[APWSLMembers 605] Sept 21 International Day of Action against trade union and political repression in the Phils

[kmu id]

30 August 2007

Dear friends,

Greetings of justice!

We are seeking your support to join us in an International Day of
Action Against Trade Union and Political Persecution and Repression in
the Philippines and against the Human Security Act this coming Sept.
21, 2007.

On Sept 21, 1972, Martial Law was declared by the Marcos dictatorship
to curb the rising tide of people's resistance against political
suppression.  Thousands of activists were arrested, put in jail and/or
killed.  The Marcos dictatorship also outlawed all legal progressive
organizations and further suppressed the freedom of speech.

Thirty five (35) years after, the very same conditions continue to
exist.  While Martial Law was "lifted" in 1981, the country is
experiencing an undeclared martial law under the US-backed Gloria
Macapagal Arroyo regime.  Under its war on terror campaign,
progressive legal organizations of workers, peasants, women, youth,
church, media, parliament and other opposition forces are branded as
"communist fronts" and "enemies of the state", which effectively gives
license to the military to attack and kill them.

We hope you could join us on this day in seeking justice for the many
victims of political persecution and repression.  Please see the
attached background paper for more details.  Please also disseminate
this call to your network.

Together, let us join our voices in calling for the US-Arroyo
government to respect the civil and democratic rights of the Filipino
people.  Together, let us demand the Filipino's right to life and to
live with dignity.

In solidarity,

(sgd) Tess Dioquino
Secretary
International Department, KMU

Noted by:
(sgd) Elmer Labog
KMU National Chairperson


-------------------
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF ACTION
ON SEPTEMBER 21, 2007
AGAINST TRADE UNION AND POLITICAL PERSECUTION AND REPRESSION IN THE PHILIPPINES
(AN APPEAL TO JOIN THE FILIPINO WORKERS AND PEOPLE IN CALLING FOR A
STOP TO TRADE UNION REPRESSION, POLITICAL KILLINGS, ENFORCED
DISAPPEARANCES AND POLITICAL PERSECUTION AND FOR THE REPEAL OF THE
HUMAN SECURITY ACT)


On Sept 21, 1972, Martial Law was declared by the Marcos dictatorship
to curb the rising tide of people's resistance against political
suppression.  Thousands of activists were arrested, put in jail and/or
killed.  The Marcos dictatorship also outlawed all legal progressive
organizations and further suppressed the freedom of speech.

Thirty five (35) years after, the very same conditions continue to
exist.  While Martial Law was "lifted" in 1981, the country is
experiencing an undeclared martial law under the US-backed Gloria
Macapagal Arroyo regime.  Under its war on terror campaign,
progressive legal organizations of workers, peasants, women, youth,
church, media, parliament and other opposition forces are branded as
"communist fronts" and "enemies of the state", which effectively gives
license to the military to attack and kill them.

Political Killings, Enforced Disappearances, Trade Union Repression

Under the US-Arroyo regime, political repression turned to worse.
Since 2001 up to present, more than 870 political activists were
killed, 184 were made to disappear, hundreds arrested and thousands
continue to experience grave threats, intimidation, persecution and
all kinds of mental and physical harassment.

To wit, Jonas Burgos, an agriculturist-activist who teaches peasants
in Central Luzon about organic farming, was abducted on April 28 in
broad daylight inside a shopping mall. Witnesses testified that Burgos
was forced into a vehicle by six men and a woman.  All evidences point
to the military's hand in the abduction, such as a military vehicle
and a license plate belonging to them.  However, the military continue
to deny their involvement.  Two days ago, it surfaced three alleged
"communist-witnesses" claiming Burgos was a member of the New People's
Army (armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines) to bolster
its accusation that it was his former comrades who seized Burgos as
part of the purge in the communist movement.

In the trade union sector, 77 have been killed and the workers'
fundamental right to organize and to collectively bargain is
continuously being violated.  Among the prominent cases of political
killings in the sector were that of Nestle union president Diosdado
"Ka Fort" Fortuna, labor leader and teacher Vicky Samonte and Central
Azucarera de Tarlac Labor Union president Ric Ramos.  Trade unions are
considered "factory terrorists" and thus, efforts to organize workers
into unions are being nipped in the bud.  Workers picketlines are
being attacked and military troops are deployed in workers'
communities purportedly to maintain "peace and order".

KMU for itself is continuously being vilified and demonized.  A black
propaganda film against KMU contained in a CD is being distributed by
unidentified elements in rally areas, factories and communities.  In
the film, KMU is claimed to be responsible for the retrenchment of
75,000 workers and closure of more than 400 factories since 1985.  KMU
is also being linked to the communist movement which makes its leaders
and members more vulnerable to attacks such as abductions, harassments
and assassinations.

Alarmed by the escalating human rights violations, the Supreme Court
organized a National Consultative Summit on Extrajudicial Killings and
Enforced Disappearances Searching for Solutions last July 16-17.  The
landmark Summit ended in a call to the Gloria Arroyo government to
order a stop to political killings and for the adoption of new laws
that would empower investigators to search state and private premises
for victims of forced disappearances.

Yet, much is still to be seen.

Human Security Act

On July 15, 2007, the Arroyo government implemented the Human Security
Act (HSA) or the Philippine anti-terrorism law, the country's version
of the USA Patriot Act.

The HSA is directly against the principles of democracy, the
Philippine Constitution and International Conventions as it virtually
erases all provisions on civil liberties, human rights, due process
and the judiciary system.

Under the HSA, any organization or individual proscribed to be a
"terrorist" can be arrested and jailed for three days without any
charges.  A person can also be detained beyond three days during
"actual or perceived terrorist attacks."

No less than Martin Scheinin, the UN Rapporteur on Human Rights, said
"many provisions of the Human Security Act are not in accordance with
international human rights standards."

Political repression and the climate of impunity in the country is
seen to further intensify with the implementation of HSA.

Already, several leaders and members of progressive local
organizations and foreign-based support groups and critics were
subjected to interrogation and hold-departure orders as part of a
supposed watch list and blacklist order of the Bureau of Immigration
and Deportation (BID) or the Department of Justice (DOJ).  Those
subjected to interrogation were asked to secure clearance from the
recently-created Anti-Terrorism Council that includes Justice
Secretary Raul Gonzalez, National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales,
Cesar Garcia of the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA),
and Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr.

Bulk of those included in the watchlist, blacklist, exclusion order,
hold order or whatever the BID and DOJ calls it were those who
participated in international fact-findings and solidarity missions in
the Philippines, signed petition letters to demand an end to
extrajudicial killings and other human rights violations, wrote about
the government's corrupt practices and lobbied their governments to
end support to the Arroyo regime.

On Aug 28, exiled Filipino patriot Prof. Jose Maria Sison was arrested
and detained in a Gestapo-like manner in the Hague, Netherlands on the
basis of trumped-up charges.  Prof. Sison is the Chairperson of the
International League of People's Struggles (ILPS).  He also serves as
a political consultant to the National Democratic Front of the
Philippines (NDFP) in its peace talks with the Government of the
Republic of the Philippines.  Simultaneous with the arrest of Prof.
Sison is the raid and ransack of houses of several Filipino patriots
and confiscation of computers, CDs, documents, files and many others.
While this may not be directly related to the Human Security Act, this
shows how far the Arroyo government can go in violating human rights
in the guise of anti-terrorism.  The Arroyo government strongly
lobbied the European Union to include Prof. Sison on its terrorist
list.  It also admitted that it has helped put a case against Prof.
Sison in the Netherlands.

International Condemnation

Various international organizations, church institutions, trade union
bodies, parliamentarians and various sectors all over the world have
expressed alarm on the grave human rights violations in the country
and have condemned Arroyo's draconian policies.

Results of various international fact-finding and solidarity missions
conducted in the country all pointed out that the human rights
violations is a result of a state policy and thus the Arroyo
government is culpable in these atrocities.

Professor Philip Alston, UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial,
summary or arbitrary executions, visited the country in February 2007
and conducted interviews with the military, government officials and
victims alike.  In his report to the UN Human Rights Council last
March 27, Alston reiterated that "based on my fact-finding, there is
no reasonable doubt that the military is responsible for a significant
number of the killings." He goes further in saying that the military
"remains in a state of almost total denial".  Indeed, no one so far
has been prosecuted, no military or police personnel has been
investigated, or brought to trial up to now.

The Permanent Peoples Tribunal (PPT) in its Second Session on the
Philippines "has found unequivocal evidences that the militaries have
a central role in the greatest majority of the scenarios of human
rights violations in the Philippines."  It has found that the
US-Arroyo regime grossly and systematically violated the civil,
political, economic, social and cultural rights of the Filipino
workers and the Filipino people.

The Amnesty International has released two reports about the on-going
situation in the Philippines.

Recently, 49 US Congressmen signed a joint letter to the Arroyo
government expressing its alarm on the human rights violations in the
Philippines and the lack of
government's response to it.


International Day of Action

In the face of this grave situation, this International Day of Action
on Sept. 21, 2007 aims to further amplify the call to the Arroyo
government to respect the Filipino workers and people's civil and
democratic rights, most especially their fundamental right to life and
to live with dignity.

We call on you – our comrades, brothers and sisters, friends,
compatriots and advocates – in the trade unions, informal workers
organizations, migrant organizations, church organizations, women
organizations, support groups and other associations in various
sectors to participate in this International Day of Action on Sept 21,
2007.

Concretely, let us jointly call on the US-Arroyo government to stop
political killings, enforced disappearances, intimidation and all
forms of political persecution.  Let us call for the respect of the
democratic rights of Prof. Sison and all Filipino patriots abroad.
Let us call for the repeal of the Human Security Act.

Suggested actions to take:

a.  Protest actions in front of Philippine Embassies and Consulates in
your country
b.  Hold dialogues with the Philippine Ambassador and Consulate in
your area and bring the issue of political repression and of the Human
Security Act
c.  Send protest letters calling for a stop to extra-judicial
killings, enforced disappearances, political persecution and other
forms of human rights violations and for the repeal of the Human
Security Act.  Letters can be addressed to:

H.E. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
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

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. 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

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

Please cc the KMU of your letters (kmu.intl at gmail.com)

d.  Send solidarity messages to KMU at kmu.intl at gmail.com
e.  Launch petition-signing or on-line petition campaign calling for a
stop to trade union and political repression in the Philippines and
for the repeal of the Human Security Act
f.  sponsor fora, discussion groups, symposia and other speaking
engagements about the political situation in the Philippines
g. Ask your government to withdraw support and stop giving financial
aid to the Arroyo government because these aids are being used to
attack the Filipino workers and people under the guise of
anti-terrorism.
h. other forms of solidarity actions which you may deem necessary

Please confirm to us what actions you plan to take.

Once again, thank you for your support and solidarity to the Filipino
workers and people's struggle for the upholding of civil and
democratic rights and for national sovereignty.