder as a hate crime, and we stand with Jennifer’s family in seeking justice. We also join the growing clamor to transfer Pemberton over to the Philippine authorities and face trial in a Philippine court.
Jennifer is not the first victim of a crime allegedly committed by a US military serviceman, and we fear she will not be the last. There is a long history of crimes committed by US military personnel against Filipino civilians. The vast majority of these offenses have remained unresolved, the perpetrators have escaped punishment, and the victims have never received justice.
At the very core of this injustice are the fundamentally unequal military agreements governing relations between the U.S. and the Philippines. Since its enactment in 1999, the Visiting Forces Agreement has served as the foundation for crimes to be committed with impunity by the U.S. military. The Visiting Forces Agreement has shielded the suspects in the U.S. military from facing Philippine authorities, obstructing the justice still being painfully sought by the family of Jennifer Laude and many other families of Filipino victims.
While we support efforts to change provisions in the VFA allowing for Philippine jurisdiction over criminal cases involving U.S. military personnel, we believe the very existence of the VFA and the recently-signed Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) underlie the culture of unequal power relations between the U.S. and the Philippines, and by extension, between U.S. servicemen and the Filipino people. Sadly, we have seen how this culture emboldens U.S. military personnel in the Philippines to commit violent acts against Filipino civilians, including rape and murder, because they can literally “get away with it” under the VFA.
The VFA and EDCA also disregard provisions in the Philippine Constitution that prohibit the presence of foreign military troops on Philippine soil. There are several legislative resolutions that have been filed in the Philippine Congress throughout the years citing the VFA as “unconstitutional” and an “affront to Philippine sovereignty.”
We support efforts in the Philippine legislature to abrogate the Visiting Forces Agreement. We call on the US government to do the same.
Peace and justice for Jennifer and the Filipino nation cannot be realized under a framework of unequal power relations between the United States and the Philippines. It can only be genuinely realized under a framework of mutual respect, mutual benefit, non-interference, and respect for national sovereignty.
For peace and justice, we therefore call for the following:
1. The abrogation of the Visiting Forces Agreement
2. The termination of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement
3. The immediate transfer of US Marine Private Joseph Pemberton to Philippine authorities without US military protection
Signed: (Initiating Signers, 11/10/2014)
Noam Chomsky
Institute Professor and Professor of Linguistics
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cynthia McKinney
Former US Congresswoman
2008 Green Party Presidential Nominee
Ramsey Clark
Former U.S. Attorney General
Medea Benjamin
Co-Founder, CODEPINK for Peace
Kathleen Cleaver
Emory University of Law
Rev. Dr. Susan Henry-Crowe
General Secretary, General Board of Church and Society
The United Methodist Church
Mark W. Harrison
Director of Peace with Justice Program, General Board of Church and Society
The United Methodist Church
Iraq Veterans Against War
International Action Center
National Lawyers Guild, International Committee
National Alliance for Filipino Concerns
United National Anti-War Coalition
Women for Genuine Security
Veterans for Peace, Chapter 69
San Francisco
BAYAN-USA
Brown Boi Project
San Francisco Bay Area
Code Pink
Washington DC
Center for Political Education
San Francisco
El/La para TransLatinas
San Francisco Bay Area
Haiti Action Committee
San Francisco Bay Area
HOBAK-Hella Organized Bay Area Koreans
San Francisco Bay Area
Migrante Northern San Mateo County
San Mateo
San Jose Peace and Justice Center
Skyline College Filipino Student Union
San Mateo
Kali Akuno
Malcolm X Grassroots Movement
Adrianne Aron, PhD
Liberation Psychologist
Toby Blomé
Bay Area Code Pink
Margaret Dominado
Lucy Parsons Gonzales Institute
Liza Marie S. Erpelo
Professor and Coordinator
Kababayan Learning Community at Skyline College
Rev. Dr. Mary Susan Gast
Chair
National Ecumenical Forum for Filipino Concerns – Northern California
Margaret Kimberley
Senior Columnist and Editor
Black Agenda Report
Richard Hobbs
Human Agenda
Linda McGloin
Ecumenical Advocacy Network – Philippines
Tim McGloin
Ecumenical Advocacy Network – Philippines
Steve Morse
Member, Veterans for Peace Chapter 69 – San Francisco
Veteran of the American war in Viet-Nam
Nate Nevado
General Counselor, CIPHER Learning Community Coordinator, Rock The School Bells Coordinator
CIPHER Hip Hop Learning Community
Cathe Norman
Member
Veterans for Peace, East Bay Chapter 162
Fred Norman
Member
Veterans for Peace, East Bay Chapter 162 USMC/USAF
Dante Simbulan
Katarungan
Michael Yoshii
Pastor
Buena Vista United Methodist Church