Groups hold protest march against human rights violations

The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL), a group of human rights lawyers who protects
the rights of the marginalized and the oppressed sectors, along with various militant groups
under the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan or New Patriotic Alliance), organized a protest
march today in Mendiola Manila demanding for the immediate transfer of the 43 health workers
from Camp Capinpin, Rizal to a civilian detention facility.

Families and supporters of the detained health workers along with various organizations have
participated in the protest rally to express support on the issue and to show strong disapproval of
the abuse, political persecutions and violations on human rights under the Arroyo administration.

Formation of a Truth Commission

According to Bayan secretary-general Renato Reyes Jr., the act of establishing a “Truth
Commission” which aims to investigate and prosecute the perpetrators of totally reprehensible
violations on human rights such as extra judicial killings and enforced disappearances should be
organized and should be the main agenda of the next president.

He emphasized that civilian or military officials guilty of exploitation on human rights should be
held accountable and be punished. He stressed the importance of having such commission in
order to prevent extreme violators from performing any form of abuse on human rights.

No to Oplan Bantay Laya

The group of protesters specifically condemns the implementation of counter-insurgency

program called the Oplan Bantay Laya (OBL) or Operation Freedom watch by the Arroyo
government. OBL targets the widest political field including leaders and members of active and
people’s group or organizations which have become targets of physical abuse and assassination
as they are labeled as “enemies of the state.”

The OBL attempts to neutralize the political framework of the New People’s Army (NPA), The
Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines
(NDFP).

According to Dj Acierto, a public information officer of Karapatan, these programs of the

government aims to “stop insurgency in the country but it clumps together the progressive
activists and unarmed individuals with the armed revolutionary groups” which results to extreme
violation on the rights of an ordinary individual who could be mistakenly be labelled as part of a
rebellious group.
March for freedom

The groups marched from Welcome Rotunda to the Don Chino Roces Bridge, which has been an
ideal rally site or choice of venue by protesters, carrying with them banners saying “Free the 43,”
pictures of the Morong 43, and images of black coffins, which represents the victims of extra
judicial killings, who were members of different active progressive people’s groups or
organizations, to express immense support on the fight for freedom from all forms of human
rights violations.

The NUPL states that they fear that the military are intentionally oppressing the detained workers
instead of releasing them. The group strongly believes that political killings and other forms of
human rights violations should not be tolerated.