Oppose GMA's undeclared martial law that claimed 679 lives and disappeared 168 persons

A Press Statement by KARAPATAN on International Day of Disappeared
May 4, 2006

Human rights defenders from 15 regional offices of the human rights alliance KARAPATAN have strong reasons to believe and are one in pronouncing that an UNDECLARED MARTIAL LAW already exists in our country and the fake president, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is the NEW DICTATOR.

The human rights situation is seriously alarming, with the escalating extra-judicial killings sanctioned by the state through its Armed Forces' Operation Plan Bantay Laya (Oplan Bantay Laya). From January 21, 2001 to May 31, 2006, there are 679 victims of political killings, 350 victims of frustrated killing and 168 persons were abducted and remain missing to this day.

Today, June 4, as nations observe the day of the disappeared, we join the families of those abducted by government forces in their demand to surface the victims and be given protection of the law.

GMA, with the support of the US government, has been implementing Oplan Bantay Laya that has targeted civilians – dissidents and ordinary Filipinos alike. Of the 679 civilians arbitrarily killed, 301 were activists and 378 have no known political affiliations.

Fellow Filipinos, mostly from the underprivileged sectors all over the country cry out against the terror caused by assassins, death squads, heavy military deployments and sustained military operations that wreak havoc on peaceful communities.

We are enraged that 44 children have been killed and 5 unborn babies died with their mothers when soldiers and paramilitary forces massacred their families; families were also torn apart and uprooted because of these executions of innocents.

We denounce the killing of 24 human rights defenders and the continuing surveillance and harassment of our human rights workers in the field.

We decry the political persecution of Filipinos clamoring for a change in government.  GMA's wanton use of power through the Calibrated Preemptive Response, Executive Order 464, Presidential Proclamation 1017 and the trumped-up charges against Party List representatives and leaders of progressive people's organizations.

We condemn the clampdown on the Philippine press with the murder of journalists, the raid of the Tribune office, the threats to do the same to PCIJ, Abante and other media outlets.

The intensity and frequency of attacks on Filipinos are unprecedented.  This can only be called an undeclared martial law.  In the face of these attacks on our civil liberties, we vow to oppose the tyranny of the illegitimate president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her cohorts.

We are convinced that our people should all the more strengthen their resolve to invoke their right to oust a despot and establish a democratic order.