NEWS AT A GLANCE 

CPP condemns Palparan’s promotion to two-star general

In a statement issued last Oct. 15, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) condemned the promotion of Jovito Palparan to two-star general of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Called the “Butcher of Mindoro” by cause-oriented groups and relatives and victims of human rights violations in Mindoro Oriental, then Col. Jovito Palparan gained notoriety as commanding officer of 204^th Infantry Battalion.
       
Palparan's promotion, the CPP said, typifies “the Arroyo regime's terrorist war: it victimizes the people and rewards its fascist dogs.”
       
“Palparan is being rewarded for his ruthlessness in conducting the US-Arroyo regime's counterrevolutionary ‘war of terror’ in Mindoro,” it said. Palparan was promoted to brigadier general early this year and was head of the Philippine Humanitarian Contingent to Iraq despite charges filed against him.

“By promoting Palparan, Mrs. Arroyo's hands are stained with the blood of all of his victims.”

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State of health now a convenient escape route ─ Maza

The women’s alliance Gabriela on Oct. 14 expressed alarm 14 over the Department of Justice’s declaration that former congressman Romeo Jalosjos could be released by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo through executive clemency. Jalosjos is serving two life sentences in 1997 for child rape and indecent assault on an 11-year-old girl.

Emmi de Jesus, Gabriela secretary general, said they have been receiving calls from women from Jalosjos’ district in Zamboanga del Norte regarding his impending release reportedly due to health reasons.  Gabriela has been informed that Jalosjos’ house is currently undergoing renovation in preparation for his return, said de Jesus.

Meanwhile, Gabriela Women's Party-list Rep. Liza Maza criticized the use of health reasons by prominent individuals as escape route. “The Department of Justice should realize that this is not the way to serve justice," she said.

"We must ensure that justice is served to the victim by making Jalosjos pay for his crimes in full,” Maza said. “It was already an uphill struggle to convict Jalosjos, keeping him in jail should not be another battle that women have to contend with."

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FBI seizure of Indymedia servers denounced

The Indymedia-Quezon City (IMC-QC) denounced Oct. 11 the seizure of Independent Media Centers (IMC or Indymedia) servers in London last Oct. 7.  Indymedia is a global network of independent non-corporate media organizations.

Reports said that U.S. authorities issued a federal order to the Rackspace, which provides hosting services for more than 20 IMCs in London, to hand over information hosted on Indymedia web servers to the FBI. The Rackspace complied by turning over two Indymedia servers to the authorities resulting in the removal of those sites from the internet.

“This is a clear violation of press freedom and the overall freedom of expression,” said the IMC-QC in a statement.

“The Indymedia network has become noted for its reportage and analysis condemning the US-led imperialist terrorist war,” IMC-QC said. That the US military-industrial complex has trained its guns on independent voices in the media shows that it will not allow dissent to get in the way of its international hegemonic designs.”

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), which represents some 55,000 media practitioners worldwide, had earlier issued a statement calling for an investigation of the incident and condemning what it described as a “stifling (of) independent voices in journalism.”

“But IMCs will not bend even to self-proclaimed superpowers,” the IMC-QC said. “Instead, we will strengthen our unity to expose their rottenness, and at the same time make the media truly serve the people.”

Bulatlat

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