This is a Statement by European Church and Civil Society Organisations regarding the recent upsurge of political killings in the Philippines.

We are concerned about the upsurge of politically motivated killings and the constant deterioration of the human rights situation in the Philippines in recent years. Amnesty International informs that at least 51 political killings took place in the first half of 2006, compared to the 66 killings recorded in the whole of 2005. Since March 2006 we received an increasing number of reports on political killings – at times on a daily basis. We are particularly worried about the killings representing a pattern to target a broad range of critical and non-violent people involved in local or national politics.

We recognise the government’s initiative to increase efforts towards investigations into a number of assassinations. We stress the need to sustain these efforts, to investigate all political killings and to prosecute the perpetrators and their accomplices and to give justice to the victims and their families in order to prevent further escalation and grievance. We support civil society initiatives and efforts to press for investigations of political killings and human rights abuses.

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* We also condemn the violence and killings of the armed opposition groups. Their doings should however not be used as a justification for human rights violations and killings committed by paramilitary forces and the government. The use of paramilitary forces in the Philippine government’s all-out war against the New People’s Army (NPA) and other armed left groups as well as the spread of armed paramilitaries is particularly worrying. The decision of the Communist Party of the Philippines’ (CPP) leadership to set up armed partisan forces counterattacking operatives and masterminds of the killings does also cause great concern. We believe that these developments will lead to further deterioration of the human rights situation, severely threatening those engaged in non-violent, critical and investigative forms of civil and political activism *
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We call on all government departments concerned, especially the Department of Justice (DoJ) and the Philippine National Police (PNP), to investigate all killings with a political background, prosecute the perpetrators and their accomplices and to deliver justice to the victims and their families.

We call for the implementation of Republic Act 6981, providing witness protection, security and protection for activists facing death-threats.

We call for an independent investigation into the Department of Defence and the Armed Forces of the Philippines to investigate allegations concerning the use of political assassination as a counter-insurgency strategy.

We call on both the government and the CPP to continue serious peace negotiations and to respect human rights. We call on the armed opposition groups to refrain from the use of political killings.

We call our own governments and the United Nations (UN) to pay attention to these alarming developments and to urge the Philippine government to end the killings and guarantee justice for all victims.

Amnesty International German Section, Germany
Asia Foundation, Germany
Asia House, Germany
Babaylan, The Philippine Women’s Network in Europe, Germany
Babaylanes, Germany
Bayanihan - Philippine Women’s Center, Netherlands
Bishop Muskens of the Diocese of Breda, Netherlands
Mr. Harry van Bommel, Member of Parliament for the Socialist Party, Netherlands
South-North Exchange of Peoples Organizations (BOND), Belgium
Prof. Theo van Boven, Professor of International Law, University of Maastricht, Former UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Former Director of the UN Human Rights Division, Netherlands
Bread for the World, Germany
Ms. Brid Brennan, Transnational Institute, Netherlands
Broederlijk Delen, Belgium
Bundeskoordination Internationalismus (BUKO), Germany
Christian Aid, United Kingdom
Church Development Service (EED), Germany
CMC Mensen met een missie, Dutch Catholic Missionary Development Agency, Netherlands
11.11.11 - Coalition of the Flemish North-South Movement, Belgium
Conference of Religious in the Netherlands (KNR), Netherlands
CORDAID, Netherlands
Critical Ecology - Institute of Applied Cultural Research, Germany
Mr. Boris Dittrich, Member of Parliament for the Democrats ’66, Netherlands
Rev. Dr. Markus Dröge, Conference Minister of Koblenz District Conference, Germany
Ecumenical Youth Council in Europe (EYCE), Belgium
Ms. Angelien Eijsink, Member of Parliament for the Social Democratic Party (PvdA), Netherlands
Evangelical Church in the Rhineland, Germany
Evangelical Church of Westphalia, Germany Philippine Solidarity Group (FGN), Netherlands
Ms. Thea Fierens, Member of Parliament for the Social Democratic Party (PvdA), Netherlands
Finnish Asiatic Society, Finland
Finnish Philippine Society, Finland
Prof. Kees Flinterman, Professor of Human Rights, University of Utrecht, Netherlands
Prof. Bas de Gaay Fortman, Professor of Political Economy of Human Rights, University of Utrecht, Netherlands
Ms. Cecilia Jimenez, Geneva Forum for Philippine Concerns (GFPC), Switzerland
Femke Halsema, Farah Karimi, Wijnand Duyverdak, Ineke van Gent, Nevin Özütok, Paul Jongbloed, Members of Parliament, Green Left Party, Netherlands
Interchurch Organisation for Development Cooperation (ICCO), Netherlands
Dutch section of the International Commission of Jurists (NJCM), Netherlands
International Peace Observers Network (IPON), Germany
Justitia et Pax, Netherlands
Prof. Menno T. Kamminga, Professor of
International Law, Director - Maastricht
Centre for Human Rights, University of Maastricht, Netherlands
Karl Kübel Foundation, Germany
Kindernothilfe (KNH), Germany
Philippine-European Solidarity Center (KSP), Netherlands
Foundation Lawyers for Lawyers, Netherlands
Misereor, Germany
Missio-Munich, Germany
Missionszentrale der Franziskaner (MZF), Germany
Netherlands Humanistic Committee on Human Rights (HOM), Netherlands
Mr. Nonoi Hacbang, Commission for Filipino Migrant Workers (CFAW), Netherlands
Office of Mission, Ecumenism and Global Responsibility of the Evangelical Church of Westphalia, Germany
One World Action, United Kingdom
One World Network Network Northrhine-Westfalia, Germany
Oxfam Novib, Netherlands
Partnership Third World, Germany
Pax Christi German Section, Germany
Pax Christi International, Belgium
Philippinenbüro, Germany
Philippine Solidarity Group- Protestant
Church of Jülich, Germany
Philippine Indigenous People’s Links, United Kingdom
ProMISPA Friends of the Philippines, Germany
Reporters Without Borders, International
Dr. Frithjof Schmidt, Member of the European Parliament, Germany
Ms. Dorothea Seeliger, Commissioner on Human Rights, Koblenz Church District Conference, Germany
Southeast Asia Information Office, Germany Ms. Katharina Stahlenbrecher, Asia
Working Group, Stiftung Umverteilen !, Germany
Terre des Femmes, Germany
Terre des Hommes, Germany
Task Force Carabao, Germany
Trade Union Solidarity Centre of Finland (SASK), Finland
United Evangelical Mission (VEM/UEM), Germany
United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (USPG), United Kingdom
Ms. Pietje Vervest, Transnational Institute, Netherlands
Dr. Rainer Werning, Political Scientist and Author, Germany Workers´ Educational Association of Finland, Finland
XminusY Solidarity Fund, Netherland

Sunday, 24th September, 2006

http://www.europe-solidaire.org/spip.php?article3311