Church calls for resumption of GPH-NDFP Peace Talks

The United Church of Christ in the Philippines was devastated upon learning that Fidela “Delle” Salvador y Bugarin met her death at the hands of the Armed Forces of the Philippines during their military operations in Lacub, Abra, between September 4-6, 2014.

“We needed to understand what had happened. After investigation, we must come to terms with a reality that, thus far, we have no witnesses who can tell us what happened.  The information released by the perpetrators of Delle’s gruesome murder, namely the 41st Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army is not reliable — in fact, they are clearly lies,” said Bishop Reuel Norman O. Marigza, General Secretary of the UCCP.

“We have several facts, for the record.  First, Engineer Delle Salvador was and has been a development worker with an exemplary record that spans decades; she is a civilian.  She was not a New People’s Army fighter.  Second, Delle went to Lacub, Abra with an assignment for the monitoring and evaluation of development projects in the area.  Third, her autopsy reveals nine bullet wounds, a crushed skull that was contributory to her death, and various other wounds.

“The events and time of her death are suspicious.  All of these lead us to call for justice for Delle — as a faithful Church member who we saw in action in the ministry of the Church, we will not allow the lies of the military to be the last word.  We believe that Delle was extra-judicially killed and that likely she was also tortured.  This all happened during a military operation, which makes it both a violation of human rights and international humanitarian law,” said Bishop Marigza.

The murder of Delle Salvador was part of larger military operations, which also included the extra-judicial killing of Mr. Noel Viste, after he was used by the military as a human shield.  The Church expresses the concern for the community of Lacub, Abra.

“The United Church of Christ in the Philippines condemns the killing of civilians, development worker Engineer Delle Salvador and Mr. Noel Viste from Lacub, in the strongest possible terms.  The community of Lacub continues to be militarized, schooling of the children and many livelihood activities have been disrupted.  With farmers afraid to go to their fields and people afraid to leave their house, the community is suffering.  The violations of human rights and international humanitarian law perpetrated by the 41st IBPA in Lacub from Sept 4-6, 2014 terrorized the community.  We call for the pull-out of 41st IBPA from the area,” said Bishop Marigza.

“We need to re-establish a climate of respect for the human rights of the Indigenous Peoples of Lacub, Abra.  The violations of human rights and international humanitarian law should also be thoroughly investigated and prosecuted.  This cannot be done while the 41st IBPA is a present and imminent threat in the community” said Bishop Marigza.

The United Church of Christ in the Philippines has decided to use this horrific tragedy as a moment to think of peace.

“Delle was a peace and justice advocate.  She believed that development for poor and marginalized communities and sectors would help to build peace based on justice.  That’s how she became an advocate for Indigenous Peoples.  In memory of Delle, we urge, once again, the resumption of Peace Talks between the Philippine Government and the National Democratic Front-Philippines.  Peace talks should seek to address the root causes of the armed conflict.  We invite the Filipino people to join us in raising the call for peace in our nation and to pursue peace based on justice together, ”  said Bp. Marigza.

Justice for Delle!  Justice for Lacub, Abra!

Reference:
Bishop Reuel N. O. Margiza
General Secretary
United Church of Christ in the Philippines

The family of Recca Noelle Monte, a member of the New People’s Army who was tortured and slain in the course of the combat operations of the 41st Infantry Battalion, Philippine Army, in Lacub, Abra last September 4, 2014, has joined calls for the resumption of peace negotiations between the Philippine government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).

Speaking at a forum in UP Manila sponsored by youth organization Concerned Students for Justice and Peace, Jang Monte, sister of Recca said, “We cry for justice and we like to exhaust all avenues to seek justice for our loved ones who were inhumanely killed and desecrated in this war. The resumption of the peace negotiations provides us with yet another venue where we can raise our concerns.”

Randall Echanis, peace consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, spoke at the forum on the background and current state of the peace talks. Also participating in the forum are Manobo youth from Talaingod, Davao del Norte, who are in Manila to demand the pull-out of military troops in their communities, and call to stop the attacks on alternative schools built by indigenous people communities.

Monte shared in the forum the autopsy report conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation on Recca, revealing that her body bore no bullet wounds and that she died of massive traumatic injuries. Her skull resembled that of a “crushed egg” and her legs bore multiple fractures. “This leads us to believe that she was indeed taken alive by the military and tortured until her last breath.”

Six other members of the New People’s Army who died in the same military operation bore distinct marks of torture and desecration, with their bodies riddled with bullets. Two civilians were also killed: Engr. Fidela Salvador, who was at the site to monitor projects being implemented by the Cordillera Disaster Response and Development Service, and Noel Viste, a resident of Lacub who was among those who tried to retrieve the remains of those killed.

“The torture and death of Recca Noelle Monte, the desecration of her remains as well as those of her comrades in Lacub, Abra, and the death of civilians are clear violations of International Humanitarian Law. Addressing these violations and ensuring that perpetrators are meted with the full force of the law is imperative so that peace negotiations can resume,” said Jang.

She added, “For as long as these violations of IHL and the CARHRIHL continue with impunity, and for as long as the Philippine government refuses to address or even encourages these violations committed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines by way of rewarding erring military elements, the Aquino government is in fact proving to be the biggest hindrance to the resumption of negotiations and to peace.”

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Hustisya National Office
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Central District, Diliman
Quezon City 1100 Philippines
Telephone: (02) 434-7486 | (02) 435-4146
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E-mail: hustisya.national@gmail.com

Issued by the Workers International Struggle Initiatives
and Commission 5 on workers Concerns, International league of Peoples’ Struggle

We, workers organizations from the Philippines, Australia, Venezuela, Argentina, Senegal, Canada, and the United States of America, call on trade unions and workers everywhere to mark November 16 as a day to protest vehemently against the continuing widespread attacks on trade unions across the world, which are attacks on our basic human rights.

Hacienda Luisita

On November 16, 2004, a 6,000-strong picketline of sugar mill and sugar farm workers at hacienda Luisita, Tarlac Province, the Philippines, was fired upon by the armed forces. Seven strikers were shot dead and at least 121 injured. Of the 121 injured, 32 suffered gunshot wounds, 11 were children or in their teens, and four were over sixty years old.

In the weeks and months after this, six more leaders were assassinated and two picketers shot and gravely wounded. No one has been held accountable for any of these killings. A farm union leader was killed in Hacienda Luisita in November 2013, as the workers’ struggle for the land continues.

Hacienda Luisita is owned by the family of the current President of the Philippines, and he was the manager of the Hacienda on November 16, 2004. Thus, the Hacienda Luisita is emblematic of the conditions of the workers and peasants of the Philippines.

On the 10th anniversary of the Hacienda Luisita Massacre, let us all stand in solidarity with all workers facing trade union repression everywhere.

Global picture today

According to the International Trade Union Confederation:

• 1,951 trade unionists faced violence and 629 were unlawfully detained for collective action in 2013.
• The highest number of murders in a single country took place in Colombia where 26 trade unionists were killed in 2013, an increase of eight worker deaths from the previous year.
• Union leaders were murdered in ten countries including Cambodia, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, Colombia, Mauritania, Egypt and Benin.

While the right to strike is recognized in most of the world’s 194 countries, laws and practices in at least 87 countries exclude certain types of workers from the right to strike. Eight countries in Central Africa and Somalia deny all workers’ rights.

Governments are acting in favor of big business – not their people who overwhelmingly support labor rights. The ITUC Global Poll 2014 measuring the opinion of the general public in fourteen countries found 75 percent of people supported the right to strike, but 37 countries in the last 12 months imposed fines or even imprisonment for legitimate and peaceful strikes.

Public opinion, by a massive majority of 77 per cent to 94 percent, supports laws that protect workers’ health and safety, a decent minimum wage, the right to collective bargaining, and the right to join a union.

Capitalists on anti-union offensive

The murder, arrest, jailing and sacking of union leaders, and the busting of strikes and unions, around the world demonstrates the intensity of the clash of interests between capital and labor, against the backdrop of the Great Recession now raging for its seventh year.

With the exception of many countries in Central and Latin America, capitalists dominate national politics and national governments, as well as the global institutions like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. They operate by neo-liberal ideas which Reagan and Thatcher used in the 1980s to roll back the social democratic gains of working people following the Great Depression and World War II.

Workers and their unions must unite in education to challenge these ideas of aggressive exploitation and repression, and unite to take political action to defeat them. We have a world to win, to make safe and prosperous for the 99 per cent and future generations.

http://www.ituc-csi.org/ituc-global-rights-index-2014

WORKINS is a network of trade unions, proposed at Commission 5 of the 4th International Assembly of the International League of Peoples’ Struggle in Manila in 2011, and launched at the People’s Global Camp against the WTO Ministerial, Bali, December 2013.

http://workins.wordpress.com/

http://www.karapatan.org/AFP+told%3A+Call+it+by+whatever+name%2C+it%E2%80%99s+still+combat+operations+vs+Lumad+schools

“Obviously, the AFP would not admit that it is in Talaingod, Davao del Norte for combat operations. It needs to cover up the abuses it has committed, especially the elements of the 68th Infantry Battalion, Philippine Army, against the Lumad schools, the teachers and pupils,” said Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay.

Karapatan said the reply of the Armed Forces of the Philippines on the complaint against its operating units in Talaingod, Davao del Norte, is expected. Despite several reported incidents of encampment in and looting of schools, harassment of pupils and teachers, and indiscriminate firing near the school grounds, the AFP said they are in the community to “conduct peace and development activities”.

“The military and its paramilitary unit, the ALAMARA, particularly targets Lumad schools that were built through the initiative of the indigenous people’s organizations in the locality and were supported by the Church and other advocacy groups here and abroad. The government may be piqued because these schools speak of government incompetence and neglect,” added Palabay.

On November 6, leaders of the Salugpungan Ta Tanu’ Igkanogon Community Learning Center, Inc. had a dialogue with the 1003rd Brigade to impress on the military the need to pull-out their troops from the community.  But after the dialogue, the military stayed on and even put up a camp in the center of the village in Nasilaban.

Last month, in October, several incidents of indiscriminate firing committed by elements of the 68th Infantry Battalion were reported. Once, bullets were fired into the goats’ shed, which is within the school grounds. The soldiers’ camp was directly across the school. Such incidents resulted in the suspension of classes in Nasilaban community.

In March and April this year, Manobo and peasants from the Pantaron Range were forced to leave their community due to the heavy military presence that resulted in a series of abuses and rights violations.  In Barangay (village) Dagohoy, for example, the military interrogated nine students and one teacher for two hours whom they met along the road.

Under the BS Aquino regime, there are 52 documented cases of attacks on schools, with at least 2,722 children victims.  “Though the incidents are rampant in Mindanao, there are also reported cases in the Cordillera region,” said Palabay.

Since the establishment of STTICLCI in 2007, it has provided free education to Manobo youth through their nine elementary schools and two high schools. “With this success, the STTICLCI has earned the ire of the government and the AFP, branding it as NPA school. School rooms and teaching aids were destroyed, and the teachers and pupils subjected to red tagging and interrogation,” said Palabay.

The STTICLCI, with the Save our Schools Network (SOS), has lodged complaints to the regional office of the Department of Education in Davao City.  Some 13 Lumad students of the Salugpungan are now in Metro Manila for a cultural caravan “Og Iskwela Puron” (To school I wish) to call attention about the on-going military operations in their communities and to gather support for their call for military pull-out so they may continue their studies.

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

Angge Santos
Media Liaison
+63918-9790580

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publicinfo@karapatan.org
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Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights
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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.