This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. V, No. 36, October 16-22, 2005
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
Camp Bagong Diwa Likened to
Auswichtz In a
privilege speech Oct. 4, Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Liza Maza called Camp
Bagong Diwa Detention Center as the Philippines’ version of Auswichtz.
Auswichtz was the infamous German concentration camp that housed Jews rounded up
during World War II. Jews then suffered under inhumane prison conditions, were
made to do hard labor, and the weak were sent to gas chambers.
By
May Vargas
On Oct. 5, the start of this years' holy month
of Ramadhan, Gabriela Rep. Liza Maza delivered a privilege speech in the House
of Representatives calling Camp Bagong Diwa Detention Center as the Philippines
' very own, "Auswichtz” where Filipino Muslims are detained under appalling
conditions.
Testimonies of the detainees themselves as well
their families and relatives about the unjust and discriminatory policy imposed
in the detention center have reached the office of the woman legislator after
the August 2005 International Solidarity Mission (ISM). A team from the ISM
conducted a jail visit to gather testimonies and validate the findings of
previous fact finding reports.
Inhumane prison conditions
The detainees complained that they are made to
sleep on cardboards in a 3x4-meter prison cell without any ventilation and
lighting. The sink and toilet bowl are also cramped in the small cell. Their
privilege to cook their own food and walk under the sun was removed after the
March 15 siege. In addition, their food ration (of rice-dried fish-puso ng
saging) comes only twice a day, causing their poor health.
They have also been deprived of proper and
timely medical attention. Asthma, tuberculosis, beri-beri, diabetes, cataract,
hepatitis and other diseases are common among the detainees. On top of these,
three are reportedly in need of urgent treatment and surgery.
According to the Free Basilan 73 (FB 73), an
organization of detainees and their families, "Ustadz Bashir Majiril is
suffering from advanced tuberculosis and acute diabetes which makes him
virtually blind. Muktar Ahalul, who was hit during the March siege, has a
shrapnel still embedded in his left eyelid. Marvin Uyag, also a survivor of the
siege, is suffering from excruciating pain because of the nine shrapnels in his
body. Doctors have long recommended immediate treatment and operation for all
three of them."
Overkill
In an urgent appeal submitted by the FB 73 to
the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), the Department of Interior and Local
Government (DILG), and to the Office of Chief Justice Hilario Davide on Sept. 30
this year, the detainees complained that their situation has gravely worsened
after the March 15 Bicutan siege.
An excerpt from Representative Maza's speech
echoes this concern: "Mr. Speaker, that such inhumane treatment, such physical
and mental ordeal the Moro prisoners are forced to endure are a punishment for
the jailbreak attempt of some Abu Sayyaf members last March 14, 2005. But let me
remind this House that such action is not only unjust but unjustified."
In the same speech, Maza also said, "Police had
put then the number of jailbreak instigators to some identified seven Abu Sayyaf
members. The PNP assault of the prison killed 22 inmates, including those who
were themselves held hostage by the ASG. Among those killed were members of the
human rights groups Moro-Christian Peoples Alliance and Free Basilan 73
Committee."
Meanwhile, the CHR responded to the detainees'
appeal by sending one of its representatives, Dr. Renate Basas, to conduct an
unannounced preliminary investigation. However, he was denied entry to the
facility.
Religious persecution?
The detainees' appeal also highlighted cultural
insensitivity and discrimination. The detainees said "community praying
especially on Fridays and during Ramadan" which is an essential part of their
faith, has been banned. Conservative Moro women on the one hand are subjected
to a "shameful" strip search.
Deploring this policy, the congresswoman said,
"I wonder Mr. Speaker what have happened to the metal detectors issued to jail
guards precisely for that purpose. Mr. Speaker, such humiliation is doubly
outrageous when we speak that the subjects here are Muslim sisters whose social
norms and religious beliefs require them to always put cover on their body parts
as a matter of decency."
The Moro-Christian Peoples Alliance (MCPA), an
organization working for Moro-Christian unity and the Moro people’s rights,
together with Karapatan (or the Alliance for the Advancement of People’s
Rights), and defense lawyer Pura Calleja, denounced the deplorable conditions of
the detainees.
Ren Jallaludin Ropeta, MCPA Vice Chairperson
said: "Muslims they may be but they are not hardened criminals. They have not
been convicted yet and the majority are in fact mere victims of illegal arrest
and torture. They were detained initially without any charges until the PNP made
something up to pin them down. Despite this, our brothers are treated worse than
animals."
Ropeta said proof to his claim was the recent
release of Muhamadiya Hamja who was charged by the Department of Justice with 52
counts of kidnapping in the Dos Palmas kidnapping case. Hamja was however
released in June this year after Pasig Regional trial Court Judge Carpio cleared
him of all charges.
Hamja said, "Many of my Muslim brethren who are
still in jail are innocent like me. There were more than 100 of us who were
arrested without warrant in Lamitan Basilan in July 2001. We were tortured by
our captors and forced to admit we are ASG men (members of the Abu Sayaff
Group). I was detained for almost 4 years for a crime I did not commit. I
thought my life would end during the siege like the 22 inmates who died without
justice. Four years of my life wasted away in jail, away from my family."
His son Muhammad Hamja, a volunteer for the
FB73, migrated to Manila after the 2001 Basilan siege to be able to be with his
father as often as possible and assist in the legal defense of his father and
other detainees.
He laments, "It is sad and infuriating to think
that our being Muslims makes us criminals in the eyes of the government. Our
dignity is trampled upon and even our most humble human sense is being
bastardized."
Restoration of basic rights
The detainees stressed that their demands should
not be taken as simply limited to the Ramadhan season. "More than a special
request for a special occasion, what we are asking for is the restoration of our
basic and inalienable rights. Yes, we are prisoners but our being one does not
make us less human."
The appeal was signed by the 129 Muslim
detainees, the total number of Muslims currently detained at Camp Bagong Diwa in
Bicutan, Metro Manila. Posted by Bulatlat © 2005 Bulatlat
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Muslim detainees appeal for humane treatment
Posted by Bulatlat