Macapagal-Arroyo should stop protecting the military and order the arrest and prosecution of Palparan
Friday, February 23, 2007
Macapagal-Arroyo should stop protecting the military and order the arrest and prosecution of Palparan
Anakpawis Representative and political detainee Crispin Beltran said that Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo should immediately act on the recommendations of the Melo Commission and United Nations Human Rights Commission special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings Philip Alston.
"Pres. Arroyo was the one who invited members of the international community to come to the Philippines and help investigate the issue of the killings. She's also the one who ordered the establishment of the Melo Commission and laid down its mandate. Now that she is in possession of two reports – one by the Melo Commission, and the other containing the initial findings and recommendations of a UN representative – Macapagal-Arroyo should take immediate and decisive action to address and put an end to the extrajudicial killings," he said.
"Pres. Arroyo will once more expose herself a hypocrite if she doesn't take action on the findings recommendations of the Melo Commission, primarily it's conclusion that Jovito Palparan is a mastermind of the killings,"" he said.
Beltran, however, opined that Mrs. Arroyo's reluctance to order the scrapping of Oplan Bantay Laya and the full investigation of Jovito Palparan was goaded by self-preservation.
"It's clear that Pres. Arroyo is being highly hesitant and perhaps even afraid of the repercussions if she should express the slightest agreement with the reports. She is beholden to the AFP and to the likes of Jovito Palparan and is perhaps afraid that if she criticizes the AFP for the killings, they will abandon her," he said.
"Macapagal-Arroyo should order a stop to the political killings and order the arrest and prosecution of Palparan or being international condemnation.She is now caught between a rock and a hard place. This issue of political killings and the worsening human rights situation in the Philippines will not disappear or go away because the attention of the international community is focused on the country. Macapagal-Arroyo's continuing support for the AFP and the refusal to order an end to the killings inevitably damages her and her already unpopular office."#
Macapagal-Arroyo should stop protecting the military and order the arrest and prosecution of Palparan
Anakpawis Representative and political detainee Crispin Beltran said that Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo should immediately act on the recommendations of the Melo Commission and United Nations Human Rights Commission special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings Philip Alston.
"Pres. Arroyo was the one who invited members of the international community to come to the Philippines and help investigate the issue of the killings. She's also the one who ordered the establishment of the Melo Commission and laid down its mandate. Now that she is in possession of two reports – one by the Melo Commission, and the other containing the initial findings and recommendations of a UN representative – Macapagal-Arroyo should take immediate and decisive action to address and put an end to the extrajudicial killings," he said.
"Pres. Arroyo will once more expose herself a hypocrite if she doesn't take action on the findings recommendations of the Melo Commission, primarily it's conclusion that Jovito Palparan is a mastermind of the killings,"" he said.
Beltran, however, opined that Mrs. Arroyo's reluctance to order the scrapping of Oplan Bantay Laya and the full investigation of Jovito Palparan was goaded by self-preservation.
"It's clear that Pres. Arroyo is being highly hesitant and perhaps even afraid of the repercussions if she should express the slightest agreement with the reports. She is beholden to the AFP and to the likes of Jovito Palparan and is perhaps afraid that if she criticizes the AFP for the killings, they will abandon her," he said.
"Macapagal-Arroyo should order a stop to the political killings and order the arrest and prosecution of Palparan or being international condemnation.She is now caught between a rock and a hard place. This issue of political killings and the worsening human rights situation in the Philippines will not disappear or go away because the attention of the international community is focused on the country. Macapagal-Arroyo's continuing support for the AFP and the refusal to order an end to the killings inevitably damages her and her already unpopular office."#
posted at 12:00 AM
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