PRESS RELEASE
Information Bureau
Communist Party of the Philippines

Arroyo human rights record worse than Marcos' -- CPP
December 9, 2004

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) today said that the Arroyo government is "proving itself worse than the fascist Marcos dictatorship" in terms of human rights violations. CPP spokesman Gregorio "Ka Roger" Rosal said the "murderous" Arroyo regime has violated human rights and international humanitarian law with impunity "since embarking on its self-declared war of terror".

Citing information from human rights organizations, Rosal said the Arroyo regime has committed at least 570 cases of human rights violations ranging from cases of 'salvaging' or summary execution to illegal abduction, torture and forced disappearance from January to November 2004 alone.

"At least 30 persons a day are affected by such violations," Rosal pointed out. Forced disappearances have victimized at least six persons a month.

"The biggest act of state terrorism to date under the Arroyo regime is the Hacienda Luisita Massacre," Rosal said. "It underscores the desperation of the pro-landlord regime to silence the toiling masses and suppress their democratic rights."

"Employing a mailed fist policy is the regime's response to the economic crisis that has spawned widespread unrest among the masses of workers and peasants, and even among middle economic classes," Rosal said.

"Failing to provide stable economic and social conditions, the Arroyo regime has become ever-reliant on the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to provide it with stability," Rosal added.

"Furthermore, the United States government has reciprocated the suck-up Arroyo regime's obsequiousness with renewed pledges of US military support," Rosal continued. "This has emboldened the Arroyo government to commit worse human rights violations under the slogan of anti-terrorism."

Rosal also lambasted Arroyo's statement in a recent speech that the New People's Army is the "worst human rights violator." "She makes such wild claims without providing hard and documented evidence."

"Her speech smacks of AFP rhetoric which unthinkingly condemns the NPA at every instance," Rosal said. "Apparently, she has not read the report of her own agencies stating that it is the military and the police that are the topnotch violators of human rights," he said, referring to reports released by the government's Commission on Human Rights.

Rosal challenged the Arroyo government to file formal complaints before the Joint Monitoring Committee, the body tasked with monitoring the observance of the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) signed by the Philippine government and the National Democratic Front (NDF) in 1998.

Reference:
Anne Buenaventura
Media Officer
Cellphone Number: +63910-240-3553



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