Release political
prisoners and resume peace talks, rights group urges Duterte
By KARAPATAN
May 13, 2016
QUEZON CITY – As
presumptive president Rodrigo Duterte prepares for the transition to
assume the reins in July, Karapatan echoed the call to release all
political prisoners and the resumption of the long-stalled peace
negotiations between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines
(GPH) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).
“We challenge the Duterte
presidency to build on the people’s votes that was mostly repudiation
of everything that is the ‘tuwid na daan’. He can start by junking
Oplan Bayanihan and similar counterinsurgency programs and take the
road to genuine peace by addressing the roots of unpeace and the
ongoing civil war through the negotiating table,” said Karapatan
Secretary General Cristina Palabay.
Karapatan said farmers and
indigenous people, especially from Mindanao, have been calling for the
immediate pull-out of military troops from their communities.
Operations of the Armed Forces of the Philippines have resulted to 318
killings and forcible evacuation of thousands under the Aquino
administration, Palabay added.
“There are still more than
2,700 evacuees at the Tandag Sports Complex in Surigao del Sur and at
the United Church of Christ in the Philippines-Haran in Davao City.
The pull-out of military troops in their communities and the
disbandment of paramilitary groups can enable them to go home,” she
said.
Palabay also urged the
incoming Duterte administration to release all political prisoners,
543 of them as of March 2016, who are detained on false criminal
charges. Of the 543, 18 are NDFP peace consultants, whose protection
under the GPH-NDFP agreement on safety and immunity guarantees have
been violated. “He should likewise address the justice system –
tailored to favor the moneyed and those with powerful friends and
connections – as a means to curb impunity.”
There are 88 ailing and 48
elderly among the political prisoners, mostly poor peasants fighting
for their land rights.
The Aquino regime, said
Palabay, has wasted six years and the opportunity to address the
long-standing causes of the armed conflict in the country. “We would
like to see how the incoming Duterte administration can put his money
where his mouth is.”
