Marcos rights victims seek justice before European tribunal

Families of alleged victims of extra-judicial killings and forced disappearances have accused President Arroyo and US President George W. Bush of human rights violations before the Permanent People’s Tribunal (PPT) in Rome, Italy.

"Amid condemnation from international groups and leaders of states, Mrs. Arroyo has continued to implement a national policy of annihilation against legal progressive organizations," said Dr. Carol Araullo, chairwoman of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan).

"The Melo Commission and Task Force Usig did not seek to render justice to the victims of human rights abuses. Instead, these so-called investigative bodies, by their sheer inefficiency and callous intentions, have reinforced the culture of impunity.

"We have appealed before the PPT with the objective of exerting more pressure on the Arroyo government to stop the killings and other human rights violations. Through this tribunal, we also hope to underscore the US government’s support for Arroyo’s all-out war (against the insurgency)."

The formal trial would be held in the Philippines in March 2007 upon the request of Bayan, and other groups like Hustisya!, Desaparecidos and SELDA.

With the filing of the case, the PPT formally opened its second session at The Hague, the Netherlands yesterday.

Mrs. Arroyo was charged with the following: Gross and systematic violations of civil and political rights for extrajudicial killings; Abduction and disappearances, massacre, torture; Gross and systematic violations of economic, social and cultural rights; and Gross and systematic violations of the right to national self-determination and liberation. — Katherine Adraneda