Asean human rights body should monitor Maguindanao probe

SAYS HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP

MANILA, Philippines—The newly created Asean Inter-governmental Commission on Human Rights, together with the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines, should monitor the way the Philippine government handles the investigation into the Maguindanao massacre.

This was the statement of the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (Forum-Asia), a regional human rights organization with 46 members across Asia, on the killing of at least 57 civilians and journalists last Monday.

Forum-Asia called on the two bodies “to monitor the measures taken by the (Philippine) government to effectively address acts of impunity and human rights abuses in the country.”

“Forum-Asia believes that the massacre in Maguindanao is another clear evidence of the culture of impunity that has been pervading in the Philippines for many years. Killings like these are prevalent in the country because perpetrators of these abuses are never brought to justice,” it said.

“These perpetrators hide behind a police force and a judiciary that can easily be bribed and influenced. These perpetrators also use the system of political patronage to avoid being prosecuted and made accountable for their abuses,” it added.

Forum-Asia also expressed “deep concerns” about the declared state of emergency in Maguindanao and its neighboring province and city, noting that this is not the answer to the massacre.

“A state of emergency will give widespread power to agencies, such as the military; it will only result to further abuses and acts of impunity in the area. Instead, the government of the Philippines should ensure an independent and transparent investigation that would speedily bring the perpetrators of this horrendous massacre to justice,” it said.

In a related development, a group of Indonesian activists held a rally in front of the Philippine embassy in Jakarta to condemn the massacre.

On November 23, at least 57 people, including family members of Buluan Vice Mayor Ishmael Mangudadatu and journalists, were brutally killed by armed men while they were on their way to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to file Mangudadatu’s certificate of candidacy for the May 2010 polls. Some were violently beheaded and women were allegedly raped before being killed. –INQUIRER.net