[APWSLMembers 424] Stop killing

[parat nanakorn]

President

Republic of the Philippines

Malacanang Palace

JP Laurel St., San Miguel

Manila, Philippines

Voice: (+632) 564 1451 to 80

Fax: (+632) 742-1641 / 929-3968

Cell#: (+ 63) 919 898 4622 / (+63) 917 839 8462

E-mail: corres at op.gov.ph / opnet at ops.gov.ph



We, trade unions, workers organisations, migrant organizations, support
groups and concerned individuals, express our grave concern on the rampant
trade union and political repression in the Philippines.



In particular, we are outraged that 64 of our colleagues in the trade union
movement and informal workers association have been killed since 2001.  They
are part of the more than 750 victims of political killings in the
Philippines recorded as of Sept 2006.  We strongly condemn and denounce
political killings as the worst form of political repression. It is an
outright violation of an individual's right to life.  Political killings
violate all norms and international standards for the respect of human
rights and has no place in a democratic society.



We are equally alarmed of other cases of trade union and human rights
violations such as abductions, harassment, intimidation, grave threats,
illegal arrest and militarization in the workplaces and communities.  Workers
who assert for their democratic rights and fight for social justice and
transformation are being branded as terrorists, communists and "enemies of
the state" and are being attacked with impunity under the guise of
counter-terrorism.



We are deeply concerned at the continued illegal detention of KMU
Chairperson Emeritus and Anakpawis Rep. Crispin "Ka Bel" Beltran who was
arrested without warrant on Feb. 25, 2006, a day after a state of emergency
declaration.  Ka Bel was arrested without warrant on the basis of trumped-up
charges dating back two decades and already quashed by the Philippine
courts.  We demand that Ka Bel be given justice and that he be freed from
his illegal detention.



As a signatory to the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, to the United
Nations Covenant on civil and political rights and to the International
Labor Organization Conventions 87 and 98, the Philippine government must
ensure that the Filipino workers right to organize, to bargain collectively,
to exercise his other democratic rights and to live a life with dignity is
recognized and respected.



We then call on you, as the President and the Commander in Chief of the
Armed Forces of the Philippines, to take concrete steps to stop the
political killings, harassment, intimidation and all forms of trade union
and political repression committed against leaders, members, organizers and
supporters of trade union organizations and informal workers associations as
well as other legitimate organizations in the Philippines.



We will continue to monitor the situation in the Philippines and will be
urging our respective governments to withdraw support and stop giving
financial aid to the Philippine government, until political killings and
other forms of human rights violations in your country are stopped.  We
refuse to use our money to aid the Philippine government and become an
instrument to attack and kill our Filipino brothers and sisters who are
fighting for social justice.



Thank you for your attention.



Respectfully yours,



Parat  Na nakorn

APWSL Coordinator



23/24 Soi Phungmi 52, Sukhumvit 93

Bangjack, Prakhanong, Bangkok,  10260 Thailand



Cc:





Hon. Chairperson Dr. Purificacion Quisumbing

The Commission on Human Rights

SAAC Building, Commonwealth Avenue

U.P. Complex, Diliman, Quezon City

Fax: +632 929-0102, Email: *drpvq at chr.gov.ph*



Hon. Sec. Avelino Cruz

Department of National Defense

Camp Aguinaldo, EDSA, 1110 Quezon City

Email: *snd at dnd.gov.ph*

Fax: (+632) 911 6213



Sen. Manny Villar

Senate President

Rm. 602 GSIS Bldg., Financial Center, Roxas Blvd., Pasay City
Trunk Lines: (632) 552-6601 to 80 loc. 6507 - 09 / 6511
Direct Line: (632) 552-6715
Fax No.: (632) 552-6734
Email:   mb_villar at yahoo.com
Website: www.mannyvillar.com.ph



Rep. Jose de Venecia Jr.

Speaker of the House

Rm. MB-2, House of Representatives, Quezon City
Phone: 931-5001 local 7446, 9315071 to 9315073



Hon. Arturo Brion
Secretary
Department of Labor and Employment
7th Floor, DOLE Building
Muralla Street, Intramuros, Manila, PHILIPPINES

Phone:  (632) 527-300 loc. 701-704, 706-707

Fax:  (632) 527-2121; (632) 527-2131; (632) 527-5523

Email:  osec at dole.gov.ph







*Second list of signatories (have signed or directly send this letter or a
personalized or extended protest letter to President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo):* Public Services International; World Federation of Trade
Unions; Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), AUSTRALIA; Grahame
McCulloch, NTEU General Secretary, AUSTRALIA; Phippine Australia Union Links
(PAUL), AUSTRALIA; SEARCH Foundation, AUSTRALIA; Pinoy in Austrian Society
For Integrity, Reforms and Social Transformation (PINAS FIRST), AUSTRIA;
PGCB Sramik Karmachri Union, BANGLADESH; B.C. Committee for Human Rights in
the Philippines, CANADA; Barbara Waldern, CANADA; Canadian Union of Postal
Workers (CUPW), CANADA; Filipino - Canadian Youth Alliance – National,
CANADA; Filipino Nurses Support Group, CANADA; Filipino-Canadian Youth
Alliance-Vancouver, CANADA; National Alliance of Philippine Women in Canada,
CANADA; Philippine Women Centre of British Columbia, CANADA;
Philippines-Canada Task Force on Human Rights, CANADA; SIKLAB - B.C.
(Advance the Rights and Welfare of Overseas Filipino Workers), CANADA;
SIKLAB – CANADA, CANADA; Pancyprian Public Employees Union, CYPRUS;
Jean-Pierre Page, France; Deutsch-Philippinische Freunde (DPF), GERMANY;
Trades Union Congress, GREAT-BRITAIN; Democratic Trade Union of Health and
Social Workers, HUNGARY; KASBI (Kongres Aliansi Serikat Buruh Indonesia),
INDONESIA; Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), KOREA (SOUTH); Malta
Union of Midwives & Nurses, MALTA; GEFONT-Nepal, NEPAL; Windward Island
Civil Servants Union / Private Sector Union (WICSU/PSU), NETHERLANDS
ANTILLES; Working Womens Association, PAKISTAN; Africans United for Taiwan,
SIERRA LEONE, Sierra Leone's Peoples Democratic League (PDL), SIERRA LEONE;
Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (DENOSA), SOUTH AFRICA;
Tania Noctiummes, SRI LANKA; Pao-Yu Ching, TAIWAN; CAAAV Organizing Asian
Communities, New York City, USA; United Electrical, Radio and Machine
Workers of America (UE), USA, Thai Asia Pacific  Worker Solidarity Links
APWSL Bangkok Thailand
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