Third Canadian National Conference on Human Rights in the Philippines
Stand with Filipino People to Resist State Terror and Defend Rights
The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines-Canada (ICHRP-Canada) held its third National Conference and Assembly from May 2 to 5 in Montreal. The Conference issued a broad call to stand with the Filipino people to resist state terror and defend rights.
Patricia Lisson, outgoing chair of the Planning Committee of ICHRP-Canada spoke of the significance of holding such an event in Canada at this time. She said, "In a world where human rights abuses know no borders, it is imperative that we stand united in our commitment to justice and freedom for all." She pointed out that Canada's role in Asia is important to consider when addressing the situation in the Philippines. "Canada's Indo-Pacific Strategy and recent security cooperation agreements with nations like the Philippines raise red flags, signaling potential complicity in human rights violations," she said, pointing out that "the involvement of Canadian corporations in labour exploitation and resource plundering exacerbates the crisis, disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable.
"The statistics paint a chilling picture of numbers of political prisoners, extrajudicial killings, attacks on activists, Church members, and journalists. The shrinking democratic space and the misuse of the justice system to target activist groups demand our attention and action."
The program began with a pre-conference colloquium at Université de Montréal on the importance of research in contributing to advocacy on human rights in the Philippines. During the colloquium, as part of a panel discussion, a young student in the Philippines presented a paper on her research amongst survivors of the 14 years of martial law in the Philippines from 1972 to 1986, and the lack of compensation and of accountability for the crimes committed by the Philippine state against the people at that time.
During the colloquium and conference proper, presentations were made on the "Philippine Human Rights Landscape Activity," and "Red-Tagging and Countering False Narratives," its impacts in the Philippines and actions that can be taken to counter it.
Keynotes were delivered by Amirah Ali Lidasan, a human rights defender and national minority rights activist from the Bangsamoro region of the island of Mindanao; Neri Javier Colmenares, a human rights lawyer and the founding Secretary General of the National Union of People's Lawyers in the Philippines; and Cristina Palabay, Secretary General of Karapatan Alliance Philippines, a national alliance of organizations and individuals working for the promotion and protection of human rights in the Philippines.
Workshops were also organized on exploring possibilities and navigating challenges on the themes of "Charting the Course for Peace in the Philippines," "Unveiling the Struggles of Indigenous Peoples and the Moro Peoples against Scapegoating, Marginalization and Political Oppression" and "Countering Red-Tagging." Organized workshops dealt with "Advocating for Human Rights" here in Canada, "Countering disinformation," "Engaging with the Interfaith Community" from a human rights perspective and "Mobilizing Resources and People for Human Rights" through solidarity work, organizing exposure trips and fund-raising.
Another important component of the proceedings was a very much-appreciated "Solidarity Night" banquet and cultural program, with the participation of many from Montreal's Filipino community.
ICHRP-Canada's regional caucuses also met, followed by the nomination and election of its officers.
The Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) applauds the holding of this important event in the fight in defence of the human rights of the Filipino people, their right to determine their own affairs, and for peace worldwide. For the people of Quebec, Canada and worldwide, their inspiring and heroic struggle stands second to none. We join with them in contributing to the same aims here in Canada as well as worldwide.
Keynote Speakers
Amirah Ali Lidasan, a woman leader from Bangsamoro (officially the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao) spoke about the peace negotiations in the Philippines and the need to assess the concept of struggle there in light of the U.S. Government Counterinsurgency Guide released in 2009 which equates the armed struggle against the Philippine government and its anti-people policies with terrorism. Thus, the peace negotiations with the national liberation forces are being "decommissioned," with the aim of extirpating the national liberation movement and the armed struggle that is a part of it.
She went on to explain that when former President Rodrigo Duterte came to power in 2016 he began demonizing the national liberation movement and ended peace negotiations referring to those who have taken up armed struggle, including the New People's Army, as "terrorists." It was at this point that the government shifted from making accusations of terrorism against the Muslim peoples of Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan, collectively known as the Moro or Bangsamoro, to leveling such accusations at those fighting for the Philippine people’s fundamental civil, political, cultural and other collective rights. These accusations of terrorism are known as "red-tagging."
She noted that in Mindanao, Indigenous people, along with other organizations, have set up their own schools and have taken up work to defend rights. However, they have been forced to abandon that work because of being falsely linked by the state to "terrorist financing" as a systematic way of targeting them, which has had a chilling effect on communities. She explained that by assisting those communities they come to known their situation and the problems they face from the government which is militarizing the communities to block the people's attempts to exercise control over their lives. She affirmed the justness of the actions of those taking up national liberation through armed struggle in their communities.
She raised the importance of people understanding what is really happening in her country, explaining that because people are fighting against the mining companies, the military is operating in the communities "to control and force them to remain silent."
She said that her people are well-known as defenders of their communities, that it is how they have fought colonialism and the systematic land-grabbing in their communities, and that they have constantly renewed their practices and traditions, "because that's how we survive."
Now, she said, her community is being demonized and deemed "violent." If a leader who speaks out against a mining company is red-tagged, this is a licence to justify their killing by the Philippine government. "Not only do you lose the leader who is being vilified," she explained, but whole communities are affected through the use of anti-terror laws and are forced to disperse.
She explained that her organization is opposing this government disinformation and its definition of terrorism by calling on people to study and understand the way of life of the Bangsamoro peoples and their struggles.
Lidasan pointed out that citing opposition to terrorism, the government is sidelining the people's struggles, violating human rights through illegal arrests, carrying out aerial bombardment and destroying their livelihoods. She called on everyone to continue to assist in explaining to the world that the government has imposed a state of conflict and war and that the people are fighting for their survival and the future of their communities.
Cristina Palabay, Secretary General of Karapatan Alliance Philippines also addressed the issue of red-tagging, explaining its use by the U.S. and Filipino state to discredit any and all dissent, especially when dissent challenges their position of power. She said it is not only a violation of freedom of expression and association, but also disinformation with the aim of undermining people's thinking about what is what and their right to conscience.
She affirmed the important role of the revolutionary forces who seek to change the system and said that they should not be defensive or forced to hide.
Neri Javier Colmenares, a human rights lawyer and founding Secretary General of the National Union of People's Lawyers (a national association of human rights lawyers in the Philippines), noted that red-tagging is aimed at stifling dissent and freedom of expression through force or the threat of force, including the state threatening people's lives.
The extrajudicial killings for which the Duterte regime was known were also taking place during the time of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (2001-2010) and Philippine human rights lawyers have always said these are state-sponsored killings, adding that the government would always demand, "What's your proof?" Colmenares explained, "We have two proofs actually. The first is many of these killings were seen by eyewitnesses. There are sworn statements, affidavits saying the military and the police shot the victims." Even for those cases without witnesses, human rights lawyers nonetheless have asserted that these are still state-sponsored killings because they fit an established pattern, a three-step process before the extrajudicial killing takes place.
"The first is public vilification against the victim committed by government. The victim, before he or she was killed, was publicly vilified: 'Oh, you are a terrorist! You are a communist!,' etc. etc.," said Colmenares. The second "is the killing itself, committed in such a blatant fashion against the victim. People were killed, activists were killed, drug suspects were killed, too, in broad daylight, near police stations, in public places, in markets, as if the perpetrators were never afraid at all of being accosted by the police." The third is a complete lack of interest to investigate on the part of the government. "And that's what makes it more dangerous, because that's what stifles dissent, because now you're fearing for your life. Rather than say something, you keep quiet."
Colmenares said that one way of stopping red-tagging, is to expose it and bring it to the attention of the UN and countries around the world that claim to uphold human rights. Another is to ensure that those who are red-tagged are not left to fend for themselves but are defended by others.
He pointed out that "The Philippine government has escalated red-tagging to terrorist-tagging," adding that "human rights advocates assert that the anti-terror law actually facilitates terrorist-tagging, that it makes it easier for them to tag people as terrorists. So first, the government responded and said, 'Well, not really! The anti-terror law is intended for the terrorists!' But that was the debate during the oral argument before our Supreme Court. The army respondents or the government said, 'Well, we need this anti-terror law, because we need to quell terrorism in our country and to help other countries. And they cited Canada, Australia, that have very good anti-terror laws. 'Look, it happened in different countries, and they were respecting human rights there too, so it could happen to us!' [said the government]."
Philippine human rights lawyers have pointed out that the war against those the government considers terrorists has been waged for decades now, as ruthlessly as possible. "They have barged into houses without search warrants. They have arrested people without warrants of arrest," Colmenares explained. "So why did government become so obsessed with an anti-terror law when they never cared before?" he asked. "We argued before our courts and said this is not about terrorists. This is not for or against terrorism. This is against ordinary dissent."
He pointed out that in Philippine law, terrorism is defined as any act intended to cause serious bodily harm to another person or disrupt public infrastructure. Colmenares explained, "They're punishing you for your intention. It's an overbroad, vague definition of terrorism, which makes it easy for them to terror-tag you.
"For us in the Philippines, this specific battle against anti-terror law is getting worse. Ninety eight people have been charged with terrorism and it really threatens a lot of people." It is taking place at a higher rate than red-tagging, he added, because it can now be attached to anybody that the government believes must be silenced.
"The battle therefore must be waged against anti-terror law in the Philippines," he said, while reminding everyone that in the arguments before the courts, Australia, Canada, the U.S. along with many other countries had been mentioned, so there is now "a worldwide web of anti-terror laws, high treason and attacks on the freedom of expression and the liberties of people."
The same battle, he concluded, "must also be waged in your own respective countries. That is the major contribution of the people of Australia, Canada and the U.S., winning their battles against this worldwide web of terror laws that has repressed so many people. That is the greatest solidarity support that any people can give to other people -- waging and winning their war for human rights in their respective countries."
This article was published in
Volume 54 Number 5 - June 2024
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2024/Articles/M5400513.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca