By Herbert Docena, February 25, 2006.
Email : herbert@focusweb.org
The author of this letter works at http://www.focusweb.org
Dear all:
Thanks to all the letters of concern and support.
Yesterday morning, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared an indefinite "state of national emergency" in the Philippines. Issued on the very week when Filipinos were celebrating the 20th anniversary of the "People Power" uprising which ended Ferdinand Marcos' 14-year dictatorship, Arroyo's order authorizes the police and the military the power to do everything necessary to neutralize "enemies" of the state, bans all protest rallies, and threatens to
take over media outlets. Effectively placing the country under martial law, Arroyo has restored what Filipinos ended
twenty years ago.
About 10,000 of us defied the President's order and marched on Manila's busiest highway. We were violently dispersed. Twenty-six of us, including minors who were beaten up by the police, were arrested. While we were eventually released -- presumably in an attempt by the government to project that the "state of
emergency" is not as bad as people fear it would be -- the arrests are just the continuation of intensifying repression in the country. Even before the state of emergency was declared, 33 activists have been killed by suspected military agents or paramilitary groups. Police have routinely violently broken up street protests.
But with the proclamation, our arrests could just be the beginning of even more heightened repression, more severe curtailment of civil liberties, and more flagrant violation of human rights in the country. Today, a newspaper office was raided and a member of parliament was arrested. We are anxious of what could happen in the coming days.
These latest developments affirm that illegitimate regimes can only rule by force. As the Arroyo government becomes even more desperate, we can expect it to become more brutal.
We look forward to your support and solidarity for those of us who will be at the receiving end of this brutality -- even as we continue to extend our solidarity to people at the receiving end of violence in Iraq, Palestine and other occupied countries and dictatorships around the world.
Yesterday's declaration of a "state of emergency" is just the latest
response by a government that has been hounded by charges of electoral fraud and corruption since June 2005. But more than
Arroyo's presidency is at stake. Increasingly, the entire post-1986 political system which entrenched ruling elites' hold on power under a framework of liberal democracy is being put into question. Indeed, opposition to Arroyo's regime is divided between those who
want to salvage this system and those who want to once and for all give real meaning to "people power."
We look forward to your support and solidarity for those of us who are on this side -- even as we continue to extend solidarity to people resisting around the world.
In solidarity,
Herbert Docena
Italian version of this letter below. French version can be found on Quibla
Manila, February 25, 2006 | Before Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo announced Proclamation 1017, which put the country under a state of national emergency, a spate of unsolved killings and other human rights violations of legal political activists have been on the rise. Human rights organizations and other groups claim that these human rights violations by perpetrators believed to be from the military or Armed Forces of the Philippines-sponsored vigilantes are being done on a national scale and is a direct assault not only to human, civil and democratic rights not only of the victims but on legitimate peoples’ movements as a whole.
Then, there was the declaration yesterday. The proclamation is a response to alleged “conspiracy” between “the elements in the political opposition”, “extreme left” and “extreme right”, which is fuelled by certain segments of the national media to bring down the government of Arroyo. To “save democracy”, Arroyo ordered the violent dispersals of rallies and warrantless arrests of activists by the police. The good news, though, is that all the groups of activists, who were arrested yesterday, were released last night after hours of detention at Camp Karingal.
But the tensions are intensifying. The situation, more precarious. Arroyo has yet to withdraw her national emergency rule. And the military has just announced additional General Orders which would intensify their “counter-insurgency” operations. Permits for rallies marking the “people power” were cancelled. Various organizations, including the media, were over and again warned that they will face closure if they endangered ‘national security’, i.e. publishing anti-government stories and ‘biased’ coverage against the state.
Malacanang claims that there is “an eminent threat to public safety”. In response to this, a massive crackdown on dissenters was launched by the police and military. The first casualty of such is the office of the Philippine Daily Tribune, a national newspaper critical of the Arroyo government. Members of the administration have raided and taken over the national newspaper. But publisher Ninez Cacho-Olivarez vowed to fight it out and will continue to run the newspaper. Known opposition leaders have also been arrested and harassed for allegedly “conspiring” to bring Arroyo’s government down. Old charges as dated as 1985 are being revived, when in fact this has been squashed after Corazon Aquino descended into power through a peaceful civilian uprising.
Numerous activists who fought the ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos are claiming that Arroyo’s ways and actions are Marcosian, if not worse. Brute police and military force are being used to gag dissenters. Media takeover was a precondition before Marcos delared martial law. History seemed to be repeating itself but the activists vowed to continue fighting and defend their human rights and civil liberties against the state’s growing repression.
versione italiana
Lo Stato d'Emergenza nelle Filippine : lettera da Manila
di Herbert Docena, Manila, 25 febbraio 2006.
Email - herbert@focusweb.org
Tradotto dall'inglese da Mary Rizzo e revisionato da Mirumir, membri di Tlaxcala (www.tlaxcala.es) la rete dei traduttori per la diversità linguistica. Questa traduzione è in copyleft
L¹autore di questa lettera è l'uno degli animatori del Focus on the Global South, un programma di reicercra, analisi ed azione nel settore delle politiche di sviluppo, fondato nel 1995 e che dispone di tre uffici : a Bangkok, Mumbai e Manila http://www.focusweb.org
Cari amici,
Grazie per tutte le vostre lettere di preoccupazione e di sostegno.
Ieri mattina, la Presidente Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ha dichiarato uno "Stato d'Emergenza Nazionale" a tempo indeterminato nelle Filippine. Emessa nella stessa settimana in cui i filippini stavano celebrando il ventesimo anniversario del "Potere del Popolo", rivolta che ha messo fine al regime dittatoriale di Ferdinand Marcos durato 14 anni, l'ordinanza di Arroyo autorizza la polizia ed il potere militare a fare qualsiasi cosa necessaria per neutralizzare i "nemici" dello Stato, proibisce ogni manifestazione di protesta, e minaccia di prendere il controllo dei media. Mettendo il Paese sotto legge marziale, Arroyo ha restaurato ciò che i filippini hanno terminato vent'anni fa.
Circa diecimila di noi hanno sfidato l'ordinanza della Presidente ed hanno manifestato sulla strada principale di Manila. Siamo stati dispersi con la violenza. Ventisei di noi, compresi dei minori, sono stati pestati dalla polizia ed arrestati.
Anche se alla fine siamo stati rilasciati - presumibilmente in un tentativo del governo di far credere che lo "stato d'emergenza" non fosse così grave come la gente temeva - gli arresti sono solamente la continuazione di una repressione che sta intensificandosi nel Paese. Anche prima che fosse dichiarato lo stato d'emergenza, trentatré attivisti erano stati uccisi dagli agenti militari o gruppi paramilitari. La polizia ha di regola interrotto le proteste nelle strade con la violenza.
Con la proclamazione, i nostri arresti potrebbero essere solo l'inizio di una repressione anche più intensa, una più severa restrizione delle libertà civili, ed una più sfacciata violazione dei diritti umani nel Paese. Oggi, la sede di un giornale ha subito un'incursione ed un membro del Parlamento è stato arrestato. Pensiamo con ansia a ciò che ci aspetta nei prossimi giorni. Gli ultimi sviluppi affermano che i regimi illegittimi possono solo regnare con l'uso della forza. Mentre il governo Arroyo diventa ancora più disperato, ci possiamo aspettare che diventi sempre più brutale.
Guardiamo con piacere al vostro sostegno e alla vostra solidarietà per quelli di noi che subiranno questa brutalità - così come continueremo ad estendere la nostra solidarietà alla gente che è vittima della violenza in Iraq, in Palestina e negli altri Paesi occupati e sotto dittatura in ogni parte del mondo.
La dichiarazione ieri dello "stato d'emergenza" è solo la più recente reazione di un governo che è stato toccato da accuse di frode elettorale e corruzione fin dal giugno del 2005. Ma c'è più della presidenza di Arroyo in gioco. Con sempre maggiore frequenza, è l'intero sistema politico post-1986 in cui l'élite dominante arroccata detiene il potere sotto la bandiera della democrazia liberale ad essere sotto esame. Infatti, l'opposizione al regime di Arroyo è divisa tra quelli che desiderano salvaguardare questo sistema e quelli che vogliono una volta per tutte dare un vero significato al "Potere del Popolo."
Guardiamo con attesa al vostro sostegno e alla vostra solidarietà per quelli di noi che combattono questa battaglia, mentre continuiamo ad estendere la nostra solidarietà ai popoli resistenti in ogni parte del mondo.
In solidarietà,
Herbert Docena
Fench version at
http://quibla.net/asie2006/philippines2006.htm