Strong International Pressure Behind Decrease in Killings, Says Karapatan

International pressure was also shown at the Permanent People’s Tribunal at The Hague which found the GMA and Bush administration guilty of the crimes of gross and systematic violations of human rights, economic plunder and transgression of the Filipino people’s sovereignty. The tribunal’s report was sent to the UN system and other organizations.

The US Senate investigation, the international conferences on the killings in the country, e.g. the Ecumenical Voice which traveled to Canada and the US talking with parliamentarians and bringing their report all the way to the Human Rights Council in Geneva has also lent their voices in condemning the killings and human rights violations.

Several international human rights organizations like the Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, FIDH, Front Line, AHRC, including the International Parliamentarians Union have condemned the violations as well.

For the President, who commands the entire armed force of the country, to be praising the police force which has been more complicit in covering up a heinous crime against humanity rather than doing its mandate of protection not only smacks of callousness, but outright deception. She chooses to drown out the outrage and deceive the international community and the public by saying a barefaced lie that the police work has caused the decrease in the killings. This is a very dangerous situation especially considering the fact that the victims of extrajudicial executions are vocal critics of the President’s policies.

We continue to call on the public and the international community to remain vigilant and defiant.

Stop the killings!

Surface the Disappeared!

End the murderous regime of Gloria Arroyo!

Justice for all victims of human rights violations!

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