THE ENEMIES OF THE STATE

By Fr. Shay Cullen

OLONGAPO CITY, the Philippines — The Supreme Court of the Philippines under Chief Justice Reynato Puno has vowed to change the rules of the judicial system to help stop the assassinations of political, church and social activists during a multi-sectoral summit to be held in July. A third army general has admitted publicly that discussions on the killings of political activists took place, confirming again the findings of the Melo commission. They will change the rules to hold military officers more accountable to command responsibility.

He was a wise teacher in a small town of Pikit, North Cotabato, Mindanao. His position as the Maguindanao schools district supervisor gave him a clear overview of the elections as he supervised the teachers who counted the votes. The cheating was rampant, blatant and fixed by armed goons and being a good Muslim and an honest man of integrity Musa Dimasidsing told the truth.

Musa was outspoken and as news of the cheating spread so did his name. He was ordered by powerful people to sign a statement declaring the elections to be clean. He refused to lie. The next evening the assassins arrived and shot him dead outside his school. Not long after other officials quickly signed the statement and the fraudulent elections were declared valid. The millions spent on vote buying was not lost after all.

Hundreds of social activists have been assassinated over the past few years including 26 journalists. Last 23 June the European Union Mission headed by EU Ambassador Alistar McDonnell investigated the non-stop killings and suggested the use of forensic science and better training for police and prosecutors to help bring the killers to justice. The killings were previously investigated by a commission headed by retired Supreme Court Justice Jose Melo. It brought out a 86-page report that assigned blame to the military.

The commission named a high ranking officer and said that he offered encouragement and inspiration to those suspected of killing the activists. He was a close ally of President Macapagal Arroyo.

The commission report said that the overall impression that he (the ranking general) is not a bit disturbed by the extra judicial killings of civilian activists, whom he considers enemies of the state. These enemies were to be neutralized. Branding and labeling human rights, social workers and journalists as enemies of the state because they have an alternative political point of view, is the sad and deplorable condition of Philippine democracy today. It is heading back to the stone age. There is no legal category as enemy of the state or crime under which someone could be charged and convicted let alone be executed. The thinking behind such branding is to dehumanize them and therefore deny them any human rights at all. Thus pointing the way for the kidnapping, torture and execution squads. The killings only mimic the worst practices of cruel military dictatorships. This in a so-called democratic country is a contradiction and a violation of all that the people holds sacred and honorable.

The only remedy for this is the truth and peaceful non-violent protest, and appealing to the United States and Australia to encourage the Philippine military to call off the dogs of death. These nations give the most training and weapons to the Philippine Military. They can exert influence and bring the killings to a stop. The President, Gloria Macapagal - Arroyo, can do so too but she depends on the military to stay in power. We have too the power of prayer and the courageous Filipinos of conviction and commitment to demand an end to the abductions, torture and assassinations. Missionaries, journalists and children’s rights advocates opposing the sex industry and trafficking of women and children are under threat from false charges and legal harassment. Missionaries, like the latest victim, Italian Father Gian Carlo Bossi, in Mindanao are kidnapped and live under the threat of death. Now is the time when all of us on the front line of human rights protection need the prayers and support of Christian communities everywhere.