49 U.S. Congresspeople Write Letter of Concern
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Thurs August 2, 2007 -- A coalition of U.S. and Philippine-American faith leaders and human rights advocates is applauding actions by members of Congress who issued a letter today to Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, calling for “strong and immediate leadership” to investigate and prosecute individuals and groups responsible for the surge of extrajudicial killings and abductions that continues to scar the Philippines.
The letter initiative, led by Representatives James L. Oberstar (D-MN) and Joseph R. Pitts (R-PA), was signed by 49 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, including Representatives Tom Lantos (D-CA), Chair of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, House Appropriations Committee Chair David Obey (D-WI), House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee Chair John Lewis (D-GA), and Mike Honda (D-CA), Chairman of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.
The legislators’ letter reminded President Arroyo that there is growing evidence from human rights organizations and from the Philippine government’s own appointed Melo Commission pointing to the involvement of Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) personnel and Philippine National Police (PNP) in the killings.
Amnesty International and the United Nations Special Rapporteur Philip Alston have reported similar findings.
According to an Inter Press Service News Agency report on Monday (August 1), human rights groups say that since President Arroyo’s election in 2001 there have been more than 800 victims of extrajudicial killings. According to IPS, as of May 15, Philippine human rights organization KARAPATAN reported 863 extrajudicial executions (including 51 journalists) and 196 abductions.
The Philippines is the largest recipient of U.S. military aid in Asia.
Described by Representative Oberstar as “a sincere communication between the two governments” and with the goal of receiving a positive response from the Philippine government, the U.S. legislators’ letter stated deep concerns over a “growing environment of impunity” in the island nation and said, “The killing of civilians who are peacefully exercising their lawful right in a democratic society to express dissent is a gross violation of universally recognized human rights and international law.”
The lawmakers further cited the May 27 abduction of Philippine Pastor Berlin Guerrero, beaten by the abductors until he gave them the names of his family, parishioners, friends and the password to his computer. The abductors reportedly then replaced Guerrero’s computer documents with incriminating documentation connecting Guerrero to the underground left.
Guerrero remains a prisoner of the Cavite Provincial Police. Reports received by U.S. congressional offices say Guerrero has been tortured while reports from the United Church of Christ in the Philippines state that the Philippine National Police (PNP) have announced that Philippine Navy intelligence units were responsible for the abduction.
The Ecumenical Advocacy Network on the Philippines says the Congressional letter represents a significant step forward in advancing the awareness of U.S. policymakers about this six-year surge of violence against progress leaders in civil society, but more needs to be done to ensure that U.S. dollars are not supporting security forces in violation of U.S. law.
The Ecumenical Advocacy Network represents a growing coalition of American and Filipino-American church leaders and human rights advocates throughout the United States, many of whom have been participants in the international Ecumenical Advocacy Days human rights conference held annually in Washington. That conference, held in March of this year, featured special plenary and workshop presentations focused on the Philippine crisis, including first-person testimonies by individuals subjected to the violence.
Echoing the ecumenical advocacy group’s concerns, Rev. Peter Monkres a United Church of Christ pastor in Grand Marias, Minnesota, says, “We wish to thank all members of Congress who signed the letter of concern for taking this stand. As faith-based constituents, we are particularly troubled by the knowledge that so many of the killings are credibly alleged to involve Philippine security forces, and that those security forces are supported by U.S. dollars.
“That these crimes continue to occur without meaningful investigation and prosecution,” Monkres said, “is alarming. We are pleased that our Congressmen have heard our anguish about the killings and made a commitment to be vigilant in overseeing the situation.”
T. Kumar, Advocacy Director for Amnesty International USA’s Asia and Pacific region, said, “Amnesty is extremely pleased about the strong message that’s being sent to President Arroyo by bipartisan members of Congress. We urge the Philippine government not to ignore the reality of extrajudicial executions and to take prompt action to arrest and prosecute security forces and others involved in these killings.
“We also urge them,” Kumar said, “to have policies in place to prevent such killings from happening in the future.”
Advocates from U.S. churches are also calling upon their members of Congress to bring a strong and urgent voice to the extrajudicial killings targeting Philippine faith and human rights leaders.
Bipartisan effort ‘an historical moment’ in U.S. support of Philippine human rights:
Robin Broad is a Professor of International Development at American University in Washington, D.C., an expert on the Philippines, and author of two books and numerous articles on the Philippines. Broad said the congressional members’ letter “is an historic moment. Not even during the dark days of the Marcos Dictatorship did this large a number of members of the U.S. Congress -- representing both parties -- deliver a signed letter to the President of the Philippines to protest human rights abuses."
On March 14 the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing on extrajudicial killings in the Philippines. At the hearing, Bishop E. Pascua, Secretary General of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) testified that 16 members of the UCCP leadership had been extrajudicially killed since 2001, and Maria Hilao-Enriquez, Secretary General of the Philippine human rights organization KARAPATAN, reported that 32 KARAPATAN staff members had also been killed extrajudicially since 2001. (See: http://www.senate.gov/~foreign/hearings/2007/hrg070314p.html for statements from the expert witnesses.) Bishop Pascua and Ms. Hilao-Enriquez were members of an ecumenical delegation of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines who traveled to Washington D.C. as part of an international appeal to stop the extrajudicial killings to government and intergovernmental bodies last March 2007.
Both the National Council of Churches in the Philippines and Amnesty International have issued reports detailing the extrajudicial killings and abductions and presenting evidence of AFP and PNP involvement.
Signers of today’s House members’ letter to Arroyo included Representatives:
Brian Baird (D, WA), Tammy Baldwin (D, WI), Howard Berman (D, CA), Dan Burton (R, IN), Julia Carson (D, IN), Rosa DeLauro (D, CT), Keith Ellison (D, MN), Phil English (R, PA), Sam Farr (D, CA), Chaka Fattah (D, PA), Trent Franks (D, MA), Raul Grijalva (D, AZ), Luis Gutierrez (D, IL), Maurice Hinchey (D, NY), Mike Honda (D, CA), Jesse Jackson (D, IL), Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D, MI), Mark-Steven Kirk (R, IL), Dennis Kucinich (D, OH), Tom Lantos (D, CA), Rick Larsen (D, WA), Barbara Lee (D, CA), John Lewis (D,GA), David Loebsack (D,IA) , Zoe Lofgren (D,CA), Doris Matsui (D,CA), Betty McCollum (D,MN), Jim McDermott (D,WA), James McGovern (D,MA), Jerry McNerney (D,CA), Mike McNulty (D,NY), Jerry Moran (R-KA ), James Oberstar (D,MN), David Obey (D, WI), Donald Payne (D,NJ), Collin Peterson (D,MN), Joe Pitts (R,PA), David Price (D,NC), Jim Ramstad (R,MN), Steven Rothman (D,NJ), Bobby Rush (D,IL) , Jan Schakowsky (D,IL), Adam Smith (D,WA), Fortney Stark (D,CA), Ellen Tauscher (D,CA), Lee Terry (R,NE), John Tierney (D,MA), Tim Walz (D,MN), Frank Wolf (R,VA).
###
Contact:
Ecumenical Advocacy Network On The Philippines
1798 Scenic Avenue
Berkeley, California 94709
Media Contacts:
Tim McGloin, phone: (240)577-2819; timlinmcg@msn.com
Kaelene Arvidson-Hicks, phone: (218) 525-5212; arvidsonhicks@yahoo.com
###
SOURCES:
• Press release, August 2, 2007, Rep. James Oberstar’s office:
• “Let the Stones Cry Out” Ecumenical Report on Human Rights in the Philippines is available at the World Council of Churches website.
• Amnesty International Report 2007: http://thereport.amnesty.org/eng/Regions/Asia-Pacific/Philippines
• Press Statement and United Nations Report by United Nations Special Rapporteur, Philip Alston:
http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G07/120/95/PDF/G0712095.pdf?OpenElement
http://www.unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/0/7B6094F7150CDC99C125728A003B12B1?opendocument
-end-
Articles:
"49 US solons urge Arroyo to act vs killings, rights abuses," by Veronica Uy, INQUIRER.net, Manila, 08/03/2007.
"Church group lauds US solons' action on RP killings," by Jerome Aning, Inquirer, Manila, 08/05/2007
"US solons to GMA: Prosecute perpetrators of killings," Daily Tribune, Manila, 8/6/2007.