Concerted attack on human rights groups must be strongly resisted

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission
November 17, 2006

"The worldwide campaigning on extrajudicial killings in the Philippines is growing rapidly and creating a very negative impression of the country..."

In what appears to be a concerted attack on the entire human rights movement in the Philippines, army, civilian and police officials have all made scathing statements describing the work of rights groups there as "propaganda".

On November 15 group of retired and active senior army officers in the Philippines declared that Amnesty International members should be barred from the country for accusing the military of being behind extrajudicial killings. The influential Association of Generals and Flag Officers said in a resolution that the human rights group had documented incidents based upon the testimonies of militants, and that its allegations were biased. The declaration against Amnesty has reportedly been endorsed by the armed forces.

Meanwhile, in another report, a senior official accused rights groups of spreading "propaganda" about the killings for political purposes. The aggressive defense of the government by Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye followed an unprecedented appeal by the Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce in the Philippines, warning that the ongoing violent attacks could affect investment. The press secretary also specifically named local group Karapatan as responsible for spreading untruths, and said that his government would "sit down with foreign investors to give the facts".

In a further report, Philippine National Police (PNP) Deputy Director General Avelino Razon Jr. also claimed that Karapatan had greatly inflated the number of killings, and incredibly, compared the work of the group to that of Nazi Germany: "The group is adhering to the Nazi propaganda lines of consistent lies, distortion of objective facts, continuous lies and half-truths made popular by Hitler's propagandist Goebbel during World War II." Ironically, the deputy director general is the head of Task Force Usig, the main unit inside the police force investigating the killings.

Although ridiculous, these statements by the army and government should not come as a surprise. The worldwide campaigning on extrajudicial killings in the Philippines is growing rapidly and creating a very negative impression of the country and its administration in the minds of millions both at home and abroad. It will be special cause for alarm that businesspeople have now joined the chorus of voices against what is happening there.

The attacks are clearly aimed at intimidating all human rights groups working in the Philippines. In fact, they constitute a threat to the entire human rights movement. In targeting Amnesty, a large and internationally-renowned group, the military generals have made clear that anyone else could be next, if they too attempt to document and report on the incidence of killings and other gross abuses.

Ultimately, these are much more than simple reactions to the latest reports of domestic and international rights bodies. They are manifestations of an extreme, deep-rooted bias against human rights defenders. This resistance to human rights standards, and bias against persons who work to achieve them, is also manifest in the persistent denial about the extent and nature of the killings that the government is being called upon to address. That denial is most obvious in the fact that there has been no real political will – only pretences, under growing pressure – to end the killings through explicit public commands to police and military authorities.

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) calls upon the government of the Philippines to unequivocally denounce the resolution passed by the Association of Generals and Flag Officers against Amnesty International, require the police to justify its outrageous statement comparing a local rights group to the Nazi regime, and publicly retract the remarks of its press officer. It again calls for the government to place as its highest priority the ending of extrajudicial killings, and to order all policing and military agencies to do the same.

The AHRC demands effective investigations of the hundreds of killings, attempted killings and abductions that are known to have occurred in recent years, including those since the start of October that have already been reported to the authorities: Dr. Rodrigo Catayong, chairperson Karapatan in Eastern Samar (killed); Reverend Billy Austin, head of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (New Patriotic Alliance) in Ilocos Sur (attempted killing); Eduardo Millares, member of the urban poor group, Samahan ng Magkakapitbahay sa Tabing-Riles (Association of Neighbours along the Railroad) (killed) and his companion (attempted killing); Father Dionisio Ging-Ging, Philippine Independent Church (killed); and, Bishop Alberto Ramento, Philippine Independent Church (killed).

The struggle for the victims of extrajudicial killings in the Philippines is no less than the struggle for the survival of democracy and some notion of the rule of law there. The country is at a critical juncture. The people of the Philippines deserve full international support and attention to ensure that their struggle obtain the support it needs in order to overcome the forces of violence, militarism and authoritarianism.