Philippines-Canada Task Force on Human Rights (PCTFHR)
Statement

Canadians condemn extra-judicial killing of Philippine peasant leader; call on Canada to take concrete action against political killings in the Philippines

May 16, 2008

As progressive and peace-loving Canadians, we condemn the brutal killing of Philippine peasant leader, Celso Pojas, in Davao City, Mindanao, Philippines on May 13, 2008.  Pojas was the spokesperson of the Farmers’ Association of Davao City (FADC), the provincial chapter of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP or Peasant Movement of the Philippines).  He was shot dead by two motorcycle-riding men outside the FADC office in broad daylight.  He and his colleagues were preparing to leave for the Compostela Valley region to look into the plight of indigenous peoples forcibly displaced by military operations.  Pojas is the 904th victim of extrajudicial killing under the regime of Philippine President Gloria Arroyo.  He was also the first victim of extrajudicial killing in Davao City in recent years, one of the largest cities in the Philippines and the largest urban center in the heavily militarized region of Mindanao.

We stand in firm solidarity with KMP in calling for justice for Pojas and his family.  Under the Arroyo regime, 104 members of KMP have become victims of extrajudicial killings.  Their Deputy Secretary-General for External Affairs, Randall Echanis, has been jailed on false charges; while their member, Jonas Burgos, has been missing for more than one year.  KMP Chair, Rafael “Ka Paeng” Mariano, is also facing trumped-up charges as the Arroyo regime continues its attack on all critics who dare to oppose her regime’s anti-people and anti-national policies.  In a country like the Philippines where the majority of the people are poor or landless peasants, who are being hard hit by the rice crisis resulting from intensified trade liberalization, it is reprehensible that peasant leaders like Pojas are being attacked and summarily killed, while the roots of landlessness and poverty go unaddressed.

KMP and KARAPATAN (Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights), the national alliance of human rights organizations, believes that the mode of this harsh attack against this brave peasant leader points straight at the military.  But instead of seriously investigating and prosecuting any suspects in the killing, the military in news reports was quick to blame KARAPATAN for making what the military termed irresponsible statements.  This is just another blatant example of the state of denial of the Philippine military noted by UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions Philip Alston.  Even Amnesty International in 2006 identified that the predominant method of attack against progressive leaders, like Pojas, have been shootings by unidentified assailants, mostly riding tandem on a motorcycle.  The smear campaign of the Philippine military comes as no surprise to us as this was the treatment received by our delegates to the 2006 Canadian Human Rights Fact-Finding Mission to the Philippines from the Philippine military and the Arroyo regime.

It is the height of irony that the Philippine military would claim that a human rights group, which has been staunchly vocal in calling for an end to the political killings, is irresponsible.  Who, we say, is really irresponsible in the Philippines?  Is it not the Philippine military whose newly-installed Chief General Yano and whose Commander-in-Chief Gloria Arroyo refuse to end the counter-insurgency program, Oplan Bantay Laya (Operation Freedom Watch) which has resulted in 904 political killings, 193 enforced disappearances and more than one million people forcibly displaced?

What this latest killing and the reaction of the Philippine military points to is that the political killings in the Philippines are continuing unabated.  The Arroyo regime has no intention of dealing with the roots of the human rights, democracy and peace situation in the country.

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 also pay special attention to the humanitarian impacts of the intensifying militarization of the Mindanao region, where most of Canadian taxpayer dollars in the form of foreign aid is concentrated to supposedly assist with peace-building and development, but where tens of thousands have been forcibly displaced by military operations.  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.

Therefore, we reiterate our demands that the Canadian government:

1.    Review its current relations with and withdraw all military aid, bilateral aid and multilateral aid to the Philippine government while the political killings and other violations of human rights continue to occur;

2.    Redirect partnership aid towards 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;

3.    Pressure the Philippine government to respect international human rights covenants and agreements; and

4.    Hold a Parliamentary Hearing on the human rights situation in the Philippines.

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.

Justice for all victims of human rights violations under the Arroyo regime!
Stop state-sponsored terrorism, political persecution, harassment and repression in the Philippines!
Canada, stop supporting the militarist, repressive and corrupt Arroyo regime!
Long live people-to-people solidarity between Canadians and Filipinos!

To send a message to the Philippine government protesting the extrajudicial killing of Celso Pojas, please visit the urgent action website of the Public Service Alliance of Canada - B.C. Region at www.psacbc.com/Philippines

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