my dear kasamas and friends,

i hope you're all doing well. i would like to inform you about an emergency indignation rally happening tomorrow, saturday, april 26th, 6-7pm in front of the philippine consulate. it's to condemn the murder of 2 prominent kasamas in the philippines.

like beng hernandez, they were abducted and killed while holding a fact-finding mission about human rights abuses of the philippine military [more details below].

we kasamas from new york deeply mourn for their loss. at the same time, we are angered and driven to raise our voices even more to inform the public about such atrocities.

i know this is happening tomorrow but we still hope you can join us.

love and rage,

riya

[please forward widely!]

Justice not War in the Philippines Campaign

justiceinthephilippines@yahoo.com

(212) 561-1567

www.justiceinthephilippines.org

Dear friends, fellow activists and kasamas,

It is with deep sadness and anger that we inform you about the MURDER OF TWO PROMINENT HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS and the "disappearance" of a progressive filmmaker in the Philippines. These brutal assassinations by a military-created death squad took place on April 21 in Southern Tagalog. This region, south of Manila, has been a center of peasant organizing, militarization and repression by the US-backed Philippine Army.

EDEN MARCELLANA, a well known human rights activist, and EDDIE GUMANOY, a respected peasant leader, were abducted during a fact-finding mission investigating the Army's abuses of civilians in the area. Virgilio Catoy was a member of the audio-visual group Southern Tagalog Exposure which produced the film "Bullets' Echoes" ("Alingawngaw ng mga Punglo").

The Justice not War in the Philippines Campaign sponsored the New York Premiere of "Bullets' Echoes" on April 17 at Hunter College in Manhattan. Filmed between 1998-2001, this film documents the Philippine Army's efforts to put an end to progressive political organizing by assassinating and "disappearing" scores of peasant, women and indigenous activists in the Southern Tagalog region.
Living here in the U.S., we have a special responsibility to broadly publicize and protest against the U.S. government's support and funding for the Philippine Army and its death squads. Please join us...

EMERGENCY INDIGNATION RALLY

Saturday, April 26th, 5:30-6:00 PM

in front of the Philippine Consulate

556 5th Ave, between 45th and 46th Sts.

take the 4,5, 6 or 7 train to Grand Central

Justice for Eden Marcellana and Eddie Gumanoy!

Expose and oppose the killing of Philippine-based activists!

Stop the involuntary disappearances!

Initiated by GABRIELA Network - NY/NJ and by the Network in Solidarity with the People of the Philippines, the Justice Not War in the Philippines Campaign was formally launched on February 2003 in NYC. JNW aims to specifically amplify the voices of resistance against US military intervention and repression in the Philippines while working hand in hand with other anti-war Filipino formations in the Philippines and in the US. It also seeks to build bridges of solidarity among those who are struggling against US military interventions around the world.

***************************

BAYAN MUNA NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS

28 Magiting Road, Teachers' Village
Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines 1101

(632) 921-3499 7(632) 921-3473

bmhq@info.com.ph

Friends in struggle,

Below are the various press releases and information concerning the recent
killings and abductions in Mindoro Oriental.

Bayan Muna [People First Party] National Headquarters, Quezon City,
Philippines

News Release

April 23, 2002

>Bayan Muna solons Ocampo, Beltran lead fact-finding mission in Mindoro;
>Accuse President Macapagal-Arroyo of supporting military campaign of terror
against civilians, cause-oriented groups
Bayan Muna Representatives Satur C. Ocampo and Crispin Beltran today led a
40-member strong fact-finding mission in Mindoro Oriental, to find the truth
behind the murder of two human rights activists in the province, Eden
Marcellana and Eddie Gumanoy.
Joining them are leaders of human rights organizations and people's
cause-oriented groups allied with the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN),
such as the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU--May 1 Workers Movement), Kilusang
Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP--Peasants Movement of the Philippines),
Karapatan (National Alliance for the Advancement of Peoples Rights),
Promotion of Church People's Response (PCPR), and AnakPawis (Peasant-Worker
Group).

Religious workers from the La Sallette Order and the Iglesia Filipina
Independiente, as well as lawyers from the Public Interest LawCenter (PILC)
and doctors from the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and the Community
Health Development (CHD) are also joining the fact-finding mission (FFM).
Midday yesterday, April 22, the national offices of the militant people's
organizations were shocked and outraged to learn that Eden Marcellana,
Secretary General of the human rights organization Karapatan in Southern
Tagalog, and Eddie Gumanoy, chairperson of the peasant group Kalipunan ng
mga Samahang Magbubukid sa Timog Katagalugan (KASAMA-TK) had been found,
their bodies bearing gunshot wounds in the head and chest area. The
perpetrators have already been tagged as members of a military or
paramilitary group linked with the Army's 204th Infantry Brigade.
Marcellana and Gumanoy were abducted April 21 in Maibon, Naujan, Mindoro
Oriental. They were going to Calapan City aboard a van when they were
accosted by some 20 armed men wearing ski-masks. Also snatched were
Francisco Saez and Melvin Jocson, both of AnakPawis; and Virgilio Caloy II,
a filmmaker and member of the audio-visual group Southern Tagalog Exposure.

The group was part of a fact-finding mission to investigate the reported
abduction of three residents of Gloria town by the military's 204th Brigade
headed by the notorious Col. Jovito Palparan. During the weekend,
Marcellana visited several town mayors in Mindoro Oriental to look into the
complaints of several town officials regarding numerous atrocities committed
by the military. The kidnapping and killing of Marcellana, Gumanoy are the
most recent entries in a bloody list of summary executions of civilians
committed by the military in the province of Mindoro Oriental [in southern
Luzon-ed].
As soon as they got to Mindoro, Ocampo and Beltran and the leaders of the
cause-oriented groups conferred with Mindoro Oriental governor Bartolome
Marasigan. They sought the governor's assistance in finding the perpetrators
and bringing them to justice.
"We hope that the local government and regional government officials of
Mindoro including the Congressional representatives assist the families of
the victims in finding out what really happened to their loved ones," Ocampo
said. "We strongly urge them to take the side of the victims and their
families, and help demand justice for Eden and Eddie. The military must not
be allowed yet again to murder civilians with impunity. These are
unforgivable, blood-crimes against the Filipino people."
The FFM will also visit officials of the various LGUs in Mindoro, to ask
that they too help in bringing justice to the victims. After these visits,
the FFM will proceed to the abduction site and the area where the bodies of
Marcellana and Gumanoy were discovered. A documentation team will
interview residents in the area, to search for possible witnesses, apart
from the six other human rights workers who were abducted but subsequently
released.
Reps. Ocampo and Beltran delivered privileged speeches in the Congress last
night denouncing the killings. They directly accused Col. Jovito Palparan,
commander of the 204th Brigade based in Mindoro, Defense Secretary
Angelo Reyes, and AFP Commander in Chief and Philippine President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo as responsible for the killings. They also said that the
abduction of the human rights workers and their murder were part and parcel
of the Arroyo administration's intensifying militarism and worsening fascist
tendencies. According to them, if the administration succeeds in passing its
Anti-Terrorism bill through Congress, the government through its police
and military forces will be more emboldened to abduct, torture and summarily
execute civilians they consider enemies of the state.
"This is what Pres. Macapagal-Arroyo means by building a 'strong republic.'
The foundations are being watered with the blood of human rights activists
and civilians who dare speak out against the abuses of the military and the
national government's anti-poor, anti-people and anti-sovereignty programs
and policies.
"Pres. Arroyo as the commander in chief of the AFP (Armed Forces of the
Philippines) must be directly held responsible for the murder of Eden and
Eddie. We demand thatshe give a statement on this matter immediately. The
military cannot be allowed to take refuge behind her. For her part,
Pres.Arroyo should not give protection the 204th Brigade, to Palparan, and
the rest of the AFP by justifying their murder of civilians as part of an
anti-terrorism or
counter-insurgency campaign," Ocampo said.
For his part, Rep. Crispin Beltran said that the promotion of Palparan to
Brigadier-General should be immediately halted, and instead Palparan should
be tried for the various human rights violations and civilian killings that
have been perpetrated by the 204th Brigade under his command. "Palparan is a
monster who feeds on civilians, and it's an outrage and crime against
humanity that the likes of him is promoted and given more stars. The fact
that Pres. Arroyo is all for promoting Palparan is a testament to her
burgeoning fascism and militarism," he said. #