Government sets dialogue with international community on Morong 43

MANILA, Philippines – The government will meet with the diplomatic community tomorrow to explain its side on the alleged human rights abuses committed against the so-called Morong 43.

The meeting is to be held in Camp Aguinaldo even as cause-oriented groups, whom the military accused as communist fronts, have brought the case of the detained suspects before international bodies such as the United Nations.

“The case of the Morong 43 has been the subject of various propaganda. The case has been brought to international bodies so we should clarify the issue before the international community. We will hold a meeting for that,” Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales said in a chance interview yesterday in Fort Bonifacio.

Gonzales said they will explain to the diplomats that the issues raised against the military are part of the propaganda of communist rebels.

“We can see the propaganda of the communists in the issue. They want to make it appear that the detained suspects are innocent. But we know otherwise. Perhaps they can see that the Filipinos here can see the truth so they are trying to go international,” he said.

“They have strong networks there (in the international groups). To ensure that our image is not tarnished abroad, we decided to clarify these before the international community,” Gonzales added.

Gonzales claimed that the issues raised by the supporters of the Morong 43 did not have much impact on the country’s image. The defense chief also expressed confidence that the diplomatic community will understand the government’s position.

“I have been talking to international groups for so long. We do not have to be worried. Except for the real fronts (of communists), most of the international community can understand our situation. We just have to tell them the truth,” he said.

Gonzales claimed that the communist rebels have been inventing international groups to make it appear that they are gaining widespread support.

“Sometimes, they (rebels) were able to convince some agencies of organizations like the UN. But you can see that they are doing abroad the things they are doing here in the Philippines. They come up with fake international organizations,” he said.

Gonzales said holding a dialogue with the diplomatic corps could help weed out these kinds of organizations.

The meeting is being organized by the National Security Council cluster of the Cabinet with the help of the Foreign Affairs department. Gonzales said representatives from all countries with whom the Philippines has diplomatic ties were invited.

Members of the Morong 43 were nabbed last Feb. 6 by the Philippine National Police and the Philippine Army, who claimed that they were insurgents attending a bomb-making seminar.

Authorities recovered various firearms and substances used to create bombs during the raid, which was held in a resthouse in Morong, Rizal.

The suspects, however, denied this, claiming to be legitimate rural health workers who render service to poor communities.

Supporters of the Morong 43 also claimed that the suspects experienced physical and mental torture while in detention.

The military has denied the allegations, dismissing them as mere propaganda intended to discredit a legitimate operation.

Various human rights groups and left-leaning organizations have threatened to bring the Morong 43 issue before international bodies.

The latest group to call for the release of the 43 suspects is the National Nurses United, an organization that claims to have 150,000 Filipino-American nurses as members.–Alexis Romero (The Philippine Star)