This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. VII, No. 6, March 11-17, 2007
The Alston Report : What is
the UN's Next Move? The AFP kills citizens
it is sworn to protect and, as Alston has warned, it will do so until it is
called to account for its homicidal behavior. BY
PETER SALES* A lot of history seems to
have been forgotten as the Philippines lurches toward the May elections. Only a
nation without a memory could be preparing to vote into office such an appalling
assortment of trapos (traditional politicians), Marcos torturers, coup plotters,
and other freebooters. The fact of the matter is that the political situation
has lost its moral direction. When, Philip Alston, the United Nations
Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Killings recently
criticized the Arroyo government and the armed forces, did Justice Secretary
Raul Gonzalez resign in disgrace? Of course not; instead, he launched into an
irrelevant and disgraceful attack on Mr. Alston himself. Filipinos should be
almost as horrified about the fact that their senior law officer has become so
intensely politicized as about the hundreds of brutal murders he is choosing to
ignore, misunderstand, or condone. Meanwhile, the work of the UN Rapporteur and
his carefully calibrated findings need to be much better understood. Initially,
his mission arose from massive local and overseas concern about the wave of
killings which has swept the Philippines since Gloria Arroyo assumed office in
2001. Now comes his clear warning about the highly-corrosive effect of
extrajudicial killings and political repression on the Philippines as a whole.
Government and military involvement was
obvious not only to Alston, but to all but the perpetrators themselves. Indeed,
the high level of political repression which has accompanied the murders clearly
relates to Oplan Bantay Laya 1 and 2, savage counter-insurgency campaigns
underwritten by the United States in its so-called Global War on Terrorism.
Alston conducted a ten-day tour of the
archipelago. This was not long enough to gain an understanding of the feudal
and faltering political system, but quite adequate for deciding that the AFP was
behind the liquidation of ordinary Philippine citizens. What he has been
looking at, therefore, are specific examples of state terror. Significant member Despite the dismissive comments made by
Secretary Gonzalez, Mr. Alston is a significant member of the UN team designated
to monitor Human Rights abuses throughout the world. An Australian professor of
law at New York University, he is one of the most highly-regarded international
jurists today. He has considerable experience as a UN investigator. He has
worked for UNICEF and also spent eight years as chair of the UN Committee on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. He has recently conducted inquiries in
Nigeria, Guatemala, Sri Lanka, Lebanon and Israel. He made an important HR
report to the UN just before coming to the Philippines. He is very widely
respected. Ironically, Alston works for (and reports to)
the UN Human Rights Council; the Philippines was appointed to the HRC in a very
controversial decision last year! Applying for membership, the Arroyo regime
claimed it would "continue to be a voice for vulnerable groups and will support
human rights-based approaches that address their concerns". Sadly, the
Philippines has never been such a voice! Not only did the Philippine government
provide such solemn assurances about domestic observance, but it gave
undertakings to promote human rights internationally, especially within ASEAN.
It is a signatory of all the major conventions. Manila's permanent
representative to the UN, Lauro Baja, Jr. announced at the time: "Our election
is a telling testimonial from member states of the United Nations and the
international community on human rights in the Philippines". Dismal reading
now! Guarantees were lost in excessive legal
jargon, however, and even proposed anti-terrorism legislation was cited as a HR
measure! Yet the Philippines is a signatory of all major rights conventions.
As the situation in countries like the Philippines has worsened, UN experts
have criticized the tendency to conceal military excesses behind the smokescreen
of fighting crime and terrorism. Sad comment In the current case, then, Alston was
required to investigate a member of the HRC which employs him. It is a sad
comment on the present crisis within the United Nations that he was placed in
this position by a controversial decision of the General Assembly to allow the
Philippines to sit on the HRC; clearly the vote should have been taken more
seriously. Will the Philippine delegate now seek to white-ant the Alston report
from within the HRC? The HRC has taken a battering since it replaced the
Commission on Human Rights, some critics questioning how serious the UN remains
about human rights. The UN has serious problems; it risks being
completely ignored. Throughout the Marcos years and since, Philippine
representatives in Geneva insisted that successive governments in Manila were
honoring their obligations. This was monstrously untrue. The HRC is not a tribunal – nothing will come
of any UN reports and recommendations without the agreement of the Arroyo
regime. The International Criminal Court has some real authority. It could
reach into the Philippines and arrest abusive soldiers, but the United States is
doing everything possible to limit its scope and powers as part of a brutal
counterinsurgency campaign. Alston himself has criticized the
self-regulatory nature of participation in HRC work. The UN can only act when
its rapporteur is officially allowed to visit particular trouble spots. He has
asked, "Why should they have to respond to detailed critical reports while a
host of other countries which had either dismissed or ignore such requests were
exempted from scrutiny". He insists that the HRC must be given a stronger
mandate. Meanwhile, the United Nations is considering
wider use of the truth and reconciliation process whereby perpetrators of HR
violations confess their crimes in return for amnesty. This prevents the
baddies from constantly re-inventing themselves. The act of remembering and the
addressing of unrighted wrongs are essential for the Philippines. Critics
complain about aspects of this technique as applied in countries like South
Africa, but it would be better than nothing. Death squads In comments last year about Guatemala, Alston
criticized the instability provoked by death squads and extrajudicial killings.
He urged the need for institutional reform (where would anyone start with the
AFP?), but also emphasized a more fundamental matter: "The universal challenge
is to end impunity – the fact that those who kill can get away with it and have
no reason not to continue and even escalate their murderous ways". His findings
on the Philippines are likely to focus on the same problem. He has already
damned "the culture of impunity" in this country. For now, Professor Alston will present a
preliminary report to the HRC on March 27; his full report will take
considerably longer to complete. The first document will precede the May vote
and is likely to be a bombshell. He almost certainly will draw attention to the
way impunity has compromised the legal system. Perhaps more importantly, he
will be seeking ways to ensure that Manila takes notice of his criticisms. He
will make a number of suggestions about accountability. He will certainly be
analyzing the compliance of the Philippines with international law, which
threatens to be a pre-election embarrassment. Professor Alston described the AFP as
resembling an untreated alcoholic. In turn, the military and its defenders
argue that he was brainwashed by the Left, though heaven knows how. Visitors
like Alston can direct an objective gaze on a problem which few domestic critics
are brave enough to confront. With a government which lacks legitimacy and an
army out of control, the Philippines desperately needs people who can speak
truth to power. The mounting number of dead and wounded, the suppression of
ordinary political activity, and the imposition of the authoritarian Arroyo
regime indicate that help must to some extent come from outside. Professor Alston made a significant
contribution to identifying a terrible evil, but for the moment the AFP, rather
than registering shame and disgrace, has launched an even greater campaign of
terror. It is clearly determined to interfere with the forthcoming election in
ways which have become institutionalized since the Marcos period. Intimidation
of squatters in Barangay Commonwealth, Quezon City, and the brutal murder of
Anakpawis official Renato [Atong] Pacaide in Davao del Sur, both incidents only
a week after Alston's departure, reveal the AFP's utter contempt for the United
Nations. It would be shameful if the UN Special
Rapporteur's visit actually worsened the situation. Perhaps further gains will
be made with the release of his reports – perhaps not. For now, there appears
to be no light at the end of the tunnel. The AFP kills citizens it is sworn to
protect and, as Alston has warned, it will do so until it is called to account
for its homicidal behavior. The United Nations currently appears to lack that
ability. GMA surely would not have invited the UN representative to the
Philippines if he was likely to make a damned bit of difference! Bulatlat *Peter Sales is presently a Senior
Lecturer in History and Politics at the University of Wollongong, Australia
where he has taught various courses in U.S. history since the beginnings of
time. Most recently, he has also been a Research Associate of the Unibersidad ng
Pilipinas (University of the Philippines) at the Diliman campus in Metro Manila. © 2007 Bulatlat
■
Alipato Publications Permission is granted to reprint or redistribute this article, provided its author/s and Bulatlat are properly credited and notified.
Contributed to Bulatlat