Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-04-26-Speech-4-212"
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"en.20070426.29.4-212"2
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".
Madam President, on the eve of important elections – the local and legislative elections in the Philippines – it is appropriate and timely that we should be discussing some of that country’s main problems, in particular the worrying escalation of extrajudicial crimes and assassinations – now more than 800 since President Arroyo took power in the archipelago in 2001 – the huge majority of which have so far gone unpunished.
The current situation shows a clear pattern of political assassinations in the Philippines, and we must therefore call upon the government in Manila to take the appropriate measures with a view to putting an end to the threats and harassment against members of the opposition, journalists, farm workers calling for their rights to be respected within the context of the agrarian reform under way, human rights activists and even witnesses in trials of their victimisers.
Various human rights organisations – such as Food First Information and Action Network (FIAN) – have for a long time been warning, for example, of the non-implementation of national agrarian reform programmes, which means that many landowners are refusing to hand land over to the farmers. The climate of violence linked to this situation has now led to the assassination of at least 38
leaders.
We should welcome the fact that the President has committed herself to the principle of ‘zero tolerance’ in the face of human rights violations, but their scale demands much more ambitious actions, particularly in view of the fact that various national and international reports directly implicate parts of the army and the police in those violations. Notable amongst these reports are the statements by the UN Human Rights Council’s Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, Philip Alston, and by the Melo Commission.
The situation is particularly alarming in the Bontoc peninsula, where hundreds of farmers are facing many cases of harassment and physical violence perpetrated by private armed groups.
Finally, I believe that it is important to take note of the work carried out by the negotiation panel of the peace process as well as the government’s announcement that complete self-determination for the people of Mindanao would be guaranteed.
Furthermore, I must once again express the reservations of many of us about the inclusion of certain groups – such as the
on the European Union’s list of terrorist groups, since that does not contribute to future peace negotiations but rather hinders them.
As requested by various international organisations and institutions defending and promoting human rights, we hope that this urgent resolution will help to persuade the Philippines Government to take a much firmer position in the fight against political murders and to guarantee the safety of the people under threat, in particular farmers and political and human rights activists."@en1
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"Ejercito del Nuevo Pueblo"1
"campesino"1
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