Human rights watchdog KARAPATAN to P-Noy: Prosecute GMA!

Press Release
By KARAPATAN
July 23, 2010

QUEZON CITY  –  As they prepare to echo calls for justice in the mass actions on Pres. Noynoy Aquino’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, members of the human rights alliance, Karapatan, reiterated calls for the prosecution of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and all perpetrators of human rights violations.

In a press conference this morning, Karapatan chairperson Marie Hilao-Enriquez said that they demand “a categorical statement that shall make clear what is the true commitment of the Aquino administration with respect to the prosecution of Arroyo and all the perpetrators of its bloody human rights record.”

“P-Noy should not mince words on the issue of human rights. If his SONA will be straightforward and he will talk about resolutions and plans, we demand a concrete answer. Shall he prosecute GMA or not? Can the victims be assured of justice?” Hilao-Enriquez asked.

Calls for justice and Arroyo’s prosecution echo nationwide

Human rights workers from the different regions of the country, each having experienced the lash of the past Arroyo government’s bloody counter-insurgency campaign Oplan Bantay Laya, said they shall bring forth in their respective SONA mass actions the victims’ calls for justice and the prosecution of Arroyo.

Karapatan Eastern Visayas spokesperson Atty. Kathrina Castillo said they also demand “an end to the vilification campaign led by the AFP against activists and ordinary citizens,” as this was used by the past Arroyo government to legitimize attacks against progressives. Castillo was herself a victims of numerous threats and harassment including the military tagging that “she is a lawyer of the NPA” in their local radio programs.

Meanwhile, Fred Caña, Secretary General of Karapatan-Negros, said they call for justice for victims of killings since Aquino took oath as president in the same weight of calling for justice for the Arroyo government’s victims. “As in the killing of Fernando Baldomero, the first case of extrajudicial killing under his term, we will see this as a measurement whether he is truly serious to end the killings,” Caña said. Baldomero is a Bayan Muna coodinator and two-term councilor from Lezo, Aklan in the Panay region.

Fr. Dionito Cabillas, National Coordinator of SELDA, also said the issue of the more than 300 political prisoners all over the country should be a major concern for Aquino regarding civil and political rights.

Dennis Abarientos, Secretary General of Karapatan-Central Visayas added that PNoy must end the bloody and brutal counter-insurgency campaign, Oplan Bantay Laya (OBL) I and II, and desist from embarking on a similar program, as this is one of the reasons for the massive human rights violations in the country under the GMA administration.

Protests shall continue

Hilao-Enriquez said they shall continue with a resounding campaign for justice and Arroyo’s prosecution especially in the Aquino administration.