Philippines-Canada Task Force for Human Rights
Statement

Canadians and Filipinos commemorate the International Day of the Disappeared; call on the Canadian government to promote human rights in the Philippines 

August 30 , 2008

In commemoration of the International Day of the Disappeared Canadians and Filipino-Canadians stand in solidarity with the families of almost 200 victims of enforced disappearances in the Philippines.

It is utterly unjust that these families remain in the dark, without certainty or closure, as to the whereabouts of their loved ones. To add insult to injury, both the victims and their families have no recourse for justice.

Since 2001 when current Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo came to power, there have been over 900 political killings, close to 200 enforced disappearances, and over 1 million people displaced from their homes and livelihood in the Philippines. In the past month alone, over 100,000 people have been displaced in the southern island of Mindanao, where Arroyo has sent the Armed Forces in the Philippines and the Philippine National Police to launch air strikes and artillery assaults on communities where the Arroyo administration believes there to be suspected members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

During her seven-year rule, Arroyo has shown that she is hell-bent on destroying all political opposition, (particularly the long-standing revolutionary movement led by the Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People’s Army) through the government’s counter-insurgency program, Oplan Bantay Laya (Operation Freedom Watch).

Despite the repressive acts of the Arroyo regime, the Filipino people’s resistance continues to grow stronger. 

We only have to look to the families, particularly the mothers of the disappeared in the Philippines, who remain vigilant in their efforts to surface their loved ones and demand for justice from the Arroyo regime to see this spirit of resistance. Dr. Edita Tronqued Burgos, mother of Jonas Burgos who has been missing for 485 days continues to speak out about her son’s disappearance and the military’s refusal to admit his whereabouts. The families of Sheryl Cadapan and fellow student activist Karen Empeno also refuse to allow the Philippine military to whitewash the disappearances of the two young women. Cadapan and Empeno were doing field research among peasants in Hagonoy, Bulacan, (bounding the northern limits of the Manila) when they were abducted. The two young women have been missing since June 26, 2006.

In light of these cases and the deteriorating state of human rights and democracy in the Philippines, it is time that the Canadian government wake up to the true character of the Arroyo regime.

We believe Canada’s position that the Philippines is a “functioning democracy” is no longer tenable.  Canada must do more to pressure the Arroyo regime to take concrete, effective and immediate action to end the political killings and repression in the Philippines.  It is no longer enough for Canada to work through quiet diplomacy and accept the Arroyo regime’s token measures like Task Force Usig and the Melo Commission, instead Canada must actively uphold the principles of international human rights and humanitarian law.

In the same vein, the Canadian government should seriously reconsider its intent to hold joint war training exercises with the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
During a recent speech at the National Defense College of the Philippines in Camp Aguinaldo, Rear Admiral Tyrone Pile, Commander of the Canadian Naval Fleet, acclaimed the importance of Canada’s moves to be engaged in the joint exercises already conducted between the US and the Armed Forces of the Philippines. This is a direct statement of support Arroyo’s counter-insurgency program, Operation Freedom Watch, which has already damaged the lives of millions of Filipinos.
As peace- and freedom loving Filipino-Canadians we condemn the government’s intention to directly violate the national sovereignty of the Filipino people by sending in its military for joint military exercises.

We believe that Canadian partnership aid should be re-directed towards Philippine-based progressive community-based groups like KARAPATAN (Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights) that advocate genuine development and uphold human rights and the dignity of life. We also continue to call on the Canadian government to hold a Parliamentary Hearing on the human rights situation in the Philippines.

As we remember the victims of forced disappearances, we call on all progressive and peace-loving Canadians to learn more about the human rights situation in the Philippines and to get involved in building people-to-people solidarity with the victims of human rights violations in the Philippines, their families and the organizations who are struggling for genuine national freedom and democracy.

Surface the disappeared!
Stop the extra-judicial killings in the Philippines now!
No to Canada’s involvement in military exercises and actions!
Canada, stop sending aid to the militarist and repressive US-Arroyo regime!
Long live international solidarity!

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