Philippine News Digest 31
July 18 - 26 July, 2002
Contents:
Amnesty International urges Macapagal to freeze executions
US threatens to block UN vote on torture convention
MLSA to be signed during Powell visit
Amnesty International urges Macapagal to freeze
executions
The human rights group Amnesty International urged President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo to freeze scheduled judicial executions this year and
cautioned her against abuses in her war on crime. The caution came after the
President delivered her State of the Nation Address to signal the opening of
Congress July 22. Amnesty International said in a statement that the
president's declaration that she will put the police and military on “war
footing” to crush kidnap gangs and other criminal syndicates could lead to
“vigilantism, unlawful killings and the use of torture against criminal
suspects. The group also raised concerns over the appointment of Davao City
Mayor Rodrigo Duterte as government consultant on crimes. The tough-talking
mayor earlier made statements which appeared to suggest that
extra-judicial killings were an effective means to combat crime. “Peace and
order will never be achieved by a vigilante's bullet, or by police using a
plastic bag to suffocate a suspect to coerce confession, ” the group said.
Instead, the group urged the president to professionalize the graft-tainted
police force by eqipping them well and training them to respect human rights
and rule of law. Source: www.inq7.net.
US threatens to block UN vote on torture
convention
After opposing the establishment of the International Criminal Court
early this month, the United States is again set to block a UN vote on a plan
to enforce an international protocol on torture, US diplomats and human rights
advocates said on July 23. The 15-page optional protocol aims to establish a
system of regular visits to be undertaken by independent and national bodies
to places where people are deprived of their liberty to prevent torture and
other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Rory Mungoven of
the Human Rights Watch said the protocol would create a more proactive
mechanism that includes visits to prisons and other preventive measures that
would help enforce the UN Convention on Torture passed in 1989. A US official,
speaking on condition of anonymity, said some of the visits would be illegal
because each state has its own penal laws and that it raises the issue of
access to suspected al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters captured in Afghanistan and
other prisoners being held in the war on terrorism. According to Amnesty
International, people were tortured or ill-treated by authorities in 111
countries last year. Source: Dafna Linzer, The Associated Press.
MLSA to be signed during Powell visits
Despite stiff opposition from various sectors, the Mutual Logistics
Services Agreement between the Philippines and the US is likely to be signed
during the visit of US Secretary of State Colin Powell next month. The MLSA
would allow the US to put up storage and supply facilities in the country to
help in its international war on terrorism. However, several human rights
groups warned that it could pave the way for the re-establishment of US
military bases in the country. Military bases all over the world are known to
encourage prostitution where it is located leading to the abuse of several
thousands women and children. Source:
Christine Herrera and correspondent reports, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 18
July 2002.
Fast Links