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On trumped up charges against NCCP Staff Rev. Irma Balaba and human rights defenders

ICHRP Secretariat
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On trumped up charges against NCCP Staff Rev. Irma Balaba and human rights defenders

Urgent appeal for solidarity and action

Dear NCCP friend and supporters:

I write to you because members of our NCCP staff continue to face harassment for their human rights engagements and actions in support of the poor and marginalized.

Rev. Irma Balaba, Assistant Program Secretary of our Program Unit on Christian Unity and Ecumenical Relations (CUER), is implicated in the case for “violation  of article 267 (Kidnapping and Serious Illegal Detention) of the Revised Penal Code and Republic Act 10364 or the ‘Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2012”. This is in relation to the Lumads (indigenous people of Mindanao) who are currently at UCCP Haran, who left their communities due to militarization. The Philippine National Police filed this case against several church people including Rev. Jurie Jaime (Promotion of Church People’s Response-Southern Mindanao Region), Sr. Stella Matutina (Panalipdan-Mindanao), Sr. Restita Miles (Rural Missionaries of the Philippines). Human rights advocates were also implicated in the case including Ms. Cristina Palabay, Secretary General of Karapatan, Ms. Honey Mae Suazo, Karapatan chapter coordinator in Southern Mindanao, and Mr. Kharlo Manano, Secretary General of children’s advocates group SALINLAHI.

Rev. Balaba believes that she was included in the charge sheet for her participation in the Interfaith Mercy Mission on August 29-31, 2014 in Barangay Gupitan, Kapalong, Davao del Norte. Most of the leaders of human rights organizations and advocates who participated in the said Mission were included in the trumped up charges.

I thank you for your support of our previous appeal for solidarity against the harassment on the Toquero family and other staff and officers of the government employees’ union COURAGE. We thank all our partners who have sent letters, written statements and expressed their concern. We would appreciate if you could also be in solidarity with us in the same way by supporting our appeal against the harassment of Rev. Irma Balaba and other human rights defenders.

These forms of harassment against church people and human rights advocates must stop. We continue to covet your prayers for our ongoing efforts for human rights. Thank you very much.

Grace and Peace

Rev. Fr. Rex R.B. Reyes, Jr.
General Secretary
National Council of Churches in the Philippines

Please write to:

H.E. Benigno C. Aquino III
President of the Republic
Malacañang Palace
Manila Philippines
E-mail: op@president.gov.ph

Atty. Leila De Lima,
Secretary, Department of Justice
Padre Faura Street
Ermita, Manila 1000
Republic of the Philippines
E-mail: lmdelima@doj.gov.ph / lmdelima.doj@gmail.com

Ret. Lt. Gen. Voltaire Gazmin,
Secretary, Department of National Defense
Camp Emilio Aguinaldo, Quezon City
Philippines

Commission on Human Rights Of The Philippines
SAAC Building, Commonwealth Avenue
UP Complex, Diliman, Quezon City
Philippines

Write letters of concern to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Protection of the Rights of Human Rights Defenders via defenders@ohchr.org, and other relevant international human rights mechanisms.

Women rights defenders cite government, TNC accountability on attacks vs women, communities

ICHRP Secretariat
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Women rights defenders cite government, TNC accountability on attacks vs women, communities

Women human rights defenders from across the globe scored governments and trans-national corporations for the plunder and their lands and resources that adversely affected women and their communities.

To cap the International People’s Conference on Mining, 37 women human rights defenders from Argentina, Spain, Canada, Cambodia, Ecuador, Indonesia, Australia, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, and the Philippines issued a collective statement, which pointed to the “governments and trans-national corporations exacerbate the dire impacts of extractive industries on women and their communities through the plunder of their lands and resources, and multi-lateral and bilateral trade and investment agreements that infringe on women’s rights, the right to self-determination, and sovereignty of peoples.”

The signatories of the declaration participated in the Workshop on the Gendered Impacts of Mining on Women Human Rights Defenders at the international conference in Manila, Philippines from July 30 to August 1, 2015. The workshop was organized by Karapatan, Association of Women’s Rights in Development (AWID), Cordillera Women’s Education, Action and Research Center (CWEARC) and KAIROS Canada.

“There are numerous cases of extrajudicial killings, and use of criminal and civil cases being brought against defenders by governments, companies and security forces based on vague definitions of crimes in the context of the leadership roles they take on in their communities resisting ‘development projects’. Criminalization, which is reinforced by gender-based discrimination and violence, is an attack against women defenders,” they further stated, through the declaration.

Cristina Palabay, Karapatan secretary general and one of the workshop organizers said indigenous people’s leader Aida Seisa, is among the Filipina rights defenders who are facing these forms of attacks.

Seisa, spokesperson of Paquibato District Peasant Alliance (PADIPA) and vice-chairperson of Sabokahan Indigenous Women Organization in Paquibato, Davao, face false charges of murder and frustrated murder. On June 14, 2015, Seisa’s house was strafed by soldiers of the 69th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army (IBPA). She and her family survived the said attack, but three other peasants were killed.

Palabay said the trumped up charges against Seisa should be dropped, and the perpetrators of the massacre and the frustrated killing of Seisa’s family should be held accountable.

In the workshop, the women rights defenders vowed to continue to organize and mobilize their communities to resist the onslaught of repression.

Full text of the declaration can be viewed through this link: http://www.karapatan.org/Workshop+Group+on+the+Gendered+Impacts+of+Mining+DECLARATION

Reference:
Cristina “Tinay” Palabay
Secretary General
+63917-3162831

Angge Santos
Media Liaison
+63918-9790580

http://www.karapatan.org/Women+rights+defenders+cite+gov%E2%80%99t%2C+TNC+accountability+on+attacks+vs+women%2C+communities

———————————————————————
PUBLIC INFORMATION DESK
publicinfo@karapatan.org
———————————————————————

Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights
2nd Flr. Erythrina Building
#1 Maaralin corner Matatag Streets
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.

A golden opportunity for President Noynoy to honor Ninoy

ICHRP Secretariat
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A golden opportunity for President Noynoy to honor Ninoy

We are mothers, women’s rights advocates and concerned citizens of Australia and New Zealand. We are greatly disturbed that serious human rights violations continue against many women and children in the Philippines.

In particular, we are very concerned about the plight of Miradel Torres, a 27-year-old women’s rights activist and a young mother who was arrested in June 2014 on a trumped-up murder charge while she was four months pregnant and suffering from profuse bleeding that could have led to miscarriage. Upon giving birth this year, Miradel struggled to breastfeed and keep her baby safe from highly infectious diseases inside prison.

We lament that a recent court decision required her baby Karl to be separated from her when the baby turned six months. Keeping Miradel in detention means depriving her of opportunity to bond with her baby in the latter’s crucial first years. It is so sad for this young mother to miss birthdays and other important milestones of family life because of a trumped-up charge—a fate over 500 political prisoners around the country are suffering.

President Aquino has often spoken about his family’s sacrifices when his own father was incarcerated during the Marcos dictatorship. His nephews and nieces are lucky to have the love of his sisters around them.

We now call on the President: Please let Miradel enjoy her right to be with her baby, too. In the name of justice and on humanitarian grounds, we urge you to declare presidential amnesty for all political prisoners on Ninoy Aquino Day come Aug. 21. We believe this will greatly please and honor your father. Mr. President, you have this golden opportunity to leave a legacy of meaningful change in the final year of your administration. Seize it, Sir!

Freedom and justice for Miradel and all political prisoners, now!

HELEN TE HIRA
Auckland Philippines Solidarity
New Zealand
phsolidarity@gmail.com;

MAY KOTSAKIS
Philippine Caucus for Peace
maykotsakis@yahoo.com.au

AND 23 OTHER SIGNATORIES

The full text of original letter sent to Pres. Aquino ahead of his State of the Nation Address, with full list of signatories is here: http://aps-nz.org/2015/07/25/new-zealand-and-australian-human-rights-defenders-call-for-freedom-for-political-prisoner-miradel-torres/

Amirah Lidasan: US out of the Philippines

ICHRP Secretariat
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Amirah Lidasan: US out of the Philippines

Amirah Lidasan is the leader of the Filipino activist group Suara Bangsamoro. She has been in the United States to testify at the International People’s Tribunal on Crimes Against the Filipino People. See http://internationalpeoplestribunal.org We discuss the impact of the US military in the Philippines.

http://davidswanson.org/node/4855

Total run time: 29:00
Host: David Swanson.
Producer: David Swanson.
Music by Duke Ellington.

Download from LetsTryDemocracy.

Pacifica stations can also download from AudioPort.

Syndicated by Pacifica Network.
Please encourage your local radio stations to carry this program every week!
Please embed the SoundCloud audio on your own website!

Past Talk Nation Radio shows are all available free and complete at
http://TalkNationRadio.org

and at
https://soundcloud.com/davidcnswanson/tracks

—

David Swanson is an author, activist, journalist, and radio host. He is director of WorldBeyondWar.org and campaign coordinator for RootsAction.org. Swanson’s books include War Is A Lie. He blogs at DavidSwanson.org and WarIsACrime.org. He hosts Talk Nation Radio. He is a 2015 Nobel Peace Prize Nominee.

UN Special Rapporteur’s statement boosts call for AFP troops pull-out from communities — Karapatan

ICHRP Secretariat
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UN Special Rapporteur’s statement boosts call for AFP troops pull-out from communities — Karapatan

Karapatan acknowledged the statement of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons Dr. Chaloka Beyani on the impact of the military operations of the Armed Forces of the Philippines on the rights of indigenous people in Mindanao, especially those in mining-affected areas in Tampakan, South Cotabato and those who forcibly evacuated to Davao City.

Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay said “Beyani’s initial statement on the extent of possible rights violations by the military on people forced to flee from their homes due to AFP operations and the entry of transnational mining corporations boosts the people’s legitimate demand for the AFP to pull out of the communities.”

“I was alarmed that tribal leaders reported that their communities were consistently being manipulated and divided and that they had been harassed and received threats when they expressed their opposition. Indeed some leaders and members of the indigenous communities have been killed over the past years reportedly due to their anti-mining activities,” Beyani said in his exit statement.

Beyani conducted his official visit from July 21 to 31, 2015. He was able to meet with indigenous peoples in South Cotabato and forced evacuees sheltered at the United Church of Christ in the Philippines-Haran compound in Davao City.

More than 700 indigenous peoples from Talaingod and Kapalong, Davao del Norte and Bukidnon evacuated from their communities due to intensified AFP operations, with the military forcibly recruiting members of the indigenous communities into the paramilitary group Alamara. The military has also encamped in the communities and occupied the self-run schools of the Lumad.

“Displacement, whether due to conflict or development, not only destroys the homes and livelihoods of indigenous peoples, but has an incalculable impact on their cultures and ways of life that are part of the rich and diverse heritage of the Philippines that must be protected or otherwise lost, perhaps forever,” Beyani added.

Palabay said Karapatan will submit additional cases to the UN Special Rapporteur before he finalizes his report to the UN Human Rights Council in June 2016 to emphasize the accountability of the Philippine government in the displacement in Mindanao and several areas in the country through its counter-insurgency program Oplan Bayanihan and also the government’s connivance with mining corporations.

“The inadequacy and criminal accountability of the BS Aquino government’s response to the needs of the typhoon Haiyan-affected communities and its corporate-led and investment-driven rehabilitation plan which will benefit big foreign and local businesses should also be considered as key contexts in the Beyani report,” Palabay added.

Karapatan and its network of human rights activists and representatives of indigenous people’s communities in Talaingod, Davao del Norte met with Beyani during his official visit.

The exit statement of Dr. Beyani can be viewed through the following link: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=16280&LangID=E#sthash.FVU8irKg.dpuf

Reference:
Cristina “Tinay” Palabay
Secretary General
+63917-3162831

Angge Santos
Media Liaison
+63918-9790580

http://www.karapatan.org/UN+Special+Rapporteur%E2%80%99s+statement+boosts+call+for+pull-out+of+AFP+troops+in+communities

———————————————————————
PUBLIC INFORMATION DESK
publicinfo@karapatan.org
———————————————————————

Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights
2nd Flr. Erythrina Building
#1 Maaralin corner Matatag Streets
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.

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