PROTECT
INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER ROMEO T. CAPULONG, DENOUNCE
KILLINGS OF ACTIVISTS IN PHILIPPINES
On March 7, 2005, unidentified
gunmen attempted to assassinate Romeo T. Capulong, a human rights
lawyer and ad litem judge of the United Nations International
Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, at his farm in Nueva
Ecija, Philippines. The Philippines' pioneer in international
humanitarian and public interest law, developmental legal aid and
class action litigation, Judge Capulong has
served as counsel and consultant to most of the major legal cases
in the country. Most recently, he has been serving as counsel to
striking workers at Hacienda Luisita, a large sugar estate owned
by the family of former President Corazon Aquino in the province
of Tarlac.
The attempt on Mr. Capulong's life
is part of a campaign to systematically kill supporters of the Hacienda Luisita strike. Philippine
military and police attacked the picket line last November 16, killing seven and wounding many.
Since then, death squads have killed supporters Abelardo Ladera, a
city councilor; William Tadena, a priest; and Marcelino Beltran, a
peasant leader and key witness to the November massacre. Five
more have been abducted and believed dead. This series of
killings and abductions appears part of a larger campaign to
eliminate left-wing activists, particularly those identified with
such nationalist organizations as BAYAN-MUNA, BAYAN, Anakpawis,
GABRIELA and others. Human rights groups have documented that in
January and February of this year alone, 40 such activists have
been killed or otherwise brutalized by Philippine military or
paramilitary forces -- a record number.
The threat to Judge Capulong's life
continues and has compromised his work. Even before the March 7
attempt, his farmhouse, city residence and office were already
under surveillance. Well-organized and determined, the
assassination plot appears to involve at least 15 persons
traveling in unmarked vehicles without license plates. Before the
attempt, anonymous, malicious letters were circulated at Hacienda
Luisita accusing Judge Capulong, now-deceased Councilman Ladera
and BAYAN MUNA Congressman Satur Ocampo, among others, of being
"communists" bent on destabilizing the Philippine
government. On January 22, 2005, Armed Forces of the Philippines
Northern Luzon commander General Romeo Dominguez, held a press
briefing near the hacienda repeating these false accusations.
Present at the briefing were then National Security Adviser
General Hermogenes Abdane Jr. and current National Security
Adviser Norberto Gonzalez.
To date, the government of President
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has done nothing to address this
situation. Indeed, President Arroyo seems to tacitly approve of
the repression by declaring the Hacienda Luisita strike as a
"national security issue."
We call on everyone to denounce the
attempt on Judge Capulong's life and the systematic killings and
abductions of activists in the Philippines. #
