Several countries across Asia and the Pacific also joined the Global Day of Action against Extrajudicial Killings in the Philippines.
In Sydney, Australia, migrant Filipinos held a picket at the Philippine Consulate. A candlelight vigil followed suit at the Town Hall. Protest actions were also held in Melbourne.
In his speech, Peter Murphy of the Philippines Australia Union Link, said, “The Philippines is now second only to Colombia for murders of union leaders, and second only to Iraq for murders of journalists.”
Murphy also called on the Australian government to review its $4.2 million annual aid to the Philippine military.
Moreover, an Australian senator said that the continuing detention of Anakpawis Representative Crispin Beltran is a sign of the Philippines’ “dying democracy.”
In an article published in Socialist Objective (v.18 n.2), Senator Gavin Marshall, Labor Senator for Victoria, wrote, “Most of us assume that democracy is alive and well in the Philippines, yet there are some very worrying signs that the Philippines is becoming once more a nation where the government can and will abuse its power and citizens.”
Marshall expressed concern over the mounting repression of progressive Philippine lawmakers such as Beltran, saying that “If the Parliamentarians cannot even feel safe in the Philippines, then what hope for ordinary citizens?”
In Jakarta, Indonesia, members of the Front Mahasiswa Nasional (FMN), Gerakan Rakyat Indonesia (GRI) and Aliansi Mahasiswa Papua (AMP) held a protest in front of the Philippines Embassy.
In Seoul, South Korea, Filipinos, Koreans, Bangladeshi, Nepali held a rally in front of the Philippine embassy. Filipino migrant organization KASAMMAKO spearheaded the activity. Seoul-based lawyers’ group MINBYUN also joined the protest.
Lee Sang-hee, a member of MINBYUN, said, “Many Korean activists and innocent people were killed by our military regime, and so we feel that the Filipino people’s problem is also our problem.”
In Pakistan, the All Pakistan Trade Union Federation (APTUF) held a demonstration in Lahore City. Leaders of the APTUF also sent a letter to the High Commissioner of the Philippines in Islamabad. They called on the Filipino official to take immediate measures to stop the killings.
In Taiwan, members of Labor Rights Association, Human Rights Program and the students of Soochow University held a demonstration in front of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei.
Filipinos in Hongkong, Tokyo and Nagasaki in Japan also held similar actions. (Bulatlat.com)
