Filipino
People's Fight for Peace, Justice and Human Rights
Struggle for Peace in the Philippines Discussed at Public Event in Toronto
Left to right: Coni Ledesma, member of the
peace negotiating panel of the National Democratic Front of the
Philippines; Attorney Edre Olalia, President of the National
Union of Peoples' Lawyers-Philippines; and Rhea Gamana,
Secretary-General of Bayan Canada.
"The National Democratic Front and the Struggle for
Peace in
the Philippines" was the topic of discussion at a public event
held in downtown Toronto at the OPSEU Membership Centre on May
14. The meeting was part of a national tour of prominent
spokespersons in the movement for peace, progress and respect for
human rights in the Philippines.
The first speaker, Attorney Edre Olalia, President of
the
National Union of Peoples' Lawyers of the Philippines, pointed
out the dark significance of the results of the election held the
previous day in the Philippines. Olalia noted that President
Duterte's ruling party had probably gained control of the Senate,
which would strengthen the hand of the government in its "war on
drugs." This campaign, he said, is actually a war on the poor, on
human rights defenders and especially on the New People's Army,
led by the Communist Party of the Philippines, which has made
substantial gains in the struggle for national liberation in
recent years.
Olalia explained that it has been a favoured tactic of
the
Duterte dictatorship to malign various groups in the society,
including lawyers, journalists and activists, by publishing for
each group a matrix showing the connections among members of the
group and then accusing each group falsely of being conspirators,
coup plotters and a Communist front. He revealed that 37 lawyers
have been killed in the 35 months since Duterte came to power,
including prosecutors and even some judges.
In the Philippines, Olalia said, the government
serves
foreign capital and the domestic oligarchy, and its neo-liberal
policies have distorted the economy. He noted that 1.1
million people are unemployed or underemployed, resulting in
5,750 people leaving the country each day to find work. He vowed
that the Filipino people will stand together and not let
these things pass.
The second speaker, Coni Ledesma, is a member of the
peace
negotiating panel of the National Democratic Front of the
Philippines, which has reached several agreements with the
government of the Philippines in the past to ensure respect for
human rights in the country. In 1992, for example, a declaration
was made that had four points: observance of human rights and
international humanitarian law; socio-economic reforms; political
reform and, an end to hostilities. The promised reforms were
both agricultural reform -- involving free distribution of land to
tenants -- and industrial development, which is still badly needed
to achieve independence from imperialist domination of the
economy.
Today, Ledesma said, there has been intensive
militarization
all over the country. Duterte terminated the peace talks in
November 2017, disbanded the government negotiating panel and
appointed an army general as the representative of the government
side. The Duterte regime has favoured local negotiations, instead
of peace talks on a national level, and has refused to recognize
previous agreements. Some peace consultants have been killed, she
revealed, and others arrested. The military prefers to
concentrate on winning the war against the insurgency but, she
said, this will never bring peace. What we need, she said, is to
address the roots of the armed conflict, such as poverty and the
lack of industry to provide employment.
Ledesma stated that
the democratic forces will continue the struggle for human
rights, for a just and lasting peace, for jobs and for land. She
affirmed that "We'll win liberation from foreign and domestic
exploitation."
The main presentations were followed by a lively
discussion as the speakers responded to questions from participants
about the current situation in the
Philippines and how, in Canada, supporters can best show
solidarity with the Filipino people's struggle for peace and
human rights. Ledesma pointed out that military aid from Canada
and other countries contributes to the attacks on the people, as
does so-called development aid. She called on Canadians to
challenge their candidates on these issues in the upcoming
federal election and ask them where they stand.
Rhea Gamana, secretary-general of Bayan Canada, the
organizing
group for the meeting, announced that a new alliance is being
formed in the name of a Malaya Movement (meaning "free"), uniting
Filipinos in Canada to support the struggle of the people in the
Philippines. Gamana called on all members of the Filipino
community to join.
This article was published in
Volume 49 Number 19 - May 25, 2019
Article Link:
Filipino
People's Fight for Peace, Justice and Human Rights: Struggle for Peace in the Philippines Discussed at Public Event in Toronto
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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