Arroyo government
The Hague, Netherlands -- The sound of rapid gunfire aimed at unarmed
picketers of Hacienda Luisita in November 2005 reverberated through
the session hall of the Permanent Peoples' Tribunal in The Hague, The
Netherlands, as it conducted its second day of hearings on the
culpability of the US and the Philippine governments for gross
violations of the civil, political, economic and social rights of the
Filipino people.
The gallery was deathly silent as the jury watched the climax of a
video-documentary on the killing and wounding of several individuals
when the police and military forces brutally dispersed striking
workers and farmworkers at the Hacienda. This incident is now known as
the Hacienda Luisita massacre.
This was one of the highlights of the day, as the Tribunal concluded
the hearings on the charge of gross and systematic violations of civil
and political rights, with focus on summary executions,
disappearances, massacre and torture.
Secretary General Gianni Tognoni, at the start of the day, shared a
news item from Manila which quoted executive secretary Gen. Eduardo
Ermita as stating that the Philippine government was willing to attend
the Tribunal's session on the Philippines.
The jurors heard the testimony of Bishop Godofredo J. David of the
Philippine Independent Church, who testified on the Arroyo
government's attempts to cover-up its crimes and whitewash
investigations. Video depositions were also received from torture
victims Ruel Marcial and Oscar Leuterio.
Leuterio was a witness to the detention and torture of disappeared
students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño. He clearly pointed to the
Armed Forces of the Philippines, particularly retired general Jovito
Palparan, as responsible for the abduction of the two University of
the Philippines students who remain missing to this day.
They asked the expert opinion of Dr. June Lopez, a psychotherapist who
has assisted in the rehabilitation of several torture victims and has
conducted an in-depth research into the political phenomenon of
torture.
They heard the video-testimony of Rene Galang, an officer of the union
in Hacienda Luisita, where a labor-management dispute led to the
tragic massacre of more than a dozen sugarcane workers.
Fe Muriel Obejas provided eye-witness testimony on the massacre of
peasants in Palo, Leyte. The 'Palo massacre', which claimed the lives
of six peasants and injured several others, arose out of a land
dispute, according to Obejas.
On the national security policy of the Arroyo government, the jurors
listened to the input of retired Navy Captain Danilo Vizmanos.
Dr. Carol Pagaduan-Araullo, chairperson of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan
(BAYAN, New Patriotic Alliance), provided the Tribunal with first-hand
accounts of her experience with police brutality as a veteran of the
"parliament of the streets", the attacks on communities and
suppression of civil liberties.
The Tribunal also received the reports and recommendations of
fact-finding missions to the Philippines, namely: the Hong Kong
Mission for Human Rights and Peace in the Philippines, the
International Peasants Fact-Finding Mission, and the international
lawyers' mission to investigate the killings of Philippine judges and
lawyers.
The Tribunal ended its second day of hearings with Dutch lawyer
Bernard Tomlow presenting the opening statement for the second charge:
gross violations of economic, social and cultural rights of the
Filipino people through the implementation of 'free market
globalization', transgression of economic sovereignty and national
patrimony. ##
FOR REFERENCE:
Angelica M. Gonzales, MD
International Coordinating Secretariat
Permanent Peoples' Tribunal
Second Session on the Philippines
secretariat@philippinetribunal.org
1 comment:
Good words.
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