Pickets in Netherlands Greet Proclamation No. 1017
President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo’s issuance of Proclamation No. 1017, placing the
Philippines under a state of national emergency, was greeted by pickets at
The Hague and Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
BY BULATLAT
PROTESTING THE
PROCLAMATION: Filipinos protest Macapagal-Arroyo’s state of emergency
declaration in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, March 2 |
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s issuance of Proclamation No. 1017,
placing the Philippines under a state of national emergency, was greeted
by pickets at The Hague and Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Chanting “Gloria Arroyo, weg, weg weg!”
(out, out, out), protesters
picketed the Philippine embassy in The Hague March 1 to condemn the
arrests of progressive party list congressmen and the raid on several
opposition newspapers precipitated by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s
Feb. 24 issuance of Proclamation 1017.
The
protesters from the Nederlands-Filippijnse Solidariteitsbeweging
(Philippine Solidarity Group-Netherlands) and MIGRANTE Europe were joined
by activists from the International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS) and
HTIF (Confederation of Workers from Turkey in Europe).
|
They
distributed statements to passers-by and shouted slogans calling for
Gloria Arroyo’s ouster. The statements were signed by several Filipino
organizations in the Netherlands like Pinay sa Holland (Filipinas in
Holland), Migrante Party List-Netherlands, Kabalikat (shoulder to
shoulder), Linkap, Migrante-Netherlands, Committee DEFEND, ILPS-NL and
some friends of the Filipino people.
The
protesters were joined by Guido van Leemput, international secretary of
the Socialist Party of the Netherlands, which has several seats in the
Dutch Parliament. He said he went to the picket as an individual concerned
over the situation in the Philippines. He said he plans to bring the issue
for discussion within his party so that their members of parliament can
call the attention of the Dutch Parliament regarding the alarming
situation in the Philippines.
Representatives of the protesters went inside the embassy to discuss their
concern with Philippine embassy officials.
The
protesters vowed to continue with their mass actions in the next few days
and weeks even months, until the state of emergency is lifted, those
arrested released and Gloria Arroyo steps down from the presidency.
The next
day, Amsterdam-based Filipinos held a picket at the Dam Square, the city’s
main plaza. Calling on European governments to withdraw support from the
Macapagal-Arroyo regime, the protesters also demanded the lifting of
Proclamation No. 1017, the release of all persons detained during the
proclamation, respect for freedom of expression and civil liberties, and a
stop to media repression.
Macapagal-Arroyo lifted Proclamation No. 1017 on March 3.
But
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita had earlier admitted that the
“crackdown” on “destabilizers” would continue even after Proclamation No.
1017 is lifted. Likewise, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen.
Arturo Lomibao said the lifting of the proclamation would not halt the
formulation and implementation of editorial guidelines for media.
Bulatlat
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