This story was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. V, No. 16, May 29-June 4, 2005

International Groups Hit Political Repression in Philippines

The growing political repression in the Philippines is reflective of the international human rights situation. Various international groups last week joined the ranks of local progressive organizations in denouncing increased incidences of human rights violations.

By BULATLAT

The international community is increasingly concerned over political repression in the Philippines. Increased human rights violations, after all, is an issue all peoples in the world can relate to, judging by the extent of repression that happens in different parts of the world.

The Netherlands-based International Association of People’s Lawyers (IAPL) last week stressed that “the Philippines has become a dangerous place for lawyers, judges and members of the legal profession.” On the other hand, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) described the country as the most murderous place in the world to practice journalism.

Recently, the International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL) has promised to address the issue of escalating attacks against Filipino lawyers at the 15^th Congress of IADL in Paris, France from June 7 to 11, 2005. IADL President Jitendra Sharma said, “(W)e should be able to arouse international opinion of this issue.”

Women’s protests

In the United States, the GABRIELA Network (GABNet) held a nationwide vigil last May 20 as a “solemn reminder of the ongoing US intervention in the Philippines and its destructive nature for the Philippine nation and its people.” This was the first nationally coordinated mass action in the US to protest the “escalating political killings in the Philippines since (US President) George W. Bush…declared the country as the second front in the global `war on terror.’”

The mass action was held simultaneously in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Portland, San Francisco and Seattle. More than 200 participants denounced the more than 300 political killings and abductions from 2001 to the present. They stressed that in the first quarter of 2005 alone, there were 100 cases of human rights violations affecting 23,252 victims in 91 communities.

Among their ranks, the protesters said that 11 women belonging to GABRIELA and the Gabriela Women’s Party (GWP) were murdered.

Church concerns

Even the international mission agency of The United Methodist Church was alarmed by the violence in the Philippines that is “claiming the lives of Christian pastors and laity who side with the poor in demanding justice and economic opportunity.

The Rev. R. Randy Day, chief executive of the General Board of Global Ministries, joined local church leaders in calling for a full and fair investigation of the May 12 murder of the Rev. Edison Lapuz who was shot while he slept. Day said that the situation in the Philippines is “deeply disturbing to the Christian conscience.”

Reflective of global human rights situation

The growing political repression in the Philippines is reflective of the overall global situation. In a statement, Amnesty International (AI) stressed that using the war on terror as an excuse, “governments are eroding human rights principles, standards and values. The international community appears unable or willing to halt this trend.”

The AI explained that international human rights and humanitarian law is being “directly challenged as ineffective in responding to the security issues of the present and future.”

Since 9/11, the international human rights group said, “(G)overnments around the world have been openly pursuing repressive agendas. Many play on people’s fears and sometimes prejudices.”

In its 2005 report, AI expressed concern over increasing reports of military and police brutality against both communist and crime suspects. Bulatlat

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