International Peoples Tribunal on War Crimes in the Philippines
U.S. and Philippine Governments Found Guilty of War Crimes and Violations of International Humanitarian Law
In response to mounting war crimes and concerns over violations of international humanitarian law in the Philippines, an International People's Tribunal was convened in Brussels, Belgium from May 17 to 18 to put Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte and the United States government on trial.
Over the course of the two-day Tribunal, which was attended by 200 people and followed on line by thousands worldwide, participants heard from the team of prosecutors who laid the charges, as well as from fifteen witnesses including victims and victims' family members and legal experts.
On the first day of the Tribunal, victims provided testimony about extra-judicial killings, torture, abduction, forced disappearances, attacks on Indigenous communities in the interests of foreign mining corporations and other crimes under the Duterte presidency. Also brought to light were the targeted killings of peace and human rights activists.
Ariel Casilao spoke of the brutal murder of National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) Consultant Randall Echanis in his home while he slept in August of 2020 and called this a "crystal clear violation of international humanitarian law and all existing laws in the Philippines," adding that "Ka Randy was an unarmed NDFP consultant. He was a key figure in the peace negotiations."
Eufemia Cullamat testified about the killing and dehumanization of her daughter, Jevelyn Cullamat, a combatant of the New People's Army (NPA) by members of the APF. She stated that the soldiers photographed her daughter's body and paraded her remains as a "war trophy."
Indigenous activist Jeany Rose Hayahay described how public schools for Indigenous children in Mindanao have been branded as "communist" recruitment hubs and that volunteer teachers have been killed or charged with terrorism. Under Duterte's presidency, martial law was imposed on Mindanao in order to further militarize the southern island and step up state attacks against the people, she pointed out.
The second day of the Tribunal heard testimony from victims of the current Marcos Jr. government.
Jonila Castro, an environmental activist who was kidnaped by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) testified that she was abducted on September 2, 2023 with another youth activist, Jhed Tamano, held in detention and tortured for two weeks and later presented in a press conference as "communist rebels." She explained that they used the occasion to turn the tables on the AFP by speaking the truth about their abduction and abuse which forced the military to release them after a public outcry. She pointed out that these abductions and abuse by the AFP are widespread and must be ended.
Emily Fausto testified that her parents Roly and Emelda Fausto were leaders of the Farmworkers Association involved in fighting for land reform in Negros Occidental when they were murdered in cold blood along with two of their sons, Ben and Ravin, aged 11 and 14 respectively. Emily stated that her parents had been harassed for many months by the military before they and her brothers were murdered and demanded justice for this heinous crime.
The AFP extrajudicial killings of New People's Army combatants, even after they have surrendered, was brought out in the case of New People's Army (NPA) combatant Hannah Cesista, who along with four other NPA combatants were murdered when they surrendered in order to protect civilian children in the vicinity. To terrorize the locals, the five youth were murdered in front of the local Bohol province villagers.
The prosecution was able to establish through the evidence presented that the defendants had willfully engaged in egregious violations of international humanitarian law in their attacks on the Filipino people. It also established that the U.S. government played a key role in enabling these crimes which include extrajudicial killings, indiscriminate bombings, displacement of Indigenous communities, blocking humanitarian aid, causing environmental damage, torture, desecration of the dead, unlawful detention and other crimes.
After reviewing the prosecution's case, the witness accounts and the evidence presented, the five-member panel of jurors, – Lennox Hinds, Professor of Law at Rutgers University and former legal counsel for the African National Congress; Suzanne Adely, President of the National Lawyers Guild of the U.S.; Séverine De Laveleye, member of the Chamber of Representatives of Belgium; Julen Arzuraga Gumuzio, member of the Basque Parliament; and Archbishop Joris Vercamen, former member of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches, found Ferdinand Marcos Jr., former President Rodrigo Duterte, the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the United States government guilty of war crimes against the Filipino people and violations of international humanitarian law.
The lead prosecutor, Jan Fermon, noted "The verdict of this tribunal will empower the Filipino people and their allies across the globe to demand accountability from those responsible for these heinous crimes." Law professor Marjorie Cohn, one of the expert witnesses at the Tribunal, noted: "I want to emphasize that peoples' tribunals, while political in nature, can serve as alternative fora, and provide a peoples' record for future litigation, both nationally and internationally. Officials of the Philippine government and the U.S. government who enable the commission of these crimes should be held accountable in national courts under the principle of universal jurisdiction."
The verdict delivered at the International People's Tribunal on War Crimes in the Philippines is a victory for the people of the Philippines and for the peoples around the world. It will further isolate the U.S. imperialists and their local henchmen in the Philippines. It sheds light and puts in front of world pubic opinion the crimes of the U.S.-Marcos Jr. regime in the Philippines and the crimes of the previous government of Rodrigo Duterte, and will strengthen the demand for justice, accountability and a permanent end to these war crimes and violations of international humanitarian law.
This article was published in
Volume 54 Number 35 - May 2024
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2024/Articles/MS543515.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca