Arroyo should indemnify Marcos victims now

Rubi Del Mundo
Spokesperson
National Democratic Front-Southern Mindanao
September 21, 2004

In the interest of long-delayed justice, the National Democratic Front of the Philippines-Southern Mindanao calls on the Arroyo regime to expedite the indemnification of the 10,000 human-rights victims of the fascist Marcos dictatorship. There are enough bases why Arroyo should do so under her term.

Her government is duty-bound to indemnify martial-law victims out of the Marcos ill-gotten wealth, by virtue of the Oslo Joint Agreements forged during the NDFP-GRP peace negotiations this year, as well as the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CAR-HR-IHL).

(A US federal court had already ruled that Ferdinand Marcos instigated and implemented the torture, murder and the disappearances of some 9,500 people during his 20-year regime. The Swiss Supreme Court, on December 10, 1997, recognized the need to compensate these victims out of the $500-million Marcos wealth stashed in Swiss banks.)

The reactionary Arroyo regime has not only failed to indemnify the Marcos victims -- it is also responsible for the most brutal campaign of suppression against the people and the revolutionary forces. In Southern Mindanao and other areas of the country, especially in the countryside, torture, abuse, harassment and rape by the military are rampant. Under Arroyo's three-year regime, 19,074 persons in Southern Mindanao were victims of human-rights violations and international humanitarian law.

State terrorism is implemented through a heavy military contingent deployed in Southern Mindanao - four battalions, one special forces battalion, one scout rangers battalion and the composite Task Force Davao. Four more battalions operate in the boundary areas of Southern Mindanao.

During the martial law years, the Philippine Constabulary was responsible for the salvaging, torture, and disappearances of thousands of ordinary peasant villagers, human-rights advocates, and revolutionaries. The Arroyo regime has surpassed the record of the fascist Marcos dictatorship in the killing of human-rights workers with 14 victims under her watch.

Even without a formal declaration of martial law, the Arroyo regime is breaking records held by Marcos in committing the most vicious human-rights violations against hors d?combat, ordinary civilians, the Moro people, and even legal militant organizations. Lodged before the Joint Monitoring Committee are about 3,333 cases of human-rights violations committed by the AFP and the GRP affecting some 100,000 people. The JMC is a monitoring mechanism by the GRP and the NDF in the implementation of the CAR-HR-IHL.

The National Democratic Front of the Philippines-Southern Mindanao calls on the Filipino people to remain vigilant in pursuit of respect for human rights and to wage the struggle for national liberation and democracy.

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