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.