HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
Protest vs State
Terror Violently Dispersed
The
police dispersed last April 7 some 6,000 demonstrators in Manila who were
protesting against state terrorism. The dispersal certainly drove home the
rallyists’ point. Among the 10 persons injured were two priests and three
members of media, including this reporter.
BY
RONALD ESCANLAR
Bulatlat
Truncheoned
and bloodied, Bro. Benedicto Zaragosa of the Order of Camelites
struggles to free himself from the police who dragged him to a
van and detained him at the Western Police District (WPD) headquarters
at UN Avenue. |
Dr. Gene Alzona
Nisperos of the Health Alliance for Demcoracy (HEAD) reported that 10
persons were hurt when police violently dispersed a 6,000-strong
demonstration in front of the Malate Catholic church in Manila last April
7. Seven of them were treated at the Ospital ng Maynila while the
remaining three were taken to the Philippine General Hospital. Nine others
sustained minor injuries.
The protest action
coincided with the 112th General Assembly of International Parliamentary
Union being held at the Philippine International Convention Center in
Pasay City. The protesters wanted to bring to the IPU’s attention the
unabated killing of activists in the country. |
Media not spared
This reporter suffered a
one-and-a-half centimeter head wound while trying to help Fr. Benedicto
Zaragosa, who lay prone on the ground. Zaragosa's forehead bled profusely
as riot policemen bore on him with their meter-long rattan truncheons.
This reporter was pulled from the scuffle together with
the bleeding priest. After shouting "Media ako! Media ako!" the police
let go of this reporter and instead focused their attention on the
bleeding priest.
This reporter saw the police hauling the bloodied priest like a hog
away from the scuffle. Later, while being treated at the Ospital ng
Maynila, this reporter saw the police bring Fathers Allan Jose
Arcebuche and Zaragosa and Edwin Egar in for treatment. |
Bulatlat’s Ronald Escanlar
(in black shirt), injured and dragged by police |
Meanwhile, the People’s Journal Tonight reported that its
photographer, Roger Talan, suffered injuries in the arm during the
scuffle.
The other media member hurt in the
dispersal was Emil Mercado, 30, of Tudla MultiMedia Network who suffered a
one-cm cut on the head and one of those taken to the Ospital ng Maynila.
Deliberate
In his report, Nisperos noted that
most of those injured suffered head wounds which show “deliberate intent
to cause harm or injury.” This, he said, is very far from the “maximum
tolerance” policy claimed by the government.
Nisperos also said that the cuts,
swelling and bruises were blunt injuries brought about by truncheon
beating.
Police truncheon ralliers during dispersal |
Nisperos scored how the injured
priests were taken first to the Western Police District (WPD) headquarters
before being taken to the hospital for treatment.
“Tahasang paglabag po ito sa
kanyang karapatan. Kung may doctor man sa WPD gaya ng sinasabi ng mga
pulis, ang doctor na ito ay lumabag sa medical code of ethics” (This
is a deliberate violation of his rights. If ever there was a doctor at the
WPD, the doctor did not follow the medical code of ethics), he said.
|
No permit, no rally policy
According to organizers, the protest was supposed to be held at the
adjacent Raha Sulaiman Park but police authorities, who had a ready
platoon of riot policemen and a medium-sized fire truck, prevented
protesters from converging at the park.
Officers from the WPD maintained that the protesters had no permit to
rally.
Two legislators were present among the protesters - Bayan Muna (people
first) Party-list Rep. Teddy Casiño and Anakpawis (toiling masses)
Party-list Rep. Crispin Beltran.
A priest from the nearby Malate Catholic Church eventually allowed the
protesters to hold their program at the church's compound.
The platoon-sized riot police have by then been augmented by another
platoon of riot policemen from the Northern Police District.
Sidewalk debate
Near noon, the protesters lined up on the sidewalk in front of the church
bearing placards that read "Stop Killing Activists." At the same time,
cultural activists from the group Buklod Sining performed at the adjacent
church gate.
Riot policemen were ordered to form a single row before the protesters on
the sidewalk, occupying the middle of Marcelo H. del Pilar Street.
A debate ensued when police officers argued that the sidewalk was not part
of the church's grounds, to which leaders of the protest, including the
Malate Church priest who had allowed the holding of a program on the
church's grounds, contended that the sidewalk was part of the church
compound.
As the debate raged, a police officer, whose nametag read “Armazona,”
ordered the riot policemen to occupy the end of the sidewalk that led to
Remedios Circle, in effect surrounding the protesters.
Push and pull
The riot policeman at the end of the line started pushing the protesters
back, which started the first wave of violence.
Riot policemen, armed with meter-long rattan truncheons and protected with
helmets and shields, pushed on and struck the protesters who held onto
their placards, which some riot policemen were pulling away.
|
Police without nameplates, just a few minutes before the dispersal.
Riot police are required by law to wear nameplates.
|
There was a lull for a few seconds when a lady officer and some leaders of
the protesters intervened. However, the scuffle resumed when a riot
policeman began to steal a placard from a protester.
Riot policemen did not stop until they had the protesters inside the
church compound, in the process inflicting head wounds on members of the
clergy, church workers, and media people.
Among those arrested were Father Arcebuche, OSM, assistant parish priest
of the Our Lady of the Abandoned in Sta. Ana, Manila; Egar, a member of
the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP); and Carmelite
seminarian Zaragosa.
Obvious link
"The first quarter of 2005 alone saw 29 innocent lives snuffed out in the
most brutal and treacherous manner," said the unity statement of Bayan
Muna, Anakpawis, and Gabriela Women's Party distributed during the
protest.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), meanwhile, recently
released a report calling on the Philippine government to act on the
murder of journalists, which now stand at 66 deaths since the fall of the
Marcos dictatorship in 1986.
The still unsolved murder of Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI) priest
Father William Tadena, a supporter of the Hacienda Luisita strike, was
also one of the issues carried during the protest. Tadena was slain in an
ambush on March 13 in La Paz, Tarlac.
In a statement, militant group Bayan (Bagong Alyansang Makabayan) said the
protest was timed to coincide with the IPU to call "international
attention to the deteriorating human rights situation in the country."
Bulatlat
Photo by Arkibong Bayan
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