Stop the Killings in the Philippines
LINKAP (Filippijnse Jongeren Verbond) - 25.07.2006 15:07
In the last 5 years of Mrs. Macapagal-Arroyo's presidency, 690 were victims of extra judicial killings. 168 are victims of enforced disappearances. In the middle of this year alone, there are 97 killed, this is equal to those killed in the whole of 2001. In average, there are two victims of extra judicial killings every week.
Sherlyn Cadapan
Karen Empeno
Cris Hugo
STOP THE KILLINGS! RESURFACE THE DISAPPEARED!
We, members and officers of Liga ng Kabataang Pilipino or LINKAP based in the Netherlands, express our alarm and concern over the politically motivated killings, disappearances, persecutions and harassments of members and leaders of youth and student organizations in the Philippines.
In the last 5 years of Mrs. Macapagal-Arroyo's presidency, 690 were victims of extra judicial killings. 168 are victims of enforced disappearances. In the middle of this year alone, there are 97 killed, this is equal to those killed in the whole of 2001. In average, there are two victims of extra judicial killings every week.
The latest victims are two students of University of the Philippines in June of this year. Sherlyn Cadapan, 29 years old and Karen Empeno, 23 years old, were abducted along with Manuel Merino, a peasant organizer, at 2 in the morning of June 30 by more than six armed masked men. The first two are members of ANAKBAYAN (a national organization of youth) and League of Filipino Students respectively and Merino is a volunteer staff of Bulacan Farmers Alliance when they were abducted in Bulacan province, north of Manila. Until now, they remain missing.
Before Sherlyn and Karen were abducted, 16-year old Brian Macalisang, also of ANAKBAYAN, was abducted by masked men on April 30 and until now he cannot be found. He is the youngest person disappeared under the Macapagal-Arroyo government.
Latest victims of assassinations are Cris Hugo and Pedro Angkon who were killed by two masked motorcycle-riding men in two separate incidents.
Cris Hugo was killed last March 19, 2006 was only 19 years old. He was graduating on journalism, a student leader in his university and regional coordinator for League of Filipino Students (LFS) in Bicol province, south of Manila. He was instrumental in ending violent feuds between school fraternities and uniting them to fight for student rights.
Pedro Angkon was an ANAKBAYAN organizer in Negros island, south of Manila and was 33 years old when he was killed last May 16, 2006.
What do they all have in common? They are all active as organizers or members of militant student organizations that are critical of the governments' policies affecting youth and students. Both ANAKBAYAN and LFS are tagged by the military as being "enemies of the state". What are ANAKBAYAN and LFS does to be tagged as such?
As a youth who are growing up and living here in the Netherlands, we thought that the government is protecting its people and that the remittances of our parents are going to the improvement of education and basic social services, but in the 2006 National Budget allocation the Macapagal-Arroyo government spends 75% of it to debt servicing and 20% to military spending which leaves only 5% to basic social services. Only a month ago, Macapagal-Arroyo issued 1 Billion pesos for military's insurgency campaign. It is very disappointing and frustrating that the government gives more importance to bullets and not schools, classrooms and books.
It is thus no wonder that many students and youth are joining ANAKBAYAN, LFS and others youth and student organizations which are fighting for better education and improved social services. Their demands are legitimate, the answer of the president is not.
The president abolishes the death penalty but turns a blind eye and remains silent on the killings and disappearances of her critics. Indirectly she is permitting her military to continue these killings and disappearances.
This has got to stop.
We encourage all our peace loving fellow Filipino youth abroad and Dutch youth to call for the immediate stop of these killings and other human rights violations against youth and students' organizations. We appeal to all youth and students' organizations in the Netherlands to put pressure on Mrs. Arroyo's government to stop these killings and give immediate justice to all the victims and their relatives. ###
Please sign the online petitions: www.pinoyhr.net,
 E-Mail: linkap@gmail.com  Website: http://www.linkap.nl
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