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At UN Human Rights Council, Alston Blasts Arroyo, Military

Philip Alston, the UN’s special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings who visited the country in February to investigate the killings of political activists, said on Tuesday that he has little reason to be optimistic that the killings will stop.

He severely criticized the Philippine military, saying that there is a need for “fundamental change of heart on the part of the military or the emergence of civilian resolve to compel the military to change its ways. Then, and only then, will it be possible to make real progress in ending the killings.”

He likewise hinted that the military tried to manipulate him by relentlessly pushing the line that the killings were done by the New People’s Army. “I was provided a list of 1,227 names, dates, and places of individuals alleged to have been killed by the CPP or NPA. Despite numerous requests for any substantiating documentation of any of these cases, virtually none was provided. A list of unsubstantiated assertions is, needless to say, nearly useless,” Alston said.

The government, meanwhile, tried to save face by preempting Alston’s report to the UN Human Rights Council.

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Arroyo Regime’s Abuses Qualify as ‘Crimes Against Humanity’: Hague Tribunal


Verdict. Members of the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal hearing the charges against Arroyo in The Hague, the Netherlands.(photo courtesy of arkibongbayan.org)

The Permanent Peoples’ Tribune, the same body that investigated and later denounced the atrocities of the Marcos dictatorship, has concluded that the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is responsible for the extrajudicial killings and human rights abuses in the Philippines. “The wealth and consistency of the oral and written documentation made available through witnesses and expert reports, has convinced the PPT that each and all of the three charges presented against Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her Government, and against George Walker Bush and his Government are substantiated,” the tribunal said in its verdict released today.

“The extension and the systematic nature of the violations of the rights of the Filipino people committed by the governments of Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and with the support and full awareness of the government of George Walker Bush, qualify the same violations as crimes against humanity,” it added.

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Partylist Groups in Another Fight, This Time for Posters


Support. Suara’s Abubakar Uy (right) laments the destruction of their campaign posters, allegedly by the military. Fortunately for Suara, Lumad groups, among others, have expressed support. (davaotoday.com photo by Barry Ohaylan)

It?s not enough that progressive partylist organizations — those that bear the brunt of the state?s policy of linking them to the communist movement ? are being harassed, intimidated and murdered. They, too, are being denied space for their campaign materials.

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