Suara Bangsamoro
Sultan Hamidullah Atar of Marawi City will testify in the International Peoples’ Tribunal (IPT2018) on September 18-19, 2018 in Brussels, Belgium to prosecute President Rodrigo Duterte for his crimes committed against the Moro and the Filipino people.
Sultan Atar will be testifying about the human rights violations committed by the Duterte regime to the Meranaws during the Marawi City siege, and the declaration of Martial Law in Mindanao.
Suara Bangasamoro Chairperson Jerome Succor Aba will testify on the charges regarding religious discrimination, arbitrary detention and torture committed against him by agents of US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) on April 17-19, 2018.
Aba said they will also bring up the massacre of seven Tausug youths on September 14, 2018 in Patikul, Sulu. State military forces were allegedly behind the massacre.
Various local organizations led by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) and Karapatan will raise a total of 21 cases or incidents in the IPT2018. These cases can fall into these categories – violations on economic, social and cultural rights, violations on civil and political rights, and violations on the right to self-determination.
‘Global Court’
The IPT2018 is a global court convened by the European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and World Human Rights, Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers, International Association of Democratic Lawyers, IBON International, and the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines.
The global court sourced its legitimacy from the people as the primordial source of authority and power of all courts – international or local. The global court, composed of leading public figures of recognized achievements and high moral stature, will come up with a verdict based on a thorough and fair assessment of evidences, and in line with the applicable legal standards.
The verdict from the IPT will be submitted to the International Criminal Court (ICC), the European Parliament, and the United Nations Human Rights Council as a case against the US-Duterte regime.
“Although Duterte already withdrew from the Rome Statute creating the ICC, it will take a year upon the receipt of the notice of withdrawal according to Article 127 of the ICC. This rule was made specifically for dictators like Duterte to withdraw while complaints are filed against them,” Aba ended.