Press Release 12 July 2007 LAING DUHA KA MGA BATAN-ONG LIDER GIDAGIT! Niadtong Hulyo 5, 2007 sa may alas 11:00…
The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan together with progressive peoples’ organizations, civil libertarians and human rights group disputes the definition of terrorism in the HSA, saying it is prone to abuse by the authorities since it is too vague and broad. Who defines such terms as “widespread”, “extraordinary”, “panic”, “populace”, “unlawful” and so on? Even legitimate dissent can be interpreted as terrorism since under the HSA the definition is not limited to the Abu Sayyaf Group, Jemaah Islamiyah and Al Qaeda.
The Black & White Movement condemns in the strongest possible terms the beheading of ten marine soldiers following a firefight with members of the 8th Marine Battalion Landing Team (MBLT). “It is an inhuman and barbaric act that has no place in any civilized society and we ask that all means be exhausted to bring the perpetrators to justice”, says BnW lead convenor Enteng Romano.
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which has been fighting for a separate Islamic state for Filipino Muslims in the south the past three decades, said the violence could have been avoided had the military coordinated with them the troops’ entry to Tipo-tipo, which the rebels consider as part of their territory. We have all the mechanism in the ceasefire that allows coordination and to prevent this kind of unfortunate incident, said a front spokesman.
The human-rights group Karapatan in Southern Mindanao condemned today the killing of another municipal and peasant leader of Anakpawis, who was shot dead in Nabunturan, Compostela Valley Province, on July 7.
By CHERYLL D. FIEL | davaotoday.com
Newly elected Davao City councilor Karlo Bello, who was recently selected as the chairman of the City Council’s Committee on Civil, Political and Human Rights, has expressed reservations about the Human Security Act, saying it might result in more human-rights abuses. “The same people who are already committing human-rights violations could be given authority to commit the same acts,” he said.
Command responsibility: Can President Arroyo evade it?
Bayan Muna today urged Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, the presidential security adviser for regions 11 and 12, to lobby for a thorough review of the anti-terror Law or the Human Security Act, saying the mayors objectives in keeping peace and order” should be consistent with the protection of human rights and the upholding of democracy.
What the European Union should do on killings
MANILA — week after GMA-7 news revealed the existence of what appeared to be Palace directives on extrajudicial killings of…
