Kabataang Artista Para Sa Tunay Na Kalayaan (KARATULA) calls for the immediate release of Remy Jade Manzon, member of KARATULA UP Cebu, Melanie Montanio from the League of Filipino Students UP Cebu, and Januelle Rontos of Nagkakaisang Kusog ng mga Estudyante, a political party in UP Cebu. The three were illegally arrested and are currently detained in Philippine National Police Precincts in Toledo City and Pinamongajan.

They were arrested while the police violently dispersed a protest camp of peasants in  Sitio Camarin, Brgy Bonbon, Aloguinsan, Cebu.  According to reports, 300 elements of the PNP and SWAT roused the camp at 5:30 in the morning saying they have orders to arrest everyone in the camp. Together with the UP Cebu students, the police arrested other youth and peasants by 10 in the morning and brought to the custody of Toleda City Jail and Pinamongajan Municipal precinct.

The peasants were protesting against land grabbing of the Aboitizes who plan to turn the 168 HA of land into a shipyard and special economic zone. Manzon, Montanjo and Rontos were part of a group of 11 students who integrated with the peasants in support of their campaign.

KARATULA condemns this shameless violation of human rights and calls for the end of enduring repression and culture of impunity under Aquino’s regime as manifested by the growing number of cases of censorship, political prisoners and extrajudicial killings.  The current government and its police have clearly shown that its interest lie with the rich and foreign corporations for their greater profit while trampling on the human and socio-economic rights of peasants such as those from Sitio Camarin who have long defended and cultivated their land.

The Aquino government’s aggression will only further fuel the determination of the growing number of youth and people to defend and fight for their rights and interests for a government that fulfills the needs of the people and genuine land reform.

IMMEDIATELY RELEASE REMY JADE MANZON, MELANIE MONTANIO, AND JANUELLE RONTOS!
FIGHT FOR GENUINE LAND REFORM!
FIGHT THE FASCIST AND ANTI-PEOPLE AQUINO REGIME!

Amsterdam, August 30, 2011 – – On the occasion of International Day of the Disappeared, the Rice and Rights Network for Human Rights in the Philippines affirmed its commitment to work for justice and human rights in the Philippines. The network expressed its continuing support the campaign of the Families of the Disappeared for Justice (Desaparecidos) to demand the release of those who have been abducted and are kept in secret detention places by agents of the Philippine military and police.

The term “desaparecidos” became widely used used in Argentina and other Latin American countries in the 1970s. Human rights researchers say around thirty countries, including the Philippines, still use abduction as a way to silence political opposition.

In the Philippines, cases of abductions of political activists committed under administration of President Benigno Simeon Aquino III show that human rights violations are committed with the same degree of impunity as during the time of his predecessor Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. There were 206 cases of abductions during the Arroyo administration. At least eight cases have been documented under the Aquino government.

Justice remains elusive to the victims of human rights violations. The number of cases of human rights violations continue to rise. None of the perpetrators have been punished. Despite strong evidence and credible eyewitness testimonies, cases have been dismissed. In some cases where the court has decided in favor of the victims, the military and police defied court orders to produce and release the victims.

“We urge the Filipino people to remain steadfast in the struggle for justice and human rights,” said Rice and Rights Network spokesperson Theo Droog, “We also call on the Dutch people and the rest of the international community to support this struggle.”

Even the prospect of the resumption of peace negotiations between the Aquino government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) seems dim as a result of the government panel’s refusal to honor previous documents and agreements forged by the two panels in the past.

“Some of the agreements were signed here in the Netherlands,” Droog added. “We urge Pres. Aquino to honor these commitments in order to pave the way towards the settlement of the root causes of the armed conflict.” The panels’ next agenda is to exchange drafts on social, economic and political reforms if the first ever signed joint agreement between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the NDFP (the Hague Declaration of 1992) is to be honored.

Rice and Rights Network reiterates its call:

Surface the disappeared!
Release all political prisoners!
Justice to all victims of human rights violations!
Uphold human rights, freedom and democracy!

Contact:
Jun Saturay
riceandrights.nl@gmail.com
Tel. +31622127186

PRESS RELEASE

“The denial of freedom for persons fighting government corruption and advocating change is a continuing mockery of democracy in your country.”

This was the message of New Zealand-based human rights and peace advocacy groups as they challenged anew the Philippine president to surface all victims of enforced disappearances and issue a Presidential Proclamation to grant general, unconditional and omnibus amnesty to all political prisoners.

In an open letter to Pres. Aquino, the Philippines Solidarity Network of Aotearoa (PSNA), Auckland Philippines Solidarity (APS) and Wellington Kiwi Pinoy (WKP) stated, “On this International Day of the Disappeared, we urge you as Commander-in-Chief to end impunity, stop the extra-judicial killings and illegal detentions and order the perpetrators of enforced disappearances to allow the safe reunion of victims with their families.”

The groups also expressed disappointment over the postponement of the GPH-NDFP peace talks which they deem important especially in the light of reports of continuing human rights abuses under the Aquino administration.

Murray Horton, Secretary of PSNA notes, “New Zealanders took a keen interest in the prospects for resumed peace talks, because the groundwork was being done right while Luis Jalandoni and Coni Ledesma were touring NZ in October – November 2010. Indeed, straight after the peace speaking tour, Jalandoni and Ledesma met the chief Government negotiator in Hong Kong, and they then visited the Philippines to further the process.”

Full text of the letter follows.

Reference:

Murray Horton
Secretary, Philippines Solidarity Network of Aotearoa (PSNA)
cafca@chch.planet.org.nz, phsolidarity@gmail.com

30 August 2011

Open Letter to Philippine President Benigno Simeon Aquino III
Re: Call for Resumption of Formal GPH-NDFP Peace Talks, Appeal for Release of Political Prisoners and Justice for All Human Rights Victims

Mr. President, you take pride with the legacy of your parents who fought the Marcos dictatorship.

With the gross record of globally-condemned human rights violations under your predecessor Mrs Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, hopes for justice and change were raised when you assumed the presidency in June 2010. At the series of public meetings around New Zealand in October-November 2010 where Luis Jalandoni and Coni Ledesma of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) Peace Negotiating Panel spoke on the prospects for peace in the Philippines, New Zealanders were keen to hear whether the perpetrators of the Ampatuan massacre have been brought to justice and whether the killings of journalists and activists under your presidency.

We find it alarming that in addition to the thousands of unresolved cases under Arroyo, there are now 48 cases of extra-judicial killings, 5 enforced disappearances and 336 political prisoners remain in detention under your administration. Equally alarming is the fact that many peasant and trade union activists, social justice and human rights advocates including church workers and at least one labour rights lawyer are again threatened with arrest on trumped up charges filed at the time of Arroyo and now revived under your watch. We are also aware that NDFP personnel who played significant roles in the peace process are among the hundreds who have become victims of enforced disappearances and illegal detentions.

The recent news of indefinite postponement of formal peace talks between your government and the NDFP is quite disappointing. We join peace advocates in the Philippines in calling for urgent resumption of peace talks without preconditions. The resolution of the issue of political prisoners and other outstanding human rights, political and socio-economic issues is long overdue.

New Zealanders took a keen interest in the prospects for resumed peace talks, because the groundwork was being done right while Luis Jalandoni and Coni Ledesma were touring NZ. Indeed, straight after the peace speaking tour, Jalandoni and Ledesma met the chief Government negotiator in Hong Kong, and they then visited the Philippines to further the process.

Almost 4 decades since the late dictator Marcos declared martial law, and over 25 years since the first People Power uprising supposedly restored democracy in the Philippines, we are dismayed that human rights abuses persist in your supposedly democratic country. On this International Day of the Disappeared, we urge you as Commander-in-Chief to end impunity, stop the extra-judicial killings and illegal detentions and order the perpetrators of enforced disappearances to allow the safe reunion of victims with their families.

We further support the urgent plea for you to issue a Presidential Proclamation to grant general, unconditional and omnibus amnesty to all political prisoners. The denial of freedom for persons fighting government corruption and advocating change is a continuing mockery of democracy in your country.

Former presidents Fidel Ramos and your mother Corazon Aquino granted unconditional pardons that resulted in the general release of political prisoners. Mrs. Aquino did so in response to the strong clamor to remove the vestiges of the fascist dictatorship. Last year, you granted conditional amnesty to about 400 active and former personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police and their supporters who allegedly rebelled against the Arroyo government. On 10th December 2010, you also effected the release of the illegally detained health workers known as Morong 43.

This time, we are hopeful that a general, unconditional and omnibus amnesty to all political prisoners will be granted through your Presidential Proclamation. Mr. President, with your vow to pursue the ‘righteous path,’ let the freedom of political prisoners who endured so much suffering like your father be your great tribute to your parents who fought hard for democracy. Let the inhumane torture, imprisonment and all horrors of martial law never be repeated again.

Murray Horton
Secretary, Philippines Solidarity Network of Aotearoa (PSNA)

Daphna Whitmore
Convenor, Auckland Philippines Solidarity (APS)

Rod Prosser
Convenor, Wellington Kiwi Pinoy (WKP)

Dear Friends,

On the International Day of the Disappeared, we would like to call on all freedom loving peoples in the world to raise our voices for all those who were disappeared. Let us make the human rights violators realize that for every person they abduct and silence, more people will stand up to struggle for what is just!

In the Philippines, we bear witness not only to the abduction of several farmers, workers, students, church workers, and other struggling sectors in the society during the infamous Marcos dictatorship. We have seen a re-surge of one of the most heinous form of human rights violations – enforced disappearances – during the 9-year brutal rule of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (among other human rights violations). The current President, Benigno Simeon Aquino III, after already more than a year in office, has yet to make the previous regime accountable for its horrible HR record. Worse, these human right violations still continue well into his watch.

Let us join hands with the families of the victims in their arduous search for their missing loved ones and for justice!

In Solidarity,

International Coordinating Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICCHRP)

For more information on the issue of Enforced Disappearances in the country:
http://www.youtube.com/user/AmnestyInternational#p/search/2/QRMXAARMesg
http://www.herhaling.nl/video/1086214/

Note: The introduction is in Dutch, but the documentary itself is in English (with Dutch sub-titles)
Families of Desaparecidos Slams continued inaction of PNoy Government on cases of disappearances

Reference:
Mary Guy Portajada, Secretary General, Desaparecidos, 09175415133/ 434 2837

On the International Day of the Disappeared

“What have you done for our missing loved ones?” Mary Guy Portajada, Secretary General of the Families of the Disappeared for Justice (Desaparecidos) asked President Benigno Simeon “Nonoy” C. Aquino, III during the human rights group’s commemoration of the International Day of the Disappeared in front of Ever Gotesco Mall along Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City.

“Enforced disappearances continue to this day, even after 206 victims of enforced disappearances have been documented during Gloria Arroyo’s term,” Portajada said, “There are now eight victims of enforced disappearance under PNoy. Where is justice?”

Families of Desaparecidos together with friends and supporters held a protest action in front of Ever Gotesco, where the abduction of missing activist Jonas Burgos took place. The group mounted a sign that says, “Mag-ingat sa Mandurukot: Dito dinukot ng mga militar si Jonas Burgos.” (Beware of abductors: Jonas Burgos was abducted here by the military)

Families of the Disappeared (Desaparecidos) put a marker/dummy traffic sign in front of Ever Gotesco along Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City in commemoration of the International Day of the Disappeared

Jonas was abducted four years ago, April 28, 2007 inside the said mall while having his lunch.  Jonas is an activist teaching organic farming among peasants in Bulacan. He was never found. A Major Harry Baliaga of the Armed Forces of the Philippines is currently implicated in Jonas’ the abduction.

“This sign is a reminder to the public, that disappearances continue to happen, and that one can never be to sure of their own safety even under the PNoy administration,” warned Portajada. “And if President Noynoy remains inactive in pursuing justice for the missing, we have no choice but to rely on each other’s support.” She continued.

The human rights group expressed their alarm over the continuing incidence of enforced disappearances over the past year. “The persistence of this practice and the continuing reports of disappearances under the present regime, have diminished our faith of achieving justice for our loved ones under PNoy’s leadership.” Portajada said.

She further explains that the occurrence of abductions and enforced disappearances are only a result of the government’s anti-insurgency program Oplan Bayanihan. “No amount of repackaging can change the fact that anti-insurgency programs such as Oplan Bayanihan are designed to pacify and neutralize those who pose a threat to so-called government development programs. The state through its Armed Forces of the Philippines will continue to use whatever means it can to silence its critics.” Portajada said.

Desaparecidos vowed to continue its lobby work in Congress for the enactment into law of the bill criminalizing enforced disappearances as well as for Philippine government to ratify the UN Convention for the Protection of Persons against Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances.

“Many among us have been searching for our loved ones for more than two decades now and we will not wait for a President who has only empty words to offer us. We will not stop looking for them and in achieving justice.” Portajada concluded #