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Torture still in practice under the Aquino govt –Karapatan

ICHRP Secretariat
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Torture still in practice under the Aquino govt –Karapatan

Karapatan Public Info Desk, 27 Jun 2012, Press Statement –   As the world commemorated on June 26 the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, the Aquino government continues to employ torture on political prisoners as in the case of Tirso Alcantara, a consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) to the peace process.

“There is too much duplicity in the air. The AFP held a ‘run against torture’ on June 26 yet it has been named as the perpetrator in most of the 96 torture cases Karapatan has documented under the Aquino government. Noynoy Aquino portrays himself and his counter-insurgency program as pro-human rights yet human rights violations continue with impunity; even failing until now to jail ‘The Butcher’ Gen. Palparan. The Philippines is a signatory to the Convention Against Torture yet political prisoners like Alcantara and Ramon Patriarca are kept under solitary confinement and denied of their rights,” said Marie Hilao-Enriquez, chairperson of Karapatan.

In a sworn statement dated June 16, 2012, Alcantara enumerated the ill-treatment he experiences in detention in Fort Bonifacio such as,solitary confinement, deprivation of sunning and limited visitation rights, being served with food with dirt, trash, broken pieces of glass and fecal matter and ‘mentholated’ water that caused him vomiting and loose bowel movement. Even the medicine given him by a person who pretended to be a doctor caused him nausea, palpitations and terrible pain on his neck. Patriarca, on the other hand, was also forcibly transferred from the Danao Provincial Jail, a regular detention facility, to the AFP Central Command in Cebu.

Hilao-Enriquez added that, “such duplicity is reflected specially on the government’s handling of the issue of political prisoners. The government peace panel promised to work for the release of political prisoners yet it denies that there are political prisoners in the country only because political dissenters are lodged with trumped up criminal charges.”

Karapatan reiterates that Alcantara and the 13 other NDFP peace consultants are protected by the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG). “They should be out of jail, in the first place if not for the government’s disinterest to keep the peace negotiation going. The government must fulfil its promise to work for their release as stipulated in the documents signed during the peace talks on February 2011,” said Hilao-Enriquez.

“At the very least, the self-professed human rights advocate President could get Alcantara and Patriarca out of military detention centers and into a civilian facility; or the government can heed the offer of the Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform (PEPP) to “release in recognizance under the collective custodial guarantee of the member churches of the NDFP consultants who are willing to be under the sanctuary of churches.”

The PEPP’s offer was made through a statement issued on February 8, 2012. The PEPP is composed of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP), Association of Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines (AMRSP), Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches (PCEC) and the Ecumenical Bishops’ Forum (EBF). ###

Stop all forms of torture!
End Impunity in the Philippines now!

Reference: Marie Hilao-Enriquez, +63920-9466207
Angge Santos, Media Liaison, +63918-9790580
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PUBLIC INFORMATION DESK
publicinfo@karapatan.org
———————————————————————
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.

Aquino’s two years in office marked with continuing rights violations and impunity – Karapatan

ICHRP Secretariat
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Aquino’s two years in office marked with continuing rights violations and impunity – Karapatan

Karapatan Public Info Desk, Press Release, 25 June 2012 –   On the eve of the world commemoration of the UN International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, Karapatan renewed its call for the “People’s Manhunt” for Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan Jr. and other notorious human rights violators who remain fugitives from the bar of justice as the human rights group sees the continuation of the climate of impunity in the first two years of the Aquino administration.

Cristina Palabay, Karapatan spokesperson, called on the public to remain on the look-out for Palparan, as Karapatan and its member organizations and network will commemorate the abduction of Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeno on June 26, 2012. The date coincides with the UN commemoration of the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. Karapatan chapters nationwide will hold protest actions tomorrow as they also asked Facebook users to re-use the online “Wanted Palparan” posters as profile pictures.

“Six years after the abduction of the UP students and six months after the release of the warrant of arrest against Palparan, there has been no meaningful and thoroughgoing effort to arrest one of the notorious poster boys of impunity in the Philippines. This strengthens our belief that the Armed Forces of the Philippines and those in power coddle Palparan, for who would have the resources and political influence to wield his apparent immunity from arrest? Such situation sends out a dangerous message to all human rights violators – that they can abduct, torture, and kill and get away with it,” Palabay commented.

Karapatan said this comes as no surprise as the “pattern of violations in the first two years of the Aquino administration indicate its character and streak of inflicting military terror and violence under its counter-insurgency policy of Oplan Bayanihan.” The rights group has documented more than 76 victims of extrajudicial killings and 96 torture victims, amid the increasing militarization of rural communities.

“Schools, village halls, homes, and other infrastructures for public use are being utilized as military camps, while AFP troops are inflicting fear, harassment, coercion, intimidation, vilification, torture and other forms of human rights violations against whole communities, including that of the Quezon province, in the guise of combat operations against the New People’s Army (NPA). We want them out of our homes, our schools, our communities,” Palabay said.

The groups will also conduct activities leading to the State of the Nation Address of Pres. Aquino on July.

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

Still no justice while Arroyo receives kid-gloved treatment from Malacañang -Karapatan

ICHRP Secretariat
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Still no justice while Arroyo receives kid-gloved treatment from Malacañang -Karapatan

Karapatan Public Info Desk, Press Statement, June 21, 2012 –   Today, as the defense lawyers of former Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo present their client’s plea for bail at the Pasay Regional Trial Court, human rights group Karapatan joins members of people’s organizations under BAYAN in a rally outside the court premises urging for the immediate junking of Arroyo’s motion for bail and her immediate prosecution for electoral sabotage and human rights cases.

Cristina Palabay, Karapatan spokesperson, said that more than six months have lapsed since the arrest of Arroyo based on electoral fraud charges, but her legal maneuvers and Malacañang’s kid-gloved treatment have kept GMA from being brought to justice.

Malacañang’s real intentions to prosecute Arroyo is betrayed by the fact that it has approved the special treatment of Arroyo in detention, being ‘detained’ in a hospital with extraordinary perks as a detained person, and the inordinately slow process of prosecuting her for the electoral fraud cases. The Aquino administration has likewise done nothing to go after GMA for the rights violations conducted under her term, which she has spurred through her counter-insurgency policy Oplan Bantay Laya,” she commented.

Palabay added that Arroyo’s motion for bail should not be granted by the court lest it be considered another significant indication of the prevailing climate of impunity in the country.

A week ago, the European Parliament adopted a resolution noting the “insufficiency” of the government’s ability to effectively combat the widespread impunity of perpetrators of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances. The resolution was adopted after human rights activists led by Karapatan and Philippine UPR Watch conducted lobby activities and meetings with members of the parliament to brief them on the human rights situation in the country. (Full text of resolution may be accessed through this link: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&reference=P7-TA-2012-0264&language=EN)

Palabay welcomed the call of the European Parliament for the Philippine government “to take further measures in order to end impunity for extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and torture and bring those responsible to justice,” as victims of rights violations and their kin commemorate the International Day to Support Victims of Torture on June 26. It also marks the sixth year of the abduction and enforced disappearance of UP students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño.

“As long as perpetrators of such grave and heinous crimes such as Arroyo and Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan Jr. remain free from arrest and prosecution, Aquino and his state security forces bequeath their legacies by not establishing accountability and by their perpetuation of the same pattern of rights abuses through Oplan Bayanihan,” she concluded. ###

End Impunity now!
Reference:Cristina Palabay, Spokesperson, +63917-5003879
Angge Santos, Media Liaison, +63918-9790580
———————————————————————
PUBLIC INFORMATION DESK
publicinfo@karapatan.org
———————————————————————
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.

Invitation to “Run for your Life 2 (This is not a fun run)” June 22, 4:00PM, UP Acad Oval, UP Diliman

ICHRP Secretariat
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Invitation to “Run for your Life 2 (This is not a fun run)” June 22, 4:00PM, UP Acad Oval, UP Diliman

Dear friends and colleagues,

This June , as the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture will be commemorated on the 26th, UP Kilos Na!, Karapatan, All-UP Workers Alliance  and Tanggulan Youth Network are inviting you to join us in speaking against the unspeakable, to stand against torture and all forms of human rights violations.

Torture continues to be employed by the state, to break the spirit, dignity and will of those it had deemed “enemies of the state.” This can be attested to by many political detainees and survivors of abduction who were subjected to cruel and inhumane acts by state security forces. Many had the determination and will to get over the physical and mental pain of their experience; still many need support for their continued healing.

Thousands who were disappeared were also probably tortured, while their families continue to be tormented with the uncertainty of their fate. To date, under the Aquino administration, there are already 96 victims of torture and 76 victims of extrajudicial killings, while 363 political prisoners continue to languish in detention centers. Nine have been forcibly disappeared.

Although the Philippines is a signatory to international human rights instruments such as the Convention against Torture, state security forces continue the use of torture and at the very least tolerates it, as none have been punished for violating the Anti-Torture Law.

This June, the human rights community will also commemorate the abduction of UP students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño six years ago. While their mothers have continued their search for justice when they filed criminal charges against Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan Jr. and his band of torturers, Palparan continues to evade the warrant of arrest issued against him amid the Aquino government’s lackluster efforts to arrest him. Palparan personifies the prevalent state of impunity in the country.

We would like to enjoin you to give tribute to the victims of torture and all rights abuses, and give voice to the call for justice and to end torture. We invite you to join us in “Run for your Life 2 (This is not a fun run),” an activity that aims to raise public awareness about torture, extrajudicial killings, the plight of political prisoners, human rights violations and the climate of impunity.

This will be the second time that we will lead this kind of activity, in coordination with other concerned organizations; the first was in 2011, dubbed “Run for your Life (This is not a fun run)”, and was participated in by Sunday joggers, runners and non-runners, bloggers, human rights activists, mainstream and alternative media and other concerned citizens. It was part of the campaign against torture and was held on the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.

This time, it will be a 4.4 kilometer run/walk/jog, to be held on June 22, 2012, Friday, from 4:00 to 6:30pm, around the tree-lined Academic Oval in UP Diliman.

Justice to all victims of Torture!
Stop Enforced disappearances! Surface the victims now!
Justice to all victims of human rights violations!
End impunity in the Philippines!
* *

“Run for your Life 2 (This is not a fun run)” is also a part of the series of activities to commemorate the abduction of Empeño and Cadapan, who was also a sprinter/triathlete. To put a “twist” to the usual, there will be a “prison cell,” and participants will be encouraged to keep their eyes open for “Jovito Palparan”, whom they must capture by virtue of citizen’s arrest. The real Gen. Jovito Palparan Jr. is a fugitive who remains scot-free after he was served a warrant of arrest for kidnapping and illegal detention of Karen and Sherlyn. The run will also serve as a fundraising event to generate financial support for the ongoing legal cases against Palparan and all human rights violators, so donations for the run are very welcome. A short program will be held at the end of the 4.4K run, at the foot of the AS steps. We hope that you can join us on the 22nd. Please contact us through (00632) 4354146 (Karapatan Office). Thank you very much.

Sincerely yours,

(sgd)Prof. Sarah Raymundo (UP Kilos Na!)
(sgd) Cristina Palabay (Spokesperson, Karapatan)
(sgd) Felix Pariñas (All UP Workers Alliance)
(sgd) Gidget Estrella  (Convenor, Tanggulan Youth Network)

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

Expedite resumption of talks, release political prisoners – Karapatan

ICHRP Secretariat
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Expedite resumption of talks, release political prisoners – Karapatan

Karapatan Public Info Desk, Media Release, June 19, 2012 – “We welcome the June 16 joint statement of the NDF and the GPH peace panels saying that both agreed to ‘continue meaningful discussions prior to formal talks’. It is a ray of optimism for the NDFP consultants, staff and all the political prisoners that they will soon be free, “ enthuses Marie Hilao Enriquez, chairperson of Karapatan.

In the said joint statement, the NDF raised the issue of the “respect for and compliance with the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG)” and the release of NDFP consultants and other JASIG-protected persons such as Allan Jazmines, Tirso Alcantara, Eduardo Serrano, Ramon Patriarca, and 10 others.

The statement is timely as deteriorating prison conditions, restrictive policies on visits to political prisoners are imposed by the military and prison official as in the case of Tirso “Ka Bart” Alcantara. On June 16, Atty. Popanes of the Judge Advocate General’s Office (JAGO) denied Alcantara’s visitors, including Karapatan staff, citing a need for a permit on the basis of RA 7438. RA 7438 specifically outlines the rights of a detained person awaiting trial. Only Alcantara’s legal counsels were allowed to see Alcantara.

After almost one year and a half in prison, Alcantara remains in solitary confinement in Fort Bonifacio, with deteriorating health condition, deprived of sunning, served with filthy food ration (with dirt, trash, broken pieces of glass and fecal matter); and is given very limited access to relatives, lawyers, friends and supporters. Alcantara is consultant to the National Democratic Front (NDF) peace negotiating panel.

Alcantara’s prison condition is contained in a sworn statement before his legal counsels from the Public Interest Law Center (PILC) during their visit on June 16. Alcantara recounted that he was given water that tasted like ‘menthol’ and smelled like chemical that made him vomit and suffer from loose bowel movement. There was also a woman who, according to Alcantara, pretended to be a doctor; took his blood samples while he was blindfolded and gave him medicine as supposedly a prescription after his ECG. The medicine, he said, caused him nausea, palpitations, terrible pain on his neck. It was later learned that the ECG results were not yet processed and that the woman ‘doctor’ was a nurse.

The political prisoners, said Hilao-Enriquez, experience ill-treatment inside prison. Karapatan cited the situation of Ramon Patriarca, another detained NDFP consultant who was forcibly transferred from the Danao Provincial Jail, a regular detention facility, to the AFP Central Command in Cebu. Patriarca had twice went on hunger strike but was still refused transfer to the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center by Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia.

Hilao-Enriquez said, “Alcantara and Patriarca are both inside military camps when they should be, at the very least, in a civilian facility. All of them are subjected to unreasonable prison rules on visitation, sunning, access to medical practitioners of their choice that deny their rights as prisoners.”

Karapatan expressed its concern on the growing pattern of repression of the political prisoners’ rights as the Aquino administration continues its deceptive mantra of being a pro-human rights president while giving full leeway to the military and state security forces to continue violating the rights of the people.

Hilao-Enriquez concluded that, “as the GPH and the NDF prepares for the resumption of talks, we reiterate our call to release all political prisoners, including the 14 NDF consultants. In fact, the NDF consultants should not be inside prison because they are JASIG-protected and should therefore be taking part in the talks. But after more than a year, the GPH has not acted on its own commitment to work for their release but has in fact treated the issue of the release of political prisoners as an obstacle, rather than as a building block, to a meaningful resumption of the peace talks.” ###

Reference: Marie Hilao Enrique, Chairperson, +63917-5616800
Angge Santos, Media Liaison, +63918-9790580
———————————————————————
PUBLIC INFORMATION DESK
publicinfo@karapatan.org
———————————————————————
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

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