Melbourne Unitarian Peace Memorial Church

A talk given at the Melbourne Unitarian Church on 25th February by Senator Gavin Marshall, Australian Labor Party Senator

I'd like to thank Marion Harper, Florence Watham and the Committee of Management for their kind invitation to attend your church today and I'd also like to thank you for the opportunity to say a few words about an issue I am deeply passionate about– human rights in the Philippines.

I thought I would draw on some of the values that underpin the philosophies of your church when talking about this issue. Specifically, the belief in the inherent worth and dignity of every person, compassion in human relations and the goal of peace, liberty and justice for all.

As a unionist and labour activist, I too believe in these values, and it is these rights that are being denied to the citizens of the Philippines by the very people who are entrusted to uphold them – the State and its security forces.

The Philippines has a well documented past of political unrest, with the suppression of workers, unionists, social justice advocates, political activists and indeed church members. Many of you will vividly recall the toppling of the disgraced Marcos regime over twenty years ago, in what became widely known as the "People power revolution".

The Marcos regime was an era marked by a period of martial law, widespread corruption, dubious elections, the incarceration of members of the opposition, torture, abductions and summary executions. The regime finally ended when Filipino citizens took to the streets, at great risk to their personal safety, to stand up for their rights against this oppressive Government.
Following this monumental event and the media and public attention that ensued, many of us could easily assume that human rights are upheld and democracy is alive and well in the Philippines; however this is simply not the case.

Since Gloria Arroyo came to power in January 2001 there have been over 820 'extrajudicial' killings and assassinations of Filipino citizens. Those who have been killed include unionists, environmentalists, lawyers, municipal councillors, human rights activists and journalists.

In fact, the Philippines has the dubious title of being the second most dangerous country for journalists, second only to Iraq. This is a status which was stressed in the past week when a newspaper editor was murdered in a drive-by killing in Mindanao Province.

Pastors, priests and lay members of the various churches in the Philippines are also amongst those who have been killed during Arroyo’s time as President.

In addition to these killings, many more left activists have had threats made against them, assassination attempts made on their lives and many others have been held in detention without warrant – Including my good friend and fellow parliamentarian Crispin Beltran, someone who I will talk about in a few moments.

The common factor in all these murders and violations of human rights is that all of the victims have been outspoken on issues of poverty, and justice. They have advocated for poor and oppressed people in the Philippines, for workers' rights, for civil liberties and for human rights. Many of them have also been directly critical of the Arroyo government. Most notably, and perhaps most tragically, the common link between these deaths it that they could have been prevented though government intervention. In almost all of the murder cases, the primary suspects are government military intelligence units. Very few of them have been adequately investigated and the perpetrators of these heinous crimes have not been brought to justice.

And despite being a signatory to a number of international treaties protecting human rights and having the protection of human rights enshrined in legislation, these abuses continue today.

In the past few years many international human rights organisations have turned their attention to the Philippines and have produced reports into the political killings, widespread government corruption and human rights abuses.

In August of last year Amnesty International produced its latest report on the Philippines. Entitled Political killings, human rights and the Peace process this report revealed that the numbers of political killings in the Philippines are continuing to increase, and many of them show a common methodology to the attacks. The report also reveals that attacks on individuals rarely lead to charges or prosecution of the perpetrators and reveals a continued failure of the Government to prosecute and convict those who are suspected of these crimes.

The report states that, and I quote:

The common features in the methodology of the attacks, leftist profile of the victims, and an apparent culture of impunity shielding the perpetrators, has lead Amnesty International to believe that the killings are not an unconnected series of criminal murders, armed robberies or other unlawful killings. Rather they constitute a pattern of politically targeted extrajudicial executions taking place within the broader context of a continuing counter-insurgency campaign.

The report goes on to state that they,

remain concerned at the number and repeated credible reports that Members of the security forces have been directly involved in the attacks, or else have tolerated, acquiesced to, or been complicit in them.

A failure of the State to thoroughly investigate the cases of murders and a lack of a commitment from the government to protect human rights has resulted in many organisations concluding that the killings have received tacit approval from the government of the Philippines.

In response to the recurrent murders President Arroyo has made numerous statements condemning them and vowing to bring to justice to those responsible for these atrocities. However there is yet to be any meaningful evidence of genuine action or reform by the government.

In August of last year following the release of the Amnesty report, Gloria Arroyo announced an inquiry into the extrajudicial killings, which was headed by former Supreme Court Justice Jose Melo. The findings of the report which were presented to Gloria Arroyo last month, found that
"elements in the military" were behind the fatal shootings. Melo publicly stated that "It's a small group in the military who are doing these things with the tolerance of some commanders, but it is not the policy of the entire armed forces of the Philippines".

Community groups have condemned the report as a whitewash, claiming the findings of the Melo Commission Report were already public knowledge and merely confirmed the statements that human rights organisations, survivors and the families have been making for years. Other community groups have claimed the report was nothing more than a toothless tiger and that the scope of the investigation should have been extended to allow the investigation of the government itself.

Whilst any attempt to expose these atrocities is encouraged, the proof will be in the response to the report. It is simply not enough for Gloria Arroyo to condemn the killings. Something we have seen from her before. She needs to back these statements up with clear and decisive actions.

In the past, investigations instigated by Mrs. Arroyo have amounted to little more than a public relations exercise with minimal results. They have served to do little other than create pretence that the Government has a genuine want to institute change.

These investigations must be independent and the results must be made available to the international community for scrutiny and action. Despite repeated calls from international organisations including the European Union and the United Nations, the report was only released a few days ago after UN investigator Phillip Alston criticised the military for being in a 'state of denial' about the murders.

Professor Alston, a human rights academic and senior UN spent 10 days investigating the murders in the Philippines and has recently presented his report to the UN Human Rights Council. In statements to the media this week professor Alston criticised the Armed Forces of the Philippines for remaining, and I quote "in a state of almost total denial of it’s need to respond effectively and authentically to the significant number of killings, which have been convincingly attributed to them". He went further saying "The President needs to persuade the military that its reputation and effectiveness will be considerably enhanced, rather than undermined, by acknowledging the facts and taking genuine steps to investigate".

Gloria Arroyo needs to positively respond to and heed the advice of the United Nations report. She also needs to act on her claims that she will amend the court system to make it more accessible to Filipinos. Judicial scrutiny of human rights abuses and murder cases in the Philippines is greatly hindered by the lack of an adequate witness protection scheme, lengthy judicial processes and significant judicial fees.

As I mentioned earlier, I think the case of my good friend Mr. Crispin Beltran, is symptomatic of what is going on more broadly in the Philippines.

Today marks the first anniversary of the detention of Crispin, a member of the Philippines Congress. On the 25th of February last year Crispin, a well know member of the House of Representatives and outspoken critic of the Arroyo Government, was brought in for questioning by the Filipino police. His arrest warrant was based on a rebellion charge filed back in 1985 by the Marcos regime. Despite the fact the warrant had long been quashed the police refused to release him. Later that day and in ensuing days new trumped up charges of rebellion were brought against him. He continues to be detained despite successive charges against him being thrown out by the courts.

Mr Beltran is a former member of the Bayan Muna Party, one of the major opposition parties in the Philippines. It seeks to be a progressive voice within the Filipino congress.

Since Arroyo became President, The Bayan Muna party and other progressive political parties in the Philippines such as the Gabriela Womens Party have been subject to these 'extrajudicial' killings.

Under the Arroyo government 127 members of the Bayan Muna party have been killed, including 37 last year.

4 members of the party have already been killed this year, including Professor Jose Maria Cui a university professor, unionist and human rights activist. Professor Cui was shot and killed last month in front of his students at the University of Eastern Philippines by two assassins who fled on motorbikes.

The continued detention of Mr Beltran, and the murders of the members of the opposition, is a clear attack on the peoples right to a safe, secure and prosperous life and is an attack on the democratic process itself.

The role of the opposition in any democratic society is clear, it is to provoke discussion, provide scrutiny and to develop an articulate alternative agenda to the Government of the day. Without the ability for people to organise and follow their beliefs and convictions free of the threat of persecution, a true democracy cannot exist. However, Gloria Arroyo’s government is seeking to deny the citizens of the Philippines these rights.

The case of Professor Cui is typical of so many of the murders in the Philippines, including the murder of Reverend Edison Lapuz.

His story came to my attention last year when the Justice and International Mission Unit of the Australian uniting church released a report into the deaths of 14 church members in the Philippines.

Amongst the cases outlined in their report was the story of Reverend Lapuz who was an advocate within his church and the local community. His pastoral work exposed him to the marginalised and the oppressed in the community. At the time of his death he was the convenor of a civil liberties group made up of lawyers. This group focused on investigating the many cases of murder and human rights abuses in the Philippines with the goal of pursuing legal avenues to resolve them.

His involvement with this group brought him to the attention of the local military authorities and the police who closely surveyed his activities. Prior to his death, the commanding officer of the local military detachment visited the home of Reverend Lapuz’s father on several occasions to find out information on the whereabouts and movements of Reverend Lapuz. He was then murdered shortly afterwards on 12 May 2005. He and his friend where shot by two masked assailants who later fled on motorbikes. Like so many of the killings which have occurred since 2001, no-one has ever been arrested or charged for his murder.

What is our responsibility in dealing with this issue?

As global citizens, we have a moral obligation to ensure that democracy, the rule of law, and human rights prevail within our region. As a Nation, we need to assess the role we play in providing support to the Philippines.

Australia and the rest of the international community have a moral obligation to make sure that democracy and human rights don’t die in the Philippines. The Philippines is the 6th largest recipient of Australian development assistance and in the last financial year, Australia provided the Philippines with over 21 million dollars in official development assistance. As an economic donor to the country, the Australian Government has a responsibility to ensure that our financial assistance does not support or promote these atrocities in anyway whatsoever.

Members of our Parliament and leaders in our community also have an obligation to use their position to raise their concerns about human rights abuses with the Filipino Government and it’s representatives in Australia.

We need to genuinely consider solutions such as conditionally directing our assistance through the Philippines Commission of Human Rights, and we also need to consider supporting Non-government organisations in the Philippines that are working to promote the protection of human rights in the Philippines.

The Filipino Government has a long history of working with the United States and Australian governments through APEC and military cooperation. The United States have military bases in the Philippines and in fact just this week the US embarked on a joint military exercise with the Filipino Defence Force. These three countries in alliance have all chorused long and loud about the fight against terrorism. Yet, when it comes to the worst form of terrorism there is – State sponsored terrorism, all three Governments are nowhere to be seen.

The Howard Government has argued for years that the war on terror is about the promotion of human rights, affirmation of democratic values and making peoples lives better. Yet the irony is not lost on me that the Howard Governments dedication to these values is selective at best. Time and time again, it has failed to stand up for these issues in its own region.

As a member of the Australian Senate, I have been extremely fortunate to use my role in public life to attempt to raise awareness of the issues occurring in our region.

I have been fortunate to have met with the Philippine Ambassador to Australia, and I have also had several opportunities to raise this within the Parliament and at International conferences. In October of last year, I had the opportunity to attend the Inter-Parliamentary Union Conference in Geneva. During this conference I had the privilege to co-convene a Parliamentarians' Caucus on Human Rights in the Philippines. It was an opportunity for legislators from all over the world to form a global network to meet and discuss the issues facing the Philippines. It is our hope that through sharing information, monitoring the situation in the Philippines, and pushing our respective governments to act on the killings and abductions, we can pressure the Philippine government to do something to stop the atrocities.

But we can all do something to end this cycle of violence, corruption and death.

As individuals and members of the community we can all play an important role in brining these issues to light. Whether it be writing to our local Members of Parliament to discuss our concerns or simply raising awareness amongst our family and friends.

We can also make sure that this issue no longer lies dormant in the Australian press.
Despite the fact the Philippines is one of our nearest neighbours awareness of these atrocities is minimal and information about these abuses is hard to source. Notwithstanding the magnitude of this problem, it has largely escaped under the radar of the Australian press. The role the media played in broadcasting the images the last few days of the Marcos regime cannot be understated. However, it was not until the peoples uprising that the full extent of the atrocities were broadcast to the world.

We need to ensure this doesn’t happen again and as such I encourage you to contact your local media to raise these issues.

President Arroyo has to act to stop the political persecution and physical attacks upon people who advocate for civil liberties and human rights. Some of her recent statements have been encouraging but she needs to back these up with positive, reinforced action. Those responsible for these atrocities, including those linked to security forces, must be prosecuted and brought to justice. Now that President Arroyo has admitted that elements of the military have been involved in the killings, the chain of command and the cover-up must be clearly established and exposed. These appalling abuses must stop.

We as individuals and as members of the global community can put pressure on the Filipino government to bring public attention to these atrocities. We need to stand up for the rights of our neighbours. We need to strengthen their voice so that our common goals of peace, liberty and justice for all can finally be achieved for the citizens of the Philippines.